My 1971 oldsmobile cutlass has set for little over a year. I've been slowly going through the car fixing things and replacing parts. My front passenger drum brake starts to smove and smell really bad after about 10-15 minutes of driving. Any idea what that could be? If I'm not mistaken it could be the brake hose, brake line, master cyclinder or brake proportioning valve, right? Is there anything else I should look at? Where should I look 1st? Is this a common problem? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Well you listed most of the problem areas but before digging into the harder, start simple. Are they adjusted correctly? Is the entire mechanism clean, lubricated and in decent shape? Are the shoes the right ones and is the primary and secondary shoe in their respective proper location? The primary shoe is the shorter one and goes on the forward side. Is the wheel bearing excessively lose? If all this checks then replace the hoses both sides.

 

Thanks droldsmorland! I'll check them today. I haven't changed anything since it started to smoke. Could the shoes have slipped or something? Everything looks clean and I can turn the wheel with the car jacked up.