stocki26

Hi again,

maybe you remember my first postings, I am the crazy Austrian that bought a 1953 - 98 Sedan from Arizona.

Actually I am working on repairing and making the car streetlegal here in Austria, but brakes actually dont want to work as I would like it.

All other wheels are braking smooth, just right rear wheel is blocking much too early. Ok, since now I didnt do much adjustment, but :

At first test drive the right rear wheel was blocked much too early, I thought I can adjust that.

Car is again on lift and I tried to adjust, but there is no way to adjust it to work smooth. Just 0 or 1 possible, blocking oder turning free when stepping on brake pedal.

So now I am thinking about having done something wrong, when mounting it after repairing. So I see that brakes are different as you can see on pics.

Is it ok as it is on the pics ? Or is it better to change left and right one ?

stocki26

here another pic of whole brake

Rickman48

To me, brakes are nothing to fool with!
If it was mine, I'd replace it all, and have peace of mind while driving.
Shoes, drums and a hardware kit might be around $100 US, + shipping,
but being able to stop is priceless!!

jcdynamic88

if the e brake cable isnt returning all the way it will throw your adjustments off or you have a bad wheel cylinder.do both shoes return all the way to the pin at the top where the springs attach? if not the cable is sticking.im assuming when you say blocking too soon you mean locking up.jc

MDchanic

Yes, I would check travel of all parts of the system:
disassemble and check for smooth operation of adjusters, emergency brake cable, and pistons (pull them out of the cylinders and clean them, then refill and rebleed the system), then carefully reassemble watching for possible points of friction or binding.
Lubricate all the rubbing points, which are probably shown in the manual (but which are always the same in all drum brake systems).

Good luck!

- Eric

oldcutlass

The easiest way to set them is to ensure the distance that the brake shoes are from the drum is the same on both sides. If one is way closer than the other it will pull one way or another. Tighten the adjuster until the drum will not turn and then back them off the same amount of clicks. If this does not cure your problem then you probably have a bad wheel cylinder.

stocki26

it is hard to explain for me because english isnt my mothers language

3 other Brakes work really fine, 4th one also everything moves very good when is opened. All have been open and all were checked.

All cylinders got new parts inside and were professionally rebuilt.

Parking brake cable also works as it should, but

if that 1 wheel gets very little pressure from pedal or from parking brake I can hear a little "Clonk" and it is blocked.

Was same at test drive, other wheels brakes just started to work but right rear tire was blocked even with very little pedal pressure.

MDchanic

Could you have one wrong return spring, or springs installed in the wrong positions?

A weak return spring might do this.

- Eric

stocki26

they were hard to mount, so not really weak I think

but they seem not to be new as you can see on pic

Maybe I should try other springs from left rear wheel for testing on right side ?

If then the left wheels brake works bad I would know why

Tedd Thompson

It looks from the pictures that your rivets are very close to the shoes material , when you had the wheel cylinders rebuilt did they replace the shoes? Also if the tinniest amount of brake fluid got on a shoe it will grab as you have described and this is very hard to get it all off even with a hot solvent. Check and see if there are signs of fluid on the shoes old or new....Tedd

stocki26

Hi again and thanks for the answers.

Here another pic of shoes, left rear side was the reason for getting repaired at whole car. These shoes were the only ones that could have got some brake fluid, because left rear was leaking a little. (not too much but was to see easy) This side works good. All shoes were cleaned same, first washed in brake cleaner, the sanded a little. Not new but for me in good condition ?
I did all that myself with the help of a friend of mine that is an old mechanic (70 yrs)

He has much experience with things like that but he never has seen an Oldsmobile before ...

oldcutlass

How did you perform the adjustments?

stocki26

I just had started to try adjusting, but it didnt work at this wheel

I turned the adjustment screw until brake works to lock the wheel, then 5 klicks back.

But at the moment I have tried another thing.

I remembered that my friend had opened the screw to adjust the "shoes position"

So maybe that was the reason, I have to wait until he comes again and then we will try to check if there is something wrong with positioning.

oldsbucket

yes if nothing is found defective i would try swapping parts including the shoes as the noise is heard with the pedal and the parking brake makes me think its a mechanical problem with that wheel .
How are the brake lines on any old car the flex lines should always be replaced and at lest blow out the hard lines.Looking at your before pics makes me think water has been in the system. there are suppliers here in the states that make new lines stainless or regular steel.they come prebent and folded in half for shipping .