1957 chevy brake problems

[Joe Werner]

Im having a problem with my brakes on my 57 chevy. when i hit the brake hard the rear end wants to pull hard like the car wants to turn sideways. Ive put all new wheel cylinders on it last fall, I put all new springs on the brakes yesterday ive got the hubs turned. Ive had the master cylinder rebuilt ive ran all new lines on it too. Ive asdjusted the brakes up good and they all about equal when you spin the tire. Ive never had a problem with the brakes like this before they always worked fine before until i put all new stuff on them. anyone have any suggestions what the problem might be?

[Mickey McChesney]

Check to see if there is a blockage of the brake line to one of the rear wheels or possibly a crushed hard line. Sounds like one of the rear brakes is no actuating.

Good luck

[FomocoService]

Also check to see that it's totally bled.. you may have a bit of air in one cylinder which isn't letting it work properly.

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Check to see if there is a blockage of the brake line to one of the rear wheels or possibly a crushed hard line. Sounds like one of the rear brakes is no actuating.

</div></div>

I had exactly this happen in a 1960 Buick's rear brake. Granted the car outweighs this Chevy by a good 800 pounds, however you could barely tell one rear brake wasn't working when the line was plugged. There's no way a dramatic action like this (<span style="font-style: italic">"...when i hit the brake hard the rear end wants to pull hard like the car wants to turn sideways...</span>) is from a rear brake problem.

If it was from a front brake problem the pull would be felt most strongly in the steering wheel, not the rear end. All of this could be easily checked, of course, by jacking up each wheel individually, spinning it, and seeing if the brake stops it. Be very careful in doing so, though, because...

I'm almost certain there is a broken suspension mount or spring causing this problem. If you're sure it's in the <span style="text-decoration: underline">rear</span> that the pull is occurring, check there first. I think it's much more likely that this is a front control arm that's broken, and the pull to the side from the "rear" is more likely a front wheel shifting backwards in the wheel well as you apply the brake, although this would probably be felt in the steering wheel as well. Either a broken front or rear could be the case, however.

Be sure to check the frame mounts as well. One of the welds in these areas may have failed. Or of course the frame itself may have failed.

No matter what the problem is, <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR AGAIN UNITL THIS CAUSE IS FOUND!</span></span></span> This is about as serious a problem as a car can have. I'd suggest a complete replacement of all of the suspension parts related to the area where the broken mount/piece is found. All of them have been subject to undue wear by this, and may be prone to failure as well.

Good luck!

[Guest De Soto Frank]

Joe,

Good advice from all the previous posters.

Can only add that "something is not right" (duh!).

Your Chevy has "modern" Delco-Moraine drum brakes that are very similar to the Bendix design still in use today (floating/self-centering/self-energizing shoes); these are about as good and reliable as drum brakes get.

Once you find-out just where the problem is, you should have "good brakes" again.

Examine the rear springs, u-bolts at the axle, spring shackles, etc. If something in that area is worn/ broken, the axle can shift during braking, causing erractic handling.

Good luck !

[Joe Werner]

Thanks for all the answers i got they all were helpful. Yesterday I pulled the back drums i ruffed up the back shoes and washed the machined area of the drum. we also straightend the frame it was off a little bit. We took it for a test drive yesterday and to my suprise the brakes performed alot better better. when you hit the brakes hard she stop almost straight as an arrow. I think they might need to be adjusted a little bit but there about perfect now. One more question when we bled the brakes on it my dad noticed that rear drivers side didnt shoot fluid out like the rest did. he said it dribbled out more anything.

[Guest De Soto Frank]

If fluid is "just dribbling out", that would suggest either gunked-up bleeder port or a restriction in the brake line supplying said cylinder.

I would recommend comnpletely removing that bleeder screw from the left rear and making sure its passages are clear, using a small drill bit and some brakekleen. If there's a lot of crud at the pointy end of the bleeder screw, you might want to see what the insides of the wheel cylinders look like.

(When bleeding, I would suggest using some 1/4" or 3/16" clear vinyl tubing and running it into a mayonaise jar or similar clear container... helps contain the mess.)

[mrpushbutton]

Did you clean the cosmoline (anti-rust goo) off of the new wheel cylinders before installing them? I find it very important to take new wheel cylinders completely apart, clean the metal parts with laquer thinner, the rubber parts with denatured alcohol, then coat the moving parts with whatever fluid you are going to run the system on.