Hey guys so I’ve got a ‘63 Impala with stock drum brakes. When I brake it pulls right. I removed the drums to inspect and adjust. There was a lot of dust on the right. The hardware is in good shape . Hoses and cylinders aren’t leaking. I adjusted the left side closer to the shoes . It still pulls right. The front suspension does need to be rebuilt. What would you guys recommend I do first? Thanks
How old are the brake hoses? If they are old replacing those would be my first plan of action. Even if they are not the culprit rubber only has so long a life span.
The front end being worn is going to cause issues, even if the brakes are right. Fix stuff you know is wrong. Keep doing that until everything is decent, then work on what still isn't. Tires, wheel bearings, brakes and suspension can all cause pulling.
If there are loose control arm bushings (one example) then when you apply the brakes, the control arm will move and change the wheel alignment. So look over the suspension, the upper control arm bushings in those cars like to "go away". But if you haven't replaced/overhauled the wheel cylinders, they'd be the first thing to suspect.
Pulls to the right... Dust on the right... This is a classic indication that only the right wheel is braking or braking adequately. The left needs attention. Here’s a trick..... Remove the left drum, shoes and hardware. Depress the brake and the left wheel cylinder should pop apart. Usually one piston will remain. That will probably be the sticky piston. If it does not pop apart and there is no change in the pedal, the cylinder is locked up tight or there is a blockage for that wheel, probably the rubber brake hose. I have seen it where the piston is fused to the wheel cylinder and it needed to be driven out. I have seen both pistons locked so bad that the wheel cylinder could not be rebuilt. This requires a new cylinder. Sticky, dirty cylinders can be cleaned up, honed and renewed on the car. Severely corroded wheel cylinders require replacement. Another thing overlooked is grooved backing plates that can hold the shoes. If the wheel cylinder is functioning, inspect the pads on the backing plate. If the backing plate pads are grooved, they’ll catch the shoe not allowing it to slide and make full contact with the drum. These pads in the backing plate can be filed so the shoes slide. If severely grooved that may need to be welded then ground down to restore the surface. The pads or slide surfaces on the backing plate should be greased regularly. Nobody hardly ever did this, thus it’s very common to see damaged backing plates. If the rubber hoses leave black on your hands, that’s a sign they should be replaced.
You don't have two primary shoes on one side and two secondary shoes on the other side, do you? There should be one short shoe and one long shoe on each side.
These days it's a lot easier to just buy new, assuming you can find the correct size, which is pretty easy for popular cars like that.
Faster, yes, cheaper, it depends. I still rebuild wheel cylinders on my own stuff if for no other reason than I enjoy doing it. Professionally, I will NOT rebuild one. At work, even if the kit is cheaper than the new cylinder, what little savings there is gets eaten up in labor. Not to mention stuff at work has to carry a warranty.
I used to have a stash of WC parts, I used up a lot over the years and finally trashed the rest. When I got my Ford in 2014, I looked up WC kits, they were more than new wheel cylinders, although made you-know-where. So new it was. 13k miles later, no leaks.
It’s a good skill to have. A wheel cylinder is either good or it’s not. Dead or alive. Sealed or not sealed. Really you are not “rebuilding” a wheel cylinder, you are overhauling it. Because brake fluid is static and really does not flow, rust dirt and trash can accumulate in the cylinder. Eventually the aluminum piston can fuse to the iron. If the piston has stuck hard, is pitted, cylinder pitted, the cylinder should be replaced. A good cylinder can be cleaned and re- used with no kit at all. Sometimes a cylinder is honed to remove a small bit of corrosion, not to re-bore it. The rebuild kits are just cups, spring and dust covers. Sometimes a cylinder just need cleaning. Why fool with cleaning and overhauling old cylinders? The quality of parts keeps getting worse and worse. Wheel cylinders are a universal part that fit many makes and models. One part fits all eventually turns into the only available part fits nothing due to off shore manufacturing. The box store wheel cylinders for my ‘65 F100 did not fit. They were the wrong part but they were the right part. Why? One part fits nothing. I would order my replacement cylinders or kits from specialty supplier that specializes in your car. Box store..... I would have the cylinder in hand to make sure it matches perfectly. Those F100 parts looked the part but....no cigar. The same can be said for brake shoes. I had to hand fit a set of brake shoes to my ‘51 Ford. The metal was too thick and it required grinding for the push pins and adjuster to fit. It is getting to where the smart thing to do is save your old shoes and send them off to be resurfaced. The quality of replacement parts keeps getting poorer and poorer.
So, since you are driving the 63, this tells me you have the Muncie in the car, can you give an update on your other (four speed) related threads.
Dont go down the rabbit hole that braking that creates a left or right pull is only from the front wheels and not caused by a bad rear wheel cylinder or brake shoes oil soaked by a leaking rear axel seal ect..
Kits are cheaper, and I've honed and re-fit the kit while still on the spindle assembly. So that's faster. But,, results may vary.
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