well my brakes seemed to be working ok and I went for a little drive stopped at a store and when I came out the brake pedal was real hard and the brakes seemed to be dragging. I was about a mile from home so I took a side street and crept home. The farther i went the more drag there seemed to be (heat) and I knew I was rubbing on the brake linings. When I got home the wheels smelled and were smoking. I let it cool down and jacked the car up expecting the brakes to be engaged but the wheels spun freely without the car running. I didn't start it up to compare. Any ideas?


Thanks in advance

 

Are your brake lines near the exhaust? Did it feel ok after everything cooled? E-brake didn't disengage?

 

Check wheel bearings for kicks. I lost a wheel bearing on the highway once (at highway speed) and the heat from the failure welded the inner race of the bearing to the spindle. Not likely your issue but checking them out would be a good idea.

 

Possible rear seals leaking? Fluid on the linings would make it swell up when it's hot. Pull the drums and see what you find

 

Thanks for the tips, I have had the front drums off but not the rears (only had the car a couple weeks) so tomorrow thats what I'll do

thanks again

 

I pulled it into the garage for the evening and everything felt normal.like nothing was wrong.

 

Sounds to me it's like I said earlier or possibly one of your brakes may be hanging up. You said that you saw which wheels were the culprits, I'd attack those first.

 

Well I have inspected the location of the brake lines and shielded the places that were close to the exhaust with aluminum siding pieces (cut to fit of course). I checked the heat of the wheels after a ride and the drivers rear seemed to be the too hot to the touch. I took the wheel cylinder off and the bleeder hole was plugged (it took some convincing to get the bleeder off). I honed the cylinder and rebuilt it and put new shoes on. I took it for a ride about
5 miles and the wheels were starting to lock up when i got home. A little smoke
at the rear wheels and the rear wheels were very hot to the touch. My test while driving is after a stop and I release the brake "does the car start to creep". I have noticed the difference when the brakes get hot. Well if it was the wheel cylinder this should have fixed the left rear so I believe it must be in the master cylinder or booster. any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

 

Check for weak rubber brake line that might be collapsing when the brakes are used a few times causing the brakes not to release. might be time to replace those over 50 year old rubber lines.

 

Well I rebuilt the master cylinder and that did the trick. Now i have the other 3 wheel cylinders to rebuild. I rebuilt one thinking that might be the problem. I'm sure they need it anyway after sitting for about 5 years.