The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Drag when driving

Hi folks,

Thanks to all that answered my questions about a T-5 tranny swap. Much appreciated.

I'm very new at old trucks, and I don't have lots of mechanical experience, so I have lots of questions? I've owned my 41 for 2 years and only recently started to drive it. I'm noticing things that seem like they shouldn't be, but I don't know.

My first observation is that the truck seems to have a drag when it's driven, like the emergency brake is on. At slow speeds (what else is there), I can push the clutch in and the truck doesn't seem to roll freely. Any ideas what's up? Is it suppose to be this way?

My second observation is that the gears are hard to get into. I looked in my 41 shop manual, and it says the 4 speed is synchro. If it is, it isn't like any I've ever driven before.

Any comments are appreciated.

Jeff

Baron,

Have you had the truck up on jack stands? Are the brakes adjusted right? Parking brake adjusted right? Hot smell from the wheels after a drive?

Gears are hard to get into. 4 speed is a non-synchro tranny....grind em unless you double clutch or know the tricks...

Baron,

I'm with 46 In Progress on the 4-speed. It's a non-synchro tranny, and takes some getting used to.

As for the drag, I'd start with checking the movement of the emergency brake rod. It's quite long, and can at times fool you into thinking the brakes have been released, when in acutuallity, the rod is "bound-up" and causing some braking pressure.

Least that's the case on my 46.

You might want to check the flexible brake line to the rear brakes. I had trouble with my rear brakes not releasing on my '63 and the flexible line was not letting the brake fluid return to the master cylinder. Put a new hose on and the problem was solved. I guess the rubber breaks down and works like a one way check valve to hold the pressure.

Drive it from cold don't use brakes at all. Roll to a stop get out and feel each brake drum (expect heat or get burned finger tips) should be stone cold. If any heat up it is most likely mecanical at the wheels or hand brake problem. If they are cold after test ,try using brakes a little then keep driving a while. Check drums, if more than warm most likely a hydraulic problem. .... Hope this helps it almost hurt to type this much at once.

Thanks, I will check the brakes as suggested. I appreciate all of your help.

Jeff

you might check your clutch adjustmetn as well. I can think of several ways in which that might cause hard shifting.

How do I disconect the emergency brake to see if this is a problem? Then how do I adjust it after check? My 41 shop manual is not very clear on this.

Jeff

Baron,

The parking brake cables have a threaded end that go through the long parking brake rod that connects to the E-brake lever in the cab. Turn the nuts on the end of the parking brake cables in or out. If you put the back of the truck up on jack stands (leave tires on for safety), you should hear right away if they are dragging.

The manual should have instructions on how to adjust them and what they should sound and feel like when adjusted properly.

Also, do you have new brake shoes on your truck? If not, they may be all full of oil and cause problems after they heat up. Mine would not release properly and I had to change them out as a result. It took me forever to figure that out because they were new..20 years ago and had picked up oil and grease and were junk even tho they had a full pad on the rears...

I know I have some shots of the brake hardware in my webshots account... ( I just looked..all I have is a shot of where the cable bolts to the frame)

You haven't said whether or not you have rebuilt or worked on the master cylinder. If you have, you might want to be sure it is relasing totally. The brake fluid must be able to move between the reservoir and the actual cylinder for the master cylinder to function correctly. I have seen a piece of junk get in the reservoir and plug the hole in the bottom of the reservoir into the cylinder portion of the unit so that the fluid cannot move correctly between the two, causing the master cylinder to build up a small amount of pressure and cause the brakes to drag. Also, if the cylinder was rebuilt, but something was not installed correctly in the rebuild of the cylinder, it may not be functioning correctly causing the same problem. Just a couple of things to check in hopes of helping you to find the problem.

Joe

baldbaron
Another relatively inexpensive tool that works great for this kind of problem is an infared temperature probe this little unit can help you find a draging brake or even a bearing starting to go south.
DS

Never having done a brake job before, is this difficult for a novice? I'm beginning to think that it may just be the best choice considering the age of the truck. Thing is, I would need to do the job myself because of budget concerns.

Jeff

baldbaron,

A brake job is not too hard on these old trucks. Once you pull the drums, take a picture of the brake parts before you take them off. I was able to buy brake shoes at Car Quest for my 46.

Have you changed the brake lines and rebuilt the master cylinder?

Master cylinder has been rebuilt, but break lines haven't been replaced.

Jeff

sounds like rear brakes might be adjusted to tight

Could be that your brake shoe return springs or retracting springs are weak ?

I'm going to put the rear up on jack stands this afternoon and see if the rear brakes are the problem. I'm hoping that this will be a matter of adjustment only. I'm not too confident about rebulding the brakes. I'll let you know the results of the check.

Jeff

Results: With the truck on jack stands and the transmission in neutral, the rear passenger side wheel will not turn at all; I mean stuck. Loosened the emergency brake cables to both rear wheels, still won't move. The other wheel turns with no problem and I observed that the drive shaft turns when this wheel is turned. No wonder the truck felt like it was dragging. What should I do now?

Back the service brake adjustment off on the stuck wheel.

How do I do this?

Jeff

Your shop manual should give brake adjustment instructions, but someone with a 41 will probably answer.

Jeff,i'm not too familiar with 1941 brakes.I did find this explanation on adjusting them up.Do the opposite to loosen the tension.Hope this helps.

to adjust up 1941 brakes

I think you will find that you have to adjust the two shoes per wheel separately on Huck brakes.

I took the plate off to my brake adjustment on the wheel cylinder. The manual says to put a screwdriver blade in the slot and move fingers or grooves on the wheel cylinder to adjust. I've got to tell you that I can't get into a position to see anything inside, and the shortest screwdriver that I have hits the springs. I just don't see how this is done short of a lot of luck.

Jeff

You don't have to see inside, sometimes a bent tool is used (brake spoon?) to clear the springs.

You use the slot as a fulcrum, so that when you push the handle down, the adjustment wheel turns up. You need to turn them counter-clockwise to loosen, so push down on the handle on the left slot (front slot on passenger side) and up on the right slot. You can hear and feel the clicks when you turn the adjusters.