Questions

[Overawed]

Hello,

Hate to publicly admit my knowledge is seriously lacking, but it is.
I have recently purchased a project car for my son and I to play with (a 73 Charger) and we are making good progress. My current problems are one with brakes, one with a transmission leak and lastly one with an oil pan issue. The car is running and driveable but needs improvement.

Question 1 for brakes. The car has the original drum brakes all around. At slow speeds (under 35) all is well. When one gets to around 50 or so and you apply the brakes, the car jerks right then back to the left. I believe that is just an adjustment with the pad spacer but have no reference point to go by to ensure they are both adjusted correctly.

Question 2 transmission leak. Car runs good and when I park it no issues. 3 days later after not driving the vehicle I get a pool of transmission fluid. No easy trail to see where it came from. Any suggestions?

Question 3 oil pan. Car came with a 360 that I am pretty sure is out of a pickup. The previous owner cut the pan in half lengthwise, removed some height and welded it back together so it would fit in the car. It now leaks and I want to replace it. Can I just purchase a stock 360 pan to replace it and/or do I need to replace the pickup for the oil or not?

I apologize as my knowledge is not where it should be to do all of this but thank you for any advice.

 

[69 Runner]

Welcome. Contrary to what some might think, those of us who know a bit about these cars weren't born with that info. We all had to learn. But on to your questions.

1)Brakes. Spacer? What spacer? More than likely there is some brake fluid or other contaminate on a shoe causing one wheel to grab. I'd look there first.

2) Trans leak. I'll bet the leak is from the FRONT of the trans. If that's the case, it could well be the front pump seal. If THAT'S the case, then the trans will have to come out to fix it.

3) Pan. Yes, when you switch to the "car" pan you will have to switch the pick up tube. Isn't that big of a deal. You're gonna have the pan off anyway, and the pickup just bolts on.

 

[Overawed]

Great! Thank you for the advice. Regarding the brakes, there was no fluid in the drum area and the seals on the wheel cylinders are new. By spacer I meant the adjustment on the pad spacing. I am wondering if one of those are off a bit causing the grab on the brakes to be different.

On the transmission fluid leak, you may be right. I have several shop towels laid out to see where this originates at. I thought maybe the seal for the transmission dipstick or something as it takes three days to actually leak and then it tosses out about a half quart or so. Will let you know if I can come up with more useful data.

Lastly the pan. I assumed I would have to do that. Is there a technical term I could use to ensure I get the right one when I order it? I imagine if I say Mopar 360 there will be a few different ones and then the fun questions for which I have no good answer may begin..lol

Thanks again for your response and assistance.

 

[69 Runner]

Got it. Yes, one set of shoes may be adjusted much closer to a drum than another. That would make it contact first, and could make the brakes "grab" on one side.

Trans. Remember than when you drive it the motion and wind will blow fluid to the rear. This might make it look like the trans is leaking from somewhere it's not.

I think what you need is a center sump but I'm not a small block aficionado, so someone else will need to chime in.

Fellas????

 

[bigbluedodge]

I have seen a transmission leak the way you describe and the problem was the shift shaft seal.
That was on a 727, though.

I'm not much on small blocks, either.

 

[Overawed]

Great thank you for all the help will get it worked out and thanks again!

 

[Patrick]

Great! Thank you for the advice. Regarding the brakes, there was no fluid in the drum area and the seals on the wheel cylinders are new. By spacer I meant the adjustment on the pad spacing. I am wondering if one of those are off a bit causing the grab on the brakes to be different.

On the transmission fluid leak, you may be right. I have several shop towels laid out to see where this originates at. I thought maybe the seal for the transmission dipstick or something as it takes three days to actually leak and then it tosses out about a half quart or so. Will let you know if I can come up with more useful data.

Lastly the pan. I assumed I would have to do that. Is there a technical term I could use to ensure I get the right one when I order it? I imagine if I say Mopar 360 there will be a few different ones and then the fun questions for which I have no good answer may begin..lol

Thanks again for your response and assistance.

Adjust each brake until you lock the wheel. Then back them off until you get a light drag when spinning the wheel. You would be better off switching to disc brakes. Check masterpowerbrakes.com

 

[69 Runner]

Drum brakes on these cars work really well for one (or maybe two) hard stops. Worked well enough to stop my 3960 pound Challenger from 110+ in the quarter.

People like disc brakes. People think they may be safer with disc brakes. People may even NEED disc brakes IF the type of driving means they'll be burning the damn things up.

but "better off?????"