The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Passenger brake drum tighter than the driver

When I took off the drums on my '54 3800 I thought the passenger side was locked up because it was so hard to take off I had to pry it off with a screw driver. The driver side came off almost effortlessly. After rebuilding the brakes (new shoes, cylinders, springs) my father and I put the drums back on. When trying to spin the passenger side it was really really tight, even with the brakes adjusted all the way in. the Driver side, super loose so we adjusted it. It had my dad, who is mechanically inclined, scratching his head. The drum linings look to be worn about the same as well. So what could be the problem? How could it be possibly fixed? and are the any dangers with this?

You didn't specify front or rear. If it is the rear, the emerg. brake cable may be stuck or adjusted too tight. Try changing the drums side to side to see if one has been turned more then the other. If it is the front the brake hose may be swollen inside, but you probably replaced them.

I'm sorry, yes it is the front. And I did replace the hoses. But the one side is still tighter.

I'm still scratching my head, my fathers head, and my mechanics head on this issue. lol

Why you had the brake parts off, did you remove the screws from each adjuster body, and then tighten the screw completely into adjuster body?

If you have no other options, try swapping the wheel/drum from one side to the other.

When you have the drums off, make sure the adjusters are properly "seated" against the shoes.

I misread the post above my last about swapping drums, thanks for suggesting it again. I'm going to try that tomorrow and see if there's a difference. If so I suppose just cut it down?

Measure them/drums before you cut one down.

Something else might be odd/different side-to-side.

Did you take apart the adjuster screws/bodies and clean them?

Good luck