The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts brake problem

Drove my big bolt ('41 Chevy) about 15 miles on the way home from where I purchased it. Brakes started giving problems right away. Locked at first red light. My buddy suggested I try reversing and stopping without brakes to free them up. It worked. Sorta. About 15 miles down the road my buddy who was tailing me in my Jeep pulled me over. The right rear brakes were smoking badly. After letting it cool down, we tried to get under way again. No go - only moved in granny gear or reverse. Got roll-off to load me up and take me home. While loading, the driver asked me to put the brakes on. It was like pushing against a tree, then all of a sudden the pedal went to the floor and laid there like it was dead. This had the effect of unlocking the rear brake (good thing), but now have absolutely no brakes (bad thing). Puddle of brake fluid told the whole sad story, something blew. My problem - I'm an idiot not a mechanic. Any ideas on what the original problem that caused the brakes to lock might have been? I have a limited budget, and if I could have an idea where to start it would really help.
Thanks a million,
Duane

Puddle of fluid could be rusted out brake line. The push real hard then break free, corrosion in master cylinder or one or more wheel cylinders.the brake locking could be wheel cylinder locking due to corrosion. You might be able to loosen the adjusters to free up the brake shoes. chock the wheels before doing anything so it doesn't decide to roll if you do get the brake freed up.Suggest finding a vendor who sells shop manuels for your truck so you can see how things are supposed to work and how to properly disassemble the brake system.(As opposed to the get a bigger hammer and pry bar method) If your real uncomfortable with attempting brake work haul it to a pro as bad brakes can get you hurt fast.

if you have somewhere to work on it and don't mind getting massive amounts of grease on everything, just jack her up, make her stable, and start taking things off. things start making sense when you actually see the parts. i didn't know diddly about brakes, other than the basic 'how it works' stuff and i tore into my 1951 6400's. i have them about redone. i am just waiting on new front cylinders from chevy duty. the rears and master i rebuilt with kits from napa after i honed them with a hone i got at napa.

take one wheel off and pull things apart and see what you've got. yours will be a little different but you can look at my pics and get a basic idea about them. i just have pics of the rears, fronts on mine are a little different. hub and drum are one piece on the fronts.

andy

Andy,

Great pictures of the brake job. I have a 48 6100 in need of brake work so your pictures will be very handy for me. Did NAPA have a rebuild kit and if so do you remember how much?

Scott

Thanks guys for the advice. Andy, those pics definitely help. My two biggest problems are no garage of sufficient size to get her in, and with the custom back on it, she weighs about 5 1/2 tons (per the old registration.) I've never worked on anything this large, and I must admit to being a bit intimidated. This is gonna be a learning experience for sure.
Thanks again,
Duane

Big bolts' brakes aren't harder than anything else to work on, just a lot heavier. Take one side apart at a time and use the other for reference on how to reassemble.
Good luck,
Scott

baja4by4,
rebuild kits for the four rear cyliners and the master cyliner were around $95.00 grand total. napa here in tiny little town had them for me next day. i am getting front cylinders and return springs from chevy duty, i think around $44.00 per cyliner.
here is a link to a topic that list the part numbers for rebuild kits at napa.
http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=000039#000001

methuselah,
in nebraska on a farm truck, the weight on the registration is what you paid taxes on to be able to haul. the higher the number the more the taxes. it does no denote the actual weight of the vehicle empty. not sure how it works in ny. my 6400 with a grain box was not at all to heavy for a 2 ton floor jack. with the dirt box it strains it a little, but being raised on a farm, i just resort to the man killer handyman jack you see on the floor by the truck in the pics. not really a safe option. any decent floor jack or cylinder jack will get your truck up enough to put jack stands or blocks under the axle. just make sure other wheels are chocked/blocked to prevent it from rolling. would hate to see a man crushed by his own truck. you can do all this outside if you have somewhere safe to do it.

i will swing out to the shop after work tonight and snap a few pics of the one front brake i have tore apart and put them with my pics.

added a few pics of the front brakes. front brake cylinder was already at my house so it is missing in the pics. sorry.

andy