The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop My 51 now stops but...

It doesnt exactly stop where i want it to. She,s got a hard pull to the left.Iknow i have more adjusting to do but was hopin for a quick lesson.If it pulls to the left does that mean the left side is to tight or the other way around?Thanks ,Ron

if it pulls to the left, then the left is too tight. If you got the HUCK style brakes, adjust all wheels to slight pull. Then adjust about every 500 to 1000 miles.

Good advice to follow........I learned the hard way and ruined my Huck brakes by not adjusting them properly or often enough.

OK, classroom time from the old teacher!
Will someone tell me what, if any effect shoe adjustment has on hydraulic brakes? A properly-operating hydraulic brake system cannot pull to one side or the other due to adjustment problems alone. There will be NO braking until all the shoes are in contact with the drums, allowing pressure to build up, so adjustment problems can only cause a low pedal, not a pull.

However- - - - -if there is any type of restriction, especially in the front brakes, the vehicle will pull toward the good brake. Let's say, for instance, there's a collapsed flex line to the right brake. This delays application of that brake, and allows pressure to build in the other wheel cylinders, and the vehicle pulls toward the brake that IS applying, the left side. A sticky wheel cylinder will do the same thing. I'd start looking for a bad flex line, or a sticking wheel cylinder, not an adjustment problem.
Jerry

HR, are you familiar with the Huck system?
The wheel cylinder has the adjustment right at the cylinder ends........If you adjust one tighter than the other (on the same wheel), you will get uneven wear, as well as a pull to that side.
Try adjusting one wheel on the front axle of a drum brake truck, Bendix or Huck; (assuming all rubber parts are fresh, including flex lines,new shoes, resurfaced drums and backing plate lubed at shoe contact points) tight(heavy drag) and the other side "loose" (slight drag, just enough to whisper against the drum.
Now take it out and in a straight line, stomp the brakes.
Did they pull to one side?

Pulling to one side is sometimes caused by brake fluid or oil on the shoes.

I was told once that the wheel should make one revolution when spun as a reference point for adjusting brakes.I honed and rebuilt 3 cylenders and replaced one.It was funny because i had to take the new one apart and wipe every thing with fluid because itleaked.I cleaned all drums and put new shoes on all.One was just right the others were to tight or to loose.I wanted to get the truck out of my shop and get the floor cleaned be fore i went back and adjusted them.Be fore i lowered it i made sure all wheels worked and none stuck.

Yes, I've worked with the Huck system, and I'll agree they're a pain to adjust. I'll stick with my original position that any side-to-side pull on a hydraulic brake system is something other than adjustment, and no hydraulic brake system is going to get any stopping effect until all the shoes are in contact with the drums. The fluid pressure will simply go to the wheel with the most slack, and take it up, before any force is applied to any of the shoes. Anything else violates a whole lot of laws of physics, and fluid dynamics. Mechanical brakes, or air brakes, that's a different story!
Jerry

HRL, I respect your opinion; but I beg to differ.

What you are saying is true of disc brake systems, but not full drum set-ups...........ever go to the car wash and afterward the car pulled to one side until the shoes dried?
I guess that's "hydraulics"........

I have owned and driven several all-drum brake cars, foreign and domestic and a truck with the Huck brakes on the front.
All will pull if not adjusted properly.......I guarantee it. No physics, no fluid dynamics to it............if a shoe is too close, it will grab sooner and with more force............
This is not to say that hydraulic systems aren't prone to contamination, soft rubber parts, leaks and frozen pistons.

I will stay with my opinion also.
Thanks for reading .

Im gonna vote for GMC248
I know buy personal experance that he's right

Since I kinda started this argument, let me just give you my experience. When I got my truck, it pulled very hard to left when you applied the brakes. I traced it down to the left front, since the two rear brakes had broken return springs and frozen wheel cylinders. When I tore off all the drums to rebuild the system, the front left did not have any grease or fluid on the shoes, just adjusted alot closer than the right shoes. After I rebuilt the system and adjusted to "5 pound bag of sugar pull", everything was just fine. The techincal description above is what an old mechanic at a St.Petersburg restoration shop told me on how to adjust the brakes. He should now, he built them at the Pontiac Plant.

