brakes pull hard to right

A

arc40s

Member
Please offer any advise:
1940 Ford Tudor
brakes pull hard to right
replaced all wheel cyl.
replaced flex hose driver side
cleaned in side drums
cleaned driver side wheel cyl
new DOT 3/4 fluid
drum not grooved
riveted fabric lining
????
what next???
 
Check the right wheel cylinders again and check the shoes for contamination. Spray the shoes several times with brake cleaner or replace them.
 
I think Ken has something, you need to look for a problem on the left side, front or rear. A brake not functioning on one side will cause the opposite side to pull
 
That new hose on the left side.... did you blow through it? Are you sure it's 'open'? Did the left side bleed 'normally'? Did you take apart the new left side wheel cylinder, and verify all is good? Are you sure the left side wheel cylinder pistons are free, not stuck? Did you assemble using assembly fluid, NOT brake fluid? How about the shoes? Are you sure they are free to move? Not hitting or binding on something? And, I'm sure I'm overlooking something....
 
bobH said:
That new hose on the left side.... did you blow through it? Are you sure it's 'open'? Did the left side bleed 'normally'? Did you take apart the new left side wheel cylinder, and verify all is good? Are you sure the left side wheel cylinder pistons are free, not stuck? Did you assemble using assembly fluid, NOT brake fluid? How about the shoes? Are you sure they are free to move? Not hitting or binding on something? And, I'm sure I'm overlooking something....
Click to expand...


After all the suggestions and actions up above, bobH has drawn-up a pretty comprehensive list of realistic trouble points to look at! Coop

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Long shoe to the front on both sides, same size cylinders on both sides with the Large piston to the front on both sides. Bill
 
bbrocksr said:
Long shoe to the front on both sides, same size cylinders on both sides with the Large piston to the front on both sides. Bill
Click to expand...

I agree with Bill above . Check this first for a hard pull. Slight pulls can be caused by lot of things.


I was an ASE brake licensed mechanic and have done literally thousands of brake jobs in my 30-years working on a large fleet. Always rebuild the brakes on both sides of an axle at the same time. Replace brake hoses in pairs, Replace or rebuild wheel cylinders in pairs. Replace brake springs when they are around ten-year's old. Don't stretch the springs to install them with dykes, the springs will break at the marks the pilers leave The large fleet where I worked was breaking brake springs until we started replacing them if they were close to ten-years old. That stopped the comebacks for broken brake springs. Flush out the fluid with every brake job or every two-years. Brake fluid attracts moisture. That is what pits your wheel cylinders and turns your fluid brown (rust). The castings would last forever if you flush the brake fluid every two-years. Brake drums on the same axle need to de the same diameter, within .010 of each other. Brakes need to be adjusted properly and evenly. Check the fit of the shoes to the drums to make sure they are "all" making 100% contact and don't need to be ground to fit. Tires need to be the same tread, same air pressure. . Jack it up and have someone put a light pressure on the brakes (use a pedal jack by yourself) and see if both sides are grabbing at the same time.. Wheel cylinders and axle seals leaking fluid onto shoes will really cause them to pull hard or easily lockup the wheel, surprisedly they will pull to the side with the wet shoes. The fluid makes them grab and not release. It's like a glass of water on a wet table, the glass wants to stick to the table with you try to pick it up. Even different brands of lining on each side can cause a pull. At work I had a F-350 that was locking up one rear brake, it drove me nuts trying to figure it out. I finally switched to factory drums and the problem instantly went away. They were the same diameter, the only thing I could come up with was the aftermarket drums were either a softer or harder casting and reacted differently with the lining. After that I only used Motorcraft drums and linings on those trucks. Grooves in the backing plate on self energizing brakes can cause the shoes to get caught in the grooves. The little wear pads need to be lubed where the shoes contact. I use to use white lithium brake grease but I switched to the disc brake high temperature caliper slide grease. On some of my Mustangs and Falcons, I've had to weld up the grooves in the backing plates because home do-it-your-sellers don't grease those support pads on the backing plates. Early Fords don't have these. I've seen the wrong self adjuster switched between sides on self energizing and self adjusting brakes brakes That's causes them to de-adjust the brakes and pull

For drum brakes to stop perfectly straight (hands off steering wheel) everything needs to be exactly the same on both sides. Something as small as the drums being different diameters by more than that .010 limit mentioned above can cause a slight pull. That use to be a brake inspector licensing test question. Disc brakes are very forgiving with little differences between sides when it comes to even braking, not so with drum brakes,
 
If it pulls hard to the right, check the left side wheel bearing. That was the problem I had with my truck.
 
It your 40 has a radio, it may be tuned to fox news. That can cause those symptoms......When I drive my wife's subaru it pulls to the left. Sure enough, National Public Radio......
 
I don't have radios in my cars,Too modern & I don't like that music. Exhaust tunes are more better. Not allowed to drive the CEOs' car.
 

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That;s why I seldom drive the CEO's car. And sometimes it's on BBC, Whats' up with that? Isn't BBC from a different country like England? Why is that on my wife's radio?
 
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