The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline '41 Brake Problems

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been here, but I still drive my ’41, it has 6,ooo miles on it now. Today I have a problem with the brakes. Hopefully someone here has a solution.

The right rear locks with even the slightest pressure on the pedal. I really haven’t changed anything, about a week ago I started driving it again after the Michigan winter. I probably put 100 miles on it and all was fine. Today out of nowhere the right rear locks and stays locked till I’m almost stopped.

The truck has the original Huck type brakes, I pulled the drum thinking I would find a broken return spring, but everything looks ok.

Please don’t tell me to get rid of the old brakes and upgrade. These old brakes have worked fine for the last 6,000 miles.

If you don't have any grease or fluid leaking, the emergency brake cable may be sticking or adjusted too tight. It may be a sticking piston in the wheel cyl.

The E brake cable is free as is its linkage to the shoes. There are no visible leaks. I was thinking that if the rear piston was stuck then the front piston would move twice as far. Then without compensating force from the rear shoe maybe the front shoe could rotate down and forward slightly causing it to grab the drum. Any other ideas ???

I have no real experience with this exact problem but If it were my truck I would grab a pint of Brake Fluid and flush the line going to that wheel. It sounds like you might have something plugging the line. Restricting the fluid from returning.

It is a long shot but for the price of a pint and some time it might fix it. Good luck

Hey Kip,

Good to see you back on the Stovebolt. There are not too many deco folks anymore.

I am just "fishing" here, so keep that in mind. Have you checked the drum diameter as in are they way too oversize? Could it be possible that the shoes are getting cocked and wont let go? Have you tried braking while in reverse to see what happens, does it unstick?

With the drum off and slowly depressing the brake pedal, are both pistons moving equally?

I think Brian's "flush" method is worth a try as it is relatively cheap and non-invasive. Who knows, you may get lucky. It may reveal some information if the flow rate on one bleeder side is different than the problem side.

Lastly, years ago I remember messing around with a friends S-10 that had one brake locking up as you are experiencing. We poked around everything only to find that the brake hose on that wheel was collapsing internally and not releasing hydraulic pressure. From the exterior, the hose looked perfectly fine.

Good luck,

Paul

I had the same problem on my right front on my '46 several years ago. When I couldn't figure it out, I bit the bullet and pulled the wheel cylinder so I could inspect the parts. I found a bit of rust in the center part of the bore. Used a hone on it, checked for free movement of the pistons and rubber seals, reassembled and bled the entire brake system. Solved the problem completely. In my opinion, sometimes you just have to disassemble and inspect the parts.

I like Paul's idea: pull the drum and have someone very gently depress the brake to see if the wheel cylinder is moving both pistons. Don't push too hard or you'll blow the pistons right out of the wheel cylinder!

Welcome back Kip! Hope all is well. Miss your comments/knowledge here. I would try taking loose the brake line from the brass tee on rear end to the banjo fitting and see if it is plugged or kinked. I wouldn't think the rubber line from frame to tee has collapsed as both rears would hang up or act the same. Good luck
Dan

Good point

Thanks guys for all the help. It took a while, mostly waiting for help bleeding the brakes, but they work just fine now.

I ended up pulling the wheel cylinder off and cleaning it. The internal spring had a small amount of red rust and the cylinder and pistons were lightly stained in a few spots (no scores or pits). I went over them with 600 grit wet sandpaper. I also found that the top edge of both pistons had a very small burr that I carefully filed smooth. I checked all of the linkage pivot points (they were all ok). I cleaned all of the components with mineral spirits and readjusted the brakes. So…………I’m really not sure what was causing the locking problem. Which probably means it will come back again, but then I wouldn’t have an old truck if I did not like working with it.