Guest btate Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Tomorrow I will take it to the alignment shop but as I was driving it today, I notice any dip the the road throws the front tires to one side or the other. At first I thought it may be the front shocks. I installed QA 1 front shocks and we set it at 5. Has 18 adjustments and mine are set at 5 to get a solf ride. Maybe I should stiffen the ride by moving setting to maybe 14, but It might be the rear knee shocks causing the problem. I bought these from Apple as re manufactured knee shocks. Does anyone know if there's any adjustment for the knee shocks? The brakes are going to be hard to live with. I have to really press the brake pad down to get the car to stop. I wonder how much disc brakes on front would cost and is it a hard job? Any help appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Are you running bias ply tires? If so these tires react far differently than radials. They will tend to follow ruts and creases in the road. I can say the true experience of driving a car from the 50's can only take place on a set of bias plys. Just my opinion though. No power brakes? Me neither. Since this is the first time out I suspect the brakes are new and not settled in. If that is the case the braking should improve with use. I can say my 54 stops with confidence and always has good pedal feel. I suspect yours will over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 New shocks will not compensate for worn or deteriorated suspension bushings. Nor will "adjusting them UP" help that issue, either. One thing that I seemed to hear when I first got into KONIs was that you didn't adjust them until they had some miles on them, which has seemed to work well for me. Possibly the same thing might apply with the QA1s? Plus, you'll need a baseline to judge later adjustments by.Inflation pressure on bias ply tires can make a real difference, too. The higher pressure will decrease tread deflection as the tire rolls against the pavement. I suspect that 30psi cold would be a good starting point, even 32 in the front and 30 in the back. The braking performance can improve as everything's getting used to being together. As things evolve with more miles, you can be sure to keep the brake drums cleaned out of "brake dust". That tends to improve braking performance, too.Just some thoughts,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest btate Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Tires are radial. All front end rubber parts were replaced. Seems when I hit a bump on one side of the front end, I have to correct the steering as the car starts in another direction. Maybe an alignment will cure the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Tires are radial. All front end rubber parts were replaced. Seems when I hit a bump on one side of the front end, I have to correct the steering as the car starts in another direction. Maybe an alignment will cure the problem.It is a good place to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Gotta get it aligned first then report back. The center link has hopefully been taken apart and adjusted. That will make a world of difference in "bump steer". Don't align it if this was not at least lubed and adjusted.There is no adjustment on the rear shocks. The brake shoes may be made of a material that is too hard, thus the extra pedal required. Softer shoes would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shadetree77 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 the braking should improve with use....Chris is right on that. I just about drove myself completely NUTS trying to figure out why my thrice re-built brake system was doing such a poor job. Many man hours and many, MANY gallons of brake fluid later someone told me to simply "drive it". I thought they were crazy but I did just that and after around 100 miles or so, the brakes "settled in" and I've had good braking action ever since. I drove it to a car show with bad brakes. Stayed at the show all day, then when I got in it to leave, VOILA, I had brakes! This has worked for several other people on the forum too. It might work for you. Mike is right though, softer shoes would help. In my case, I didn't have the money to buy more shoes at the time so I went with the "break-in" suggestion and it worked just fine. Just leave yourself plenty of room to brake while you're still in the "break-in" period! Keep us updated on this so I can see if this suggestion helps yet another fellow Buick guy. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersix Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Before I first rebuilt the front suspension of my '57 Chevy it was really sloppy steering and prone to weaving. I didn't enjoy driving it. When I rebuilt it and before it was aligned, it didn't feel any different than it was before. After it was aligned, it drove (and still does) like a new car. The alignment made all the difference in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest btate Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Pick up my car at 5:00 pm today, unforuntly the interstate was backed up and had to drive straight thru town. I think it felt better but if it doesn't ice over tomorrow I will drive it home for the weekend. If brakes don't get better after a hundred miles I will try soft shoes. I noticed if I really hit the brakes hard the car pulls to the side, not much but a little. If I hit a slight hole in the road the car hit hard. I installed new springs (same as original) and new QA1 shocks. There's 18 settings on the shocks and I guess I can work my way up to the 18th setting, and hope I find something that rides better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I concur with the "break in" period for the brakes! One KEY thing is the finish on the inside of the drum. I don't recall any polishing functions when cutting drums (as with disc brake rotors), but finish smoooothness can play a BIG part in how the brakes act until they have some stops on them. Having too rough of a finish can lead to early fade, too! Similarly, brake pull can happen too!