A Rare Cursing of Ma Mopar - and Praise for My Wife, Who Stepped Up! Ed story time...

[moparedtn]

We got the car put back together yesterday finally. Wife did something temporary with the missing chunk of
headliner in the left rear corner (discovered the window trim was about half gone, too) so that will be a
next winter thing - buy a new one and take it to the only local upholsterer left (if they're still in business
then, which around these parts is always iffy).
Maybe I can swing a deal with them for installing some new seat foams in the buckets while they've got Fred -
if I feel I can trust them that far not to ruin the original "skins" in the process, that is.
They're in really amazing shape; I was shocked to find out they're the originals.

That brake pedal feels damn good, like one actually should - and which Fred has never had under my stewardship,
now that I have some basis for comparison with the previous "new" (but turned out to be junk) MC.
You can actually hear the drum shoes applying and releasing on all the corners when you apply it, which is a hoot
in a quiet garage.

By the time I got out from under Fred after cranking down on seat mount bolts, I'd about had it.
Between that fun task and the brake bleeding the day before and all the rolling around under the dash,
this carcass was sore. Still is...
Wife says "don't you want to go try it out now?"
"Naw" I told her. "Fred's good. I'll take him out tomorrow."

 

[1967coronet]

 

[Hey-O]

She is a keeper!

Getting old is not for wimps.

X2. Those that don't get it, will, no choice....

 

[moparedtn]

Road test update:
The master cylinder in and of itself works fine.

Report:
The good:That gradual sinking the pedal used to do is totally gone and there's actually enough pressure generated
to lock up some of the brakes upon sudden activation.

The "meh": the shoes still don't have enough bite for my taste, but I'm over that whole fight at this point. The next
step in that regard would be fetching factory NOS (paging @mobileparts ?) and that's about it.

The disappointing: Dang thing still has a tendency sometimes of pulling left under sudden and hard braking...GRRRRR.
The next step in THAT regard would be to rip off all the new front brake lines (metal and rubber) and replacing them
AGAIN, along with replacing the original proportioning valve AND replacing those brand new wheel cylinders.
The. Whole. Damn. Mess.
From scratch.
Pisses me off royal it still does this sometimes but not every time - and that the fronts bleed just great, too.
Maddening.

Overall: we got better brakes, good enough to shelve a disc conversion in the near future - and the pulling isn't
difficult to hold straight wheel against when it does happen.

 

[Don Frelier]

Road test update:
The master cylinder in and of itself works fine.

Report:
The good:That gradual sinking the pedal used to do is totally gone and there's actually enough pressure generated
to lock up some of the brakes upon sudden activation.

The "meh": the shoes still don't have enough bite for my taste, but I'm over that whole fight at this point. The next
step in that regard would be fetching factory NOS (paging @mobileparts ?) and that's about it.

The disappointing: Dang thing still has a tendency sometimes of pulling left under sudden and hard braking...GRRRRR.
The next step in THAT regard would be to rip off all the new front brake lines (metal and rubber) and replacing them
AGAIN, along with replacing the original proportioning valve AND replacing those brand new wheel cylinders.
The. Whole. Damn. Mess.
From scratch.
Pisses me off royal it still does this sometimes but not every time - and that the fronts bleed just great, too.
Maddening.

Overall: we got better brakes, good enough to shelve a disc conversion in the near future - and the pulling isn't
difficult to hold straight wheel against when it does happen.

Are you absolutely sure it's not the strut rod bushings or something in the suspension?
You hit the brakes and the wheel shifts rearward and possibly outward and causes it to pull?
Variability like pulling seems like it could certainly be from wheel movement and pavement contour possibly.
If that's the case you'll be putting on brakes forever and never solve it.

 

[moparedtn]

Are you absolutely sure it's not the strut rod bushings or something in the suspension?
You hit the brakes and the wheel shifts rearward and possibly outward and causes it to pull?
Variability like pulling seems like it could certainly be from wheel movement and pavement contour possibly.
If that's the case you'll be putting on brakes forever and never solve it.

Darn good question, thanks.
Based on the last time I had it on the alignment rack at the local tire joint I deal with though -
nothing readily comes to mind.
In fact, with both the tech and myself up under the car, prybars in hand, the steering and suspension
seems remarkable solid (I've only had to replace ball joints, the ider arm and the sway bar bushings so far
in the few times Fred has been in there) and the car holds alignment perfectly.

But....maybe still? Maybe something shifts under stressful situations?

 

[Kern Dog]

Worn bushings in the strut rods absolutely can cause steering wander during braking.

 

[Ray70Chrg]

Darn good question, thanks.
Based on the last time I had it on the alignment rack at the local tire joint I deal with though -
nothing readily comes to mind.
In fact, with both the tech and myself up under the car, prybars in hand, the steering and suspension
seems remarkable solid (I've only had to replace ball joints, the ider arm and the sway bar bushings so far
in the few times Fred has been in there) and the car holds alignment perfectly.

But....maybe still? Maybe something shifts under stressful situations?

Hi Ed, glad to see you had some progress on your brakes. If you remember back to your original thread on this subject, I responded to you that I was having the same problem as you only my car was pulling to the left. This was after replacing shoes,hoses and the front left cylinder. After much effort I finally noticed the front shoes were not contacting the drums evenly even though the drums were shaved. A new set of brake shoes for the front solved that problem. The left shoe showed less contact than the right shoe. I read many of the threads on site here about bad shoes, particularly about BOSCH. I couldn't find anyone that grounds down the Shoes to fit the drums so I just got new shoes and that was that. I have read your original thread many times and know all things you have tried and still have a problem, so I wish you good luck and hope you can quickly find the answer. I'll stay tuned on this thread as you continue to let us know what you've done.

Thanks,
RAY