OK, we're talking "apples and oranges" here. A too-tight adjustment will cause a pull, because within a short distance, the shoes "grow", and drag all the time. If the return springs are doing their job, and the cylinders are free to retract correctly, there should be a little clearance while running. That's why the Bendix adjustment procedure requires a "firm drag, then back up 10 clicks" on the adjuster. The Huck brake is a lot more sensitive, but it still needs a little clearance, not a drag, when adjusted properly. Some drums even have a feeler gauge slot to assure the shoes aren't dragging when the adjustment is correct. I'd rather have a slightly low pedal, and no heat-induced drag, than a too-tight adjustment.
Jerry

We are all assuming quite a bit.............We don't know what brakes Slow..Rider has on his truck.
'51 is a "crossover" year, last year of Huck's, first year of Bendix-type brakes (I am referring to front axle only, 1/2 ton up to 2 ton.)
Beyond that, I have no other knowledge to impart.

So Ron, what kinda brakes you got on the front of that '51 1/2 ton ??

Ya know,im not really sure what a huck brake looks like.Ive got the bendix front and rear on the 51.Wierdest part of that job was 3 sets of shoes all had abought the same wear but one front was not much worn compared to the new shoes. Im asumeing that one wasnt working.

The Huck brake has the shoe adjusters on the wheel cylinders, one for each shoe. Bendix brakes have self-centering shoes, with a single adjuster between them at the bottom.

If you're not getting equal brake wear at all the wheels, something is preventing the shoes from applyling pressure to the drum on the wheel with little, or no wear. It's usually a collapsed flex line, if one of the front brakes is not wearing normally. Pressure builds up upstream of the flex line, and allows the other brakes to apply, with little, or no brake effect on the wheel downstream of the bad line. This also makes the front end pull toward the wheel that's braking normally. To check for a bad line, remove the drums, and have someone GENTLY apply pressure to the brake pedal. The shoes should move with only a slight pressure applied, and retract when the pedal is released. Don't overdo it, and blow the cups and pistons out of the cylinders! Slow, or no movement of the shoes, and slow retraction, indicates there's a restriction in the hydraulic circuit to the shoes that aren't moving properly, or sticky or frozen wheel cylinder pistons. Repair as necessary.
Jerry

Ron, you've got bendix brakes on your '51, right? Did you do a "major brake adjustment" as described in the factory shop manual or just the standard adjustment? The "major" adjustment should be done when shoes are replaced. Did you surface the drums or just clean them? Did you check the i.d. of the drums before installing? Within spec.?

I honed and rebuilt all 4 cylenders and put new shoes and springs on all four.I cleaned the drums and they were smooth and i dont have a caliper to check the mesurement.Ive been shareing the car with my bride and just driveing the truck 3 niles round trip to the trout creek. Geuss i better look into that [major] ajustment.

I see this has caused a raging debate, so let me add this. Once I slay the electrical gremlin in my 49, I'll have to figure out the brakes, which are Huck brand. My truck is on jack stands now to install the wiring underneath. I noticed all the wheels easily turned except the left front, it has a slight drag. I imagine it's a flex hose or wheel cylinder. I have already replaced the rear axle line. However the brake pedal goes to the floor and I can find no leaks. Also, I can't get the drums off. When last I moved it (Feb) the truck was hard to push, probably because of that left front wheel. Do any of the current brake shops, like Midas carry Huck Brake parts?

Parts for Hucks Brakes can be had from most of the old truck parts vendors. I did my brakes for about $400. Didn't replace any lines but I am going to order those next week.

Budda, NAPA carries the shoes (much cheaper than the old truck suppliers) and wheel cylinders (much more expensive than the old truck suppliers).