Hi Guys,

I have a brake related question for you.

This summer a mechanic did a lot of work on my brakes including new shoes, and they seemed to be working quite well after that for the few short drives I did after the work was done.

But then the other day I took it for a longer drive, about 50 minutes and more stop and go driving and when I was close to home they were barely working and I could smell some brake odors. I was glad to get home without and accident.

I asked the mechanic and he says it is because we didn't install new brake drums at the same time. So, the fit isn't perfect. He also says the old drums are beyond working with to get them to fit better with the new shoes. Though they still have some life in them.

I asked an old timer friend who really knows old cars and he says it is because the old brake drums don't work well with the new shoes, once the new shoes warm up they start to slip and don't grip well with the old drums which require different type of material in the shoes.

What would you guys recommend and do you know anyone who sells brake parts for a 1955 Super 88 Olds reasonably?

 

Kanter might have the brake drums. Of course they will come from China but there are probably no other choices. Did the mechanic measure the drums to see if they could be turned?

 

That does not sound right to me. As long as the brake pedal is not pulsating and there is no vibrations when you apply the brakes then its not the drums. If they are getting really hot and smell with light normal braking there is something else wrong.

 

X2 Are they dragging and getting hot does it pull to one side or the other? If you pull a drum and inspect the shoe it should be obvious if you are getting full contact. I don't think the difference in brake shoe material from old to new should make that much difference look for something different as in adjustment or perhaps a leaky cylinder...... Tedd

 

in the old days the shoes were arced on a sander to match the drums. don't think the brake guy did this.

 

Thanks everyone for the input. Been tied up with the holidays and life as they say, but hope to get back on it and find the cause soon.

John in Portland, OR

 

Also do not think the old drums are the issue, have to get in there and look at the wear pattern on the new shoes. More than likely only a small area of the brake shoes are making contact.

 

The original inside diameter of a 55 Olds brake drum is 11 inches .
The absolute wear limit is 11.090 inches . Beyond this , the brake shoes will not properly contact the drum .

I would take them off and take them to an auto parts store or machine shop where they have a brake drum micrometer .
If any of the drums measure 11.091 or more , at the point of most wear , they are junk .

If any of them are out of spec , your best bet when replacing them are good used drums that can be machined to less than 11.091 .
If you can't find good used drums then " Chinesium " replacement drums will have to be used .

"Modern " brake drums have the wear limit stamped on them . But the older ones didn't .

 

It's been a while, but thanks everyone for your input! My friend re-built the carb on my car, and is going to be replacing that soon, and said he would be willing to take a look at the brake drums as well, so the saga continues. I will let you know what I find out.

John in Portland, OR

 

Sounds like they are dragging, overheating, and then fading. Do the brake shoe adjustment by the book. They do not self adjust.

 

Listen to Jerry (twintracks) ^^^^ He's been offering sound advise here for a lot of years. He's so good that Tedd copied his avatar

 

Oh my, so that where she went!... She looks a lot more classy on Jerry's Avatar..... Tedd

 

Lol!! She now be me ex-wife, but it was worth it!! I like photo too much to change it.

 

Oops!

 

Hi Guys, it's been a while, finally letting you know what the main hang up was on my brakes. As I told you in the past, I have many people do work on the brakes, and dropped quite a lot of money on them, but it turns out that no one ever checked the brake cylinders, and two of them were quite bad. So, it took forever, but the brakes are working good.

The transmission seems really good now also after the carburetor was rebuilt, but since then sadly the engine itself does not run as well. The idle has to be turned up a fair amount to keep it from stalling, so it really wants to go.

Now that the brakes are finally good, I will finally install some floor carpet that I picked up for it some time ago. The carpet is NOS, same color and made for this car, so I didn't want to put it in until the brakes were figured out.

Well, I hope you are all well, and that you will have a wonderful Christmas with your cars and your families.

John in Portland, OR

 

Thanks John! Nice to hear from you again. Merry Christmas!

 

John Thanks for the update, sometimes it is like talking to ones self if we don't get a update and others can be helped by the fix/ diagnoses report....Tedd

 

Thanks for the update and glad you have made progress. The first thing I would check on the idle problem is vacuum leaks.

 

Just as after thought you mentioned a new rebuilt carburetor, check that there isn't a vacuum leak at the base/ manifold area it's a common problem that often gets missed when looking for vacuum leaks..... Tedd

 

Good point Tedd. It is not uncommon for these old carbs to have a warped baseplate. Take a straight edge and check it.