pint4 Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 My 1937 Packard 120 has been going through a complete restoration and is now in the debugging phase. Drives like you would expect but stopping is a different story. The front brakes pull real hard to the left. Everything seems to check out. Correct shoes with primaries and secondaries installed correctly. Everything is set up per the book. Anybody have any ideas? Most everything is new or rebuilt. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 Just a thought, is the right side working? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RansomEli Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 Larry is right. If you car pulls to the left then something is wrong on the right side. Check that the brake linings are adjusted properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 I echo the brake shoe adjustment. Always be certain the shoes are all uniformly adjusted PRIOR to bleeding. The only other thing that comes to mind is that a wheel cylinder may be leaking onto the shoes therefor hindering a uniformed braking situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pint4 Posted May 8, 2016 Author Share Posted May 8, 2016 Great feedback. One additional bit of info. We have now had the drums on and off the car about 10 times as we have been proceeding through the diagnostic process. We cannot find any sign of the wheel cylinder leaking. But we are finding a sticky gooey substance on the inside of the drum that then gets cleaned off and then shows up again after the next test run. The faces of the shoe could be sticking due to this gooey substance. I know this sounds crazy but is it possible something is leeching out of the brake shoes themselves. Tempted to contact Max Merritt tomorrow and get a new set of front shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 Sounds more like an axle seal leak. Are the front drums gooey or the rear drums gooey?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pint4 Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 It is the front drums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Have you had the shoes arched to the drums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pint4 Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 How do you arch the shoes to the drums? Not familiar with the terminology or how to do it. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 As brake drums ware use they get turned down, which changes the ID. Any good brake shop has a machine to change the arc of the shoes to match each individual drum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 4 hours ago, pint4 said: How do you arch the shoes to the drums? Not familiar with the terminology or how to do it. Thanks. Go to YouTube and see the procedure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Gooey substance seems to be the mystery here. An axel seal? Are the hubs packed with to much grease? Never heard of shoes leaching out but who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Is this gooey substance on both left and right? If have seen that: it was diff. oil. The shoes soaked it up when the diff. oil seal failed. Brake shoes are like blotting paper. Just the usual dumb question: have you done the blunder check? i.e. is the brake cylinder in the right place (check size) and right way round (if a stepped cylinder)? Are the shoes on the correct side - leading shoe linings are usually longer than trailing shoes. Is the flexible hose clear? You can arc the shoes to the drum with stick-on sand paper on the inside of the drum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Spinney, Love your 'Mr. Natural' avatar. Probably not to many on here that know who he is. Edited May 10, 2016 by JACK M (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 5 minutes ago, JACK M said: Spinney, Love your 'Mr. Natural' avatar. Probably not to many on here that know who he is. ZAP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61polara Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Let's go back to the gooey stuff on the shoes and drums. Your front wheel bearing seal is bad. That's wheel bearing grease on the drums and shoe. It will cause a wheel to lock in a heart beat even with little pressure. Pull the seal out of the drum. Pack the bearings with wheel bearing grease and install a new seal. You will most likely never get this out of the shoes, so plan on replacing them. You should be in good shape after thisl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I use alcohol to get the sticky stuff (grease) out of the shoes. It usually works, but better to replace the shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 On 10/05/2016 at 4:03 AM, JACK M said: Spinney, Love your 'Mr. Natural' avatar. Probably not to many on here that know who he is. Thank you. Neither did I! I pinched it from a student newspaper 40-ish years ago. I don't remember it being with a cartoon; more likely with a writer's signature at the end of an article. Ref. the wheel bearing seal... don't overpack the bearings. It will run hot and throw out the extra grease if it can. Maybe that is how it got past the seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) The artist lived in San Francisco during the sixties and was a bit out there. I forget the first name but his last name is Crumb. He also invented the 'keep on trucking' guys among others. He based his characters on people he knew. There was a very interesting TV interview with him a few years back, I suppose one could find it on the net with the right search. He wrote comic books and did a couple of cartoons. Google up ' Fritz the cat', I will warn you its a bit racy. I was racing in a Foreign stock class a few years ago where they wanted the racers to use a comic theme. Fun stuff. Edited May 16, 2016 by JACK M (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hchris Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Cant comment on the gooey stuff, but with regard to pulling to the left, have you checked that the right hand flex hose is in good order ? Whilst it may appear ok on the outside, you need to consider that if it fails on the inside then fluid transfer to the right wheel cylinder could be restricted, thus lessening the braking effect for that wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c49er Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 You cannot clean contaminated shoes of grease or brake fluid 100%. The pull will come back as the shoes heat up and the contaminates come back out of the lining. New arced shoes to each brake drum and new front grease seals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 10 hours ago, c49er said: You cannot clean contaminated shoes of grease or brake fluid 100%. The pull will come back as the shoes heat up and the contaminates come back out of the lining. New arced shoes to each brake drum and new front grease seals. Yep. I would ONLY use those shoes after cleaning in an emergency. New shoes are always best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 11 hours ago, c49er said: You cannot clean contaminated shoes of grease or brake fluid 100%. The pull will come back as the shoes heat up and the contaminates come back out of the lining. . It sounds like this may already be happening. Mystery solved ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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