(Cue Robert Goulet . . .) "On a clear day . . . " take the car out for a gentle drive. Residential areas can work reasonably well for this as it's the "STOP" signs you're after, every few blocks or so. This way, you can start to get the brake-in started with some gentle, but not "coasting" stops from about 30mph. After several of them, then find a main residential road and do some time for the brakes to cool down some. Then, start the more frequent stop routine again, finding the more main road afterward. You can use this drive-time as "stress relief" after a hard day at work, for example. A time to get re-acquainted with your car and give it some attention in the process.You can do that for several days, then increase the stopping intensity some, but not to full panic stops just yet. Then let it rest a few days, for good measure. After several cycles, you should notice a more firm pedal feel and a more responsive pedal, too. When that happens, you can probably drive more normally in more normal areas, but ALSO not getting anywhere that you might need to do a hard stop, either. I wouldn't recommend any hard stops until you're comfortable with the brake feel and effort becoming more consistent in nature. The OTHER thing that has been happening, with the repeated brake applications, is that any air which might have been trapped in the system has probably worked its way to the master cylinder, which can also enhance the firmness of the pedal feel, so a check of the fluid level every now and then might be good to do.When you've driven the car a good bit, as the brake pedal feel and such has plateaued (on the good side of things), then you might find a deserted mall parking lot (hopefully a CLEAN one) that's big enough to allow for about 30mph and then delve into the "quick stop" territory somewhat. Checking for equal "skid marks" or "tracks" would be the main function of this exercise. You might be a little "timid" at first, but that's good as you learn more about how your car acts and reacts in this exercise.IF, at any time during any of these break-in runs, you smell the linings or start to feel the brakes fade (and probably start "pulling"), then do the cool-down routine and park it in the normal safe and secure location. Do NOT apply the parking brake--period!!!! After things cool down, but not with the drums still warm . . . loss of roundness might occur. Then, do some more stops the next day. As things get broken-in more, the smells will go away and firm braking will start to happen with each cycle.After braking performance stabilizes, you might then do a re-check of the lining adjustment, for general principles. If everything's going well, just drive it.Enjoy!NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 (edited) Bill,I was talking with Old Tank today and we were discussing this problem. I bought shoes for my wagon from Rockauto and they stopped like garbage. I, like Robert, didn't want to go to the expense of redoing the shoes I had in softer material. The cost was at least four times what the new shoes cost me! When I removed the drums and checked them, I noticed that the outer and inner edges of the new shoes were raised a bit, thus not utilizing the full surface of the shoe / drum. I sanded them down (where is my OSHA specsheet with the "always / never stick figure") with 100 grit sandpaper and readjusted them. It was a night and day difference. Basically, I accelerated what these guys are saying. With the harder linings combined with the crap construction, the car took a LOT of foot, and I have power brakes on the wagon.Back to the bump steer. Did you lower the car any? That could affect it also. Once again, check whether the centerlink was done.Oh yeah. Don't drive your car in the ice tomorrow if you can help it . You have come too far! Edited January 25, 2013 by buick5563 Splling :) (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest btate Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I hate to say this, but I don't know what a centerline is. I did buy the complete rebuild kit for the front end and there was many metal parts along with the rubber parts. I have not lower the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shadetree77 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I bought shoes for my wagon from Rockauto and they stopped like garbage.That's where I got mine too. Raybestos brand if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I hate to say this, but I don't know what a centerline is. I did buy the complete rebuild kit for the front end and there was many metal parts along with the rubber parts. I have not lower the car. Centerlink.It is a spring loaded (internally) tube that basically keeps the steering pitman arm (on the drivers side) attached firmly to the idler arm on the passenger side. It is about three feet long and 1 1/4" around with large slotted screw ends that are adjustable per the shop manual. At least make sure they are well lubed.I realized after rereading your earlier post that you had installed factory spec springs. I wasn't sure if you had cut them down or lowered it in any other way, which totally screws with the geometry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Changing the back spacing on the rims (as in 'reverse rims') will affect handling...something to check. Readjust the brakes. You will be surprised how much difference there will be from one wheel to another, even though they were equal a few days ago.Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 btate, this is what Mike is referring to. this is a '50, but yours will be same or similar. Right in the center of the pic. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest btate Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 I think I know what the centerlink is now. We had to replace the Pittman arm due to adding power steering. I will check with the car builder and see if he lubricated it. I bet he didn't but simply put it back together. I will check. My car builder did say he used 80 grit to sand the shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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