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1951 Buick Super56C pulls to the left when braking


lugarsu

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Hello all.  Car is a 1951 Super Convertible. Located in Madrid, Spain

 Some time ago, she begun to pull to the left when braking, so after trying some adjustments, I changed ;

 All 4 wheel cylinders

 Front flex hoses

 Master cyl was rebuilt

 Shoes relined

 Anchor pins adjusted, as per shop manual

 Bleed brakes, two times

  Car still puls left when braking.

 tryed swapping drums, left to right, problem continues.

 Drums appear in good condition, no ridges or irregular surfaces

 Front suspension was rebuilt some 4000 kilometers ago. I see another post, in Pre War forum (By Shart, sept 15) whit exacly te same problem, bu cannot see if or how it was solved.

 Hope some one will be able to help.

 Thank you.

Luis

IMG-20180919-WA0015.jpg

Edited by lugarsu (see edit history)
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Luis:

 

I had this same problem with my '55 Century.  It turns out it wasn't the brakes at all.  You mentioned that you had the front end rebuilt.  I also had the front end apart to replace the rear main seal on my car.  After this job the brakes pulled.

 

What the cause of the brakes pulling left and sometimes right was the adjustment on the steering cross shaft (to what the pitman arm attaches).  At the end of this shaft is a slotted "screw" that I had to adjust as per the manual.  The left side of the shaft on my car was way off, the right side was off a bit.  Turning this slotted screw in a couple of turns solved my brake pulling problem.  You may need to make the adjustment, drive the car for a bit, then maybe have to turn the screw in or out a 1/4 turn or so to fine tune it.  I would bet your car has the same issue as mine.  I don't know how many hours I spent working on the brakes when that wasn't the problem at all.  Hope this helps.

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Assuming that the brakes are functioning properly, as all of the typical causes have been addressed, I would look closely at the suspension.  Look for anything that would allow the LF wheel to move backward when braking.  I'd start with the A-arm (aka: 'wishbone') bushings.  Also check the rear suspension bushings.

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On 10/4/2022 at 1:52 PM, packick said:

Luis:

 

I had this same problem with my '55 Century.  It turns out it wasn't the brakes at all.  You mentioned that you had the front end rebuilt.  I also had the front end apart to replace the rear main seal on my car.  After this job the brakes pulled.

 

What the cause of the brakes pulling left and sometimes right was the adjustment on the steering cross shaft (to what the pitman arm attaches).  At the end of this shaft is a slotted "screw" that I had to adjust as per the manual.  The left side of the shaft on my car was way off, the right side was off a bit.  Turning this slotted screw in a couple of turns solved my brake pulling problem.  You may need to make the adjustment, drive the car for a bit, then maybe have to turn the screw in or out a 1/4 turn or so to fine tune it.  I would bet your car has the same issue as mine.  I don't know how many hours I spent working on the brakes when that wasn't the problem at all.  Hope this helps.

Hello all. I tryed to adjust the slotted screw that you said, but it is already fully in, are you talking about the "plug" in the center link that tigthens the Pitman arm connection?

 Another thing is the LF wheel tends to grab/lock sooner than RF wheel even at low speed, indicating a brakes problem, more than a steering problem

 

20221009_130212.jpg

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12 hours ago, lugarsu said:

Another thing is the LF wheel tends to grab/lock sooner than RF wheel even at low speed, indicating a brakes problem...

My '38 was doing that, but only when backing out of the garage.  Anchor pin adjustment seems to have resolved it...

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