I got my '49 GMC 253 1 ton truck last summer (this is my first old truck). I drove it twice and suddenly the brakes weren't doing much. I inspected and saw that one of the front brakes was leaking tons of fluid. I put it in the garage and started taking stuff apart. The front wheel cylinders were frozen. I took them both off and the pistons were unmovable. I ordered some new ones from Jim Carter, and got the shoes relined. I cleaned up and painted my drums, installed the new wheel cyclinders, along with new return springs and rubber hose.
I bled the master cylinder, and started to bleed the brakes, starting with the passenger rear. I pumped the brakes a to start bleeding and it seemed like I was using lots of fluid. I looked at the fronts and saw puddles under the drums. One side leaks much more than the other. If I work the drum shoe action by pulling with my hands, I notice one side of the cylinder's piston will follow, but the other one doesn't.
This side I had to adjust the shoes to go all the way in to get the drum on. They have a slight drag with the adjusters all the way down. Could having them all the way in possibly be locking up one of the pistons? The other side did not need to be down all the way, but pretty close. Did I get bad wheel cylinders? Please help! I'm excited to start driving it again!
