David Messplay Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 Car purchased online, when delivered car pulled to left when brakes applied. All brake hoses replaced, all wheel cylinders replaced with NOS parts and all pistons verified to be free. Master cylinder rebuilt, brake fitting that routes fluid from master cylinder to left and right front wheels and rear brakes removed and cleaned. All brake lines flushed with fluid and air. Insured that front brake assemblies have primary shoe (short lining) is in forward position and secondary shoe (long lining) is in aft position. Installed new brake springs. Have adjusted vertical position of front brake shoes with upper post adjustment and feeler gage through opening window in brake drum. Adjusted brakes for slight drag. Bled brakes repeatedly, all wheel cylinders have good flow of fluid. Brake pedal has decent feel, travels just over an inch and is consistent in operation. Car drives in a straight line as far as wheel alignment is concerned. Car still pulls to left with brakes applied. Swapped front wheels and tires left to right, no change. Swapped brake drums left to right, no change. Loosened brake adjustment for left brake, no effect. I am a retired aircraft mechanic and was a car mechanic prior to that. I have run out of ideas, I seem to be missing something or this car has some kind of bizarre problem that I am unable to find. Does anyone have any thoughts on this matter? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 Check that all ball joints and related steering and suspension parts are tight. Alignment (toe) is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Messplay Posted November 7, 2022 Author Share Posted November 7, 2022 I have checked king pins for wear, they are not perfect, however the left and right spindles are similar in amount of play, not that bad actually. This car has 30,000 actual miles. I am trying to find someone in my area that actually understands these antique suspension systems. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 All the things you did in the front with drums and adjustment, did you do anything like that in the rear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 NOT suspension, I think. If the left shoe and drum are clean and not oily the problem probably is in the right side. I would be checking the right again. Ben 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 Is this your car or Steve H's car? This description sounds very familiar to me. I would recommend going through the rear brakes in addition to the front. If that does not resolve the problem I would replace all of the brake lines. There has to be an obstruction or other problem causing less braking on the right side of the car than the left. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61polara Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 You listed all the brake parts you replaced but I don't see any mention of the brake shoes. Your situation sounds very much like the brake shoes are contaminated from a brake fluid leak. You really can't clean up brake shoes that have had fluid leak on them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 Anchor pin adjustment - ref. "Major Brake Adjustment" section of the shop manual. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 (edited) I recommend a proper diagnostic procedure. Is it pulling to the left because the right side is not grabbing? Or is it pulling to the left because the left side is activated too much? I would drive the car on a dirt road, and apply the brakes to see which ones lock up, and if they are all applying at the same time. Also, on cold drums drive it to 40 mph, stop aggressively and then take the brake drum temperature. Disconnect the fronts and check the rears, and then the same with the front. I wouldn’t assume you have similar friction material all around the car. Since it’s hydraulic, place pressure gauges in the bleeders and check for equal pressure from side to side. Its a basic system, shouldn’t be rocket science. Also, shoes that are not equalized will grab hard and aggressively……..so you must be sure they are floating properly. Edited November 8, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 10 hours ago, edinmass said: Also, shoes that are not equalized will grab hard and aggressively……..so you must be sure they are floating properly. This ^^^ The equalizer(s) (if your car has them) center the shoe assembly side-to-side. The anchor pin centers the shoe assembly top-to-bottom. If either adjustment is not correct it can cause a 'pull' due to either too little shoe contact (i.e., shoes not centered by anchor pin) or, maladjusted equalizer can cause the primary shoe to engage too quickly and grab hard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterc9 Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 Operating on what 61 Polara said possible contaminated brake shoes. Swap front shoes right to left. Then see what happens. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 Instructions from a 1944 Grey Rock brake catalog 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Messplay Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 Thanks to all that responded. At this time, the car is going into winter storage mode. I am becoming more convinced that we have a contaminated lining problem. The lining is thick, just like new. At one point I sanded the left lining with a die grinder, didn't seem to do much. That doesn't mean contamination isn't present deeper into lining. Looks can be deceiving. Rear lining is new, going to go for new front lining in the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTR Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 Couple of observations: Were the (new/relined ?) shoes arched/fitted to their respective drums and not (accidentally ?) mix-matched during assembly ? I've found some "modern" lining materials used in re-lined shoes too thick and not necessarily consistent in their thickness. I've also found some service manuals, including OEM produced, aren't always very accurate with their descriptions or illustrations, so use of caution and common sense is pre-requisite Are the drums new or were they turned and if yes, are they actually centered and round ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1939_Buick Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 (edited) 7 hours ago, David Messplay said: Thanks to all that responded. At this time, the car is going into winter storage mode. I am becoming more convinced that we have a contaminated lining problem. The lining is thick, just like new. At one point I sanded the left lining with a die grinder, didn't seem to do much. That doesn't mean contamination isn't present deeper into lining. Looks can be deceiving. Rear lining is new, going to go for new front lining in the spring. Were all linings on front/rear replaced at the same time? Lining's can have different co efficients of friction. So if not 100% the same one side can grip more the the other. Download the 1942 Buick shop manual for free. All of it section by section. Or click the pdf link to pay. http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/Buick/1942/Shop Manual/ It is very comprehensive and has information that can be used with all straight 8’s. It has more information than was included in older “Shop Manuals” before 1942 Section 06 is what you need-->http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/Buick/1942/Shop Manual/06 Brakes/index1.html And we like photo's ☺️ Edited November 10, 2022 by 1939_Buick (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dictator27 Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 Check the right front brake flex hose. It may have collapsed internally. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTR Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 4 hours ago, dictator27 said: Check the right front brake flex hose. It may have collapsed internally. Another good suggestion (i.e. how old are the hoses ?), although I've only experienced/seen internal collapse/failure of brake hoses on certain vintage Italian sports cars using German brakes, but in each occurrence hoses were 30+ years old and/or never previously replaced after the cars were assembled at the factory. OTOH, whenever I perform a brake rebuild on any vintage car, I usually just rebuild or replace everything, including hoses AND all hard lines, etc. I also usually recommend (my clients and friends) having a complete brake rebuild on their antique/classic/vintage cars done every +/-10 years, regardless of mileage/usage. Maintenance inspection and basic services at least every 3-5 years, more often if usage or less than ideal storage suggests otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 23 hours ago, TTR said: Couple of observations: Were the (new/relined ?) shoes arched/fitted to their respective drums and not (accidentally ?) mix-matched during assembly ? I've found some "modern" lining materials used in re-lined shoes too thick and not necessarily consistent in their thickness. I've also found some service manuals, including OEM produced, aren't always very accurate with their descriptions or illustrations, so use of caution and common sense is pre-requisite Are the drums new or were they turned and if yes, are they actually centered and round ? The question of arching of shoes is a good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterc9 Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Is it possible one of the wheel cylinders has the wrong bore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 over the years i had 2 new brake hoses that were collapsed inside and terrible pull to one side , .....i found air would blow through one way but not the other also,good idea to check them blowing air or fluid though both ways,just because they are new dosnt mean they are good 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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