Drum Brakes pull hard left

[maddart]

Hi

Have been dealing with a number of issues that keep arising on the 67 coronet.10.5" drum Brakes are pulling hard enough to left to force you into oncoming traffic.(Took apart and star wheel was frozen. Corrected and seemed good for about a week. (Will do a full rebuild this winter)
I also just noticed that the front tires seem a bit skewed from each other-when the drivers side front wheel is pointed straight the passenger side is looking to be pointed as if to hang a right hand turn probably 5-10 degree angle.

Gas tank has enough play on the back end to bang under acceleration. only has one strap. (Need some sort of pad??)

Any suggestions?

 

[Red63440]

Sounds like you need a front end alignment and either need to tighten the strap on your tank or get a new stud. Does your tank call for one strap or two?

 

[YY1]

Make sure your self-adjuster is self-adjusting. I wire brush the threads real good and coat them with bearing grease (also inside anywhere it will pack including the non-threaded bearing cap end, but not so much that it's dripping)then after everything is put back together except the drum, I pull on the adjuster cable with my thumb while bracing agaist the shoe with the rest of my hand. The "finger" should turn the star wheel one click, and slip back over it when you release, without turning it. I've seen A- finger go over without adjusting, and B- finger drag wheel back the other way.

Are you supposed to have two tank straps? I forget and I have a 66 out in the garage. There should be a pad, but it shouldn't move, even without it. Sometimes you have to crank the hell out of those strap bolts, even if it looks like the strap is the wrong shape. How much bolt you got between the nut and where the bolt hooks into the floor?

Oh, yea...check your toe. Not hard. Anything loose under there? My first thought would be idler arm or tie rod ends.

 

[Cranky]

With noticeable toe out, it's liable to go in any direction when you hit the brakes and 67 'nets have one strap. Btw, there are no 10.5 brakes. It jumps from 10's to 11" with 10x1.5 being the smallest to 10x2.5. 11" can be as wide as 3" on the front.

 

[bluefury]

Park it....!!!!

Drum Brakes are pulling hard enough to left to force you into oncoming traffic. I also just noticed that the front tires seem a bit skewed from each other-when the drivers side front wheel is pointed straight the passenger side is looking to be pointed as if to hang a right hand turn probably 5-10 degree angle.

Gas tank has enough play on the back end to bang under acceleration. only has one strap. (Need some sort of pad??)

Any suggestions?

Based on the above...... I would suggest parking that car before you hurt yourself or someone else. The time to repair was about 6 months ago.
A complete brake system, steering system and suspension system rebuild are in order. With the condition of things as described one would wonder about the rest of the vehicle. Sounds more like a restoration then a repair.

Good luck with it.

 

[rowdymopar]

I agree with the others I would rebuild evrything up front , I noticed on my project anything I did'nt rebuild or replace the First time , I had to go back & rebuild or replace it . for every new part you install you create a weak link somewere else . my 67' only has one gas tank strap there is a pad that goes between the tank & the trunk floor pan , to be honest the re pops are'nt much different than a piece of thick 30lb roofing felt paper cut to shape , I know several people who have used the felt paper & it works great & great way too save a few bucks if you need to ??!! also I installed an repoped gas tank & used my original strap & they did'nt line up 100% correct & had to fab a longer new J bolt to adjust the strap tight enough.

 

[moperformance]

I agree with BlueFury, park the thing before some body gets hurt

 

[moparman73]

Maddart,
The problem you describe with braking is likely one of three things:
1. The brakes may just be badly out of adjustment.
2. There may be a restriction or a weak spot in one front brake hose, causing most of the hydraulic pressure to be applied to only one front wheel.
3. You may have a very worn (or missing) strut rod bushing, allowing the lower control arm to shift sufficiently under braking to cause a pull.

Front toe is not likely to be the problem, incorrect toe just causes severe tire wear. A toe-in problem will wear the outside edge of the tire while a toe-out condition causes the inside edge to wear.

Hope you figure it out soon.

 

[brandon64]

my money is on badly out of adjustment. You said the problem went away for a week or so after you freed up the adjuster. Sounds like the clip that keeps the adjuster from backing off is worn/missing/installed incorrectly/ect.

I would not advise parking it, because if you park it your not thinking about fixing it every time you drive, and it will be put off. at least if your anything like me. As long as your aware of the problem and drive accordingly you should be fine. About 2 years ago I bought a 69 mustang that had been sitting since 1983. The brake line going to the rear was rusted and leaked, and the wheel cyl on the right front leaked so I vise gripped that brake line and drove it for 3 months with only the left front brake working, until I could afford to fix everything, and riding on old cracked and lumpy bias ply tires as well.

 

[bluefury]

highway menace.......

The brake line going to the rear was rusted and leaked, and the wheel cyl on the right front leaked so I vise gripped that brake line and drove it for 3 months with only the left front brake working, until I could afford to fix everything, and riding on old cracked and lumpy bias ply tires as well.

It scares the hell out of me thinking that theres cars like this sharing the road.

Not only are you risking yourself but risking the lifes and property of unsuspecting others is unforgivable.

 

[oldbee]

Did 67's have auto adjusters? My '68 Bee has manuals..I also can't fathom working ok for a week and then going south again.Nobody adjusts their brakes every week or needs to.I think I'm going to along with something loose/worn in frt. suspension?Of course, a complete brk. overhaul wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[green1]

I don't think mopar went self adj until 1970; the 69 has manual adj on it. If the toe is that bad, with brakes not correct, can throw that 5 degrees to the other wheel.

 

[67 B-body]

Bad rubber brake lines can cause this very thing as well.... They can get old and expand when you hit the brakes.

 

[Dako]

My `66 Belvedere II has self adjusters, so I would say they were available before 69/70.

 

[Cranky]

My 66 also had self adjusters. I was also thinking about the front end being bad on it when I mentioned about the excessive toe out. What's the skinny on this car now?

 

[Satellite65]

My dads '64 Valiant has self-adjusters, nothing new here.

I'd put that thing up on jackstands asap and go over every single compnent with a fine tooth comb. Brakes shouldn't go out of adjustment in a week unless there's something seriously wrong. If you suspect the self adjust mechanisms to be the problem, just remove them temporarily and adjust the brakes manually. You should feel a very slight drag when you spin the wheel. Also check to make sure you don't have a dead wheel cylinder. If it's frozen, that wheel will not have any brakes and the car will pull hard to the opposite side. Don't rule out front end components, they can cause the same symptoms. Personally, if it were mine I'd just pull it ALL apart and rebuild everything. My feeling is that if one part is worn to the point of being noticable, the rest aren't too far behind and if you just swap out the one bad part you'll be chasing problems forever. Mopar front ends are pretty easy to deal with and the parts aren't terribly expensive.

 

[67 coronet]

i would be willing to put my money on badly worn front end or steering parts if you can visually see it out of alignment.plus,if it is badly worn parts,that would explain why it comes and goes.

 

[maddart]

I found out during disassembly that the self adjuster cable was pinched behind the guide.
I bought 1.03" torsion bars, and a polyurethane kit. All the ball joints were all shot. The uppers were welded in place therefore i am going to go with RMS 2002 UCAs. Lower control arms already had poly bushings that i was able to push out with a screwdriver. I pressed in moog lca bushings. Rebuilt brake assemblies with all new parts and am replacing the master cylinder/hoses. Should be together in the next 2 months

 

[ykf7b0]

Take a look at those lower control arm bushings.