For about 3-4 months i've been living without a parking brake so i decided to fix it yesterday.

This is what i done.I knew the problem was in the left rear because sometimes i could hear some metal rubbing.I took the drum off and the little flat piece of steel with a slot in each end was lose so i put that back and put it back together,just to see if it worked i pulled the parking brake,it went all the way up but still worked,(needs adjusting)I took off down the road and i noticed the pedal goes about to the floor before i have any brakes,before i had a good pedal with great brakes.

I got back home and thinking i screwed somthing up i took the drum back off,it was hot like the brakes had stayed on,only the left one though.When i took the drum off the little star wheel adjuster fell out.I put everything back on and adjusted the brakes with the star wheel(both L & R).Now my parking brakes work fine but i still have the low pedal :confused:

Is this from warn rear shoes? Before i fixed the parking brake the pedal was fine and it stopped fine.

Thanks

Michael. Didn't you miss an oval shaped spring that goes around the flat piece you spoke about?

Things to look into:
- Open your right drum and compare with the left side. Perhaps a spring is on the wrong way. Mind the long and the short lining. Watch the thickness of the lining.
- The adjustment could still be off. Drive in reverse and hit the brake couple of times.
- Least likely. Could air have entered throught the left cylinder? For instance, did you use the brake pedal while the drum was off?

Hope this helps.

Rob

First Michael. Didn't you miss an oval shaped spring that goes around the flat piece you spoke about?
Did i mention a flat piece??

Second Mind the long and the short lining. Watch the thickness of the lining.
By lining do you mean the shoes because i never took them off.They still had about 3/8" on the left/front one and about 1/4" on the rear/right one.Before you think about that remeber they worked fine before i hooked up the parking brake.


Nope,i didn't use the pedal only the parking brake when i was testing it and at that time i had the drum back on.

When i put it back together i did compare it to the right side.Here is a description of the parts that were loose.

The star wheel.

the metal piece that lays against the star wheel to keep it from turning back.

The big spring that holds tension on the above metal piece.

And I re-attached the cable hook.

The metal piece attached to the right shoe and the spring attached to the left shoe then to the metal piece.

:confused:

Thanks

after you installed the brakes pieces, it is necessary to adjust the rear brakes up until the drums rub a little bit on the shoes and then adjust the parking brake cable at the equalizer under the car. If you adjusted the praking brake cable at the equalizer first, you need to undo that adjustment and adjust the rear wheel brakes first and then readjust the cable. Hope this helps.

Yep,i did adjust the brake in the drum and i didn't adjust the parking brake :rolleyes: But the parking brake works fine,its the normal brakes that are funny now.Does the parking brake adjustment have anything to do with the reg brake?

Michael

Not usually, are you sure that you got every piece installed correctly?

Of course.........not :rolleyes:

could you post a pic of what the brakes look like after the parts were reinstalled?

I sure can,i'll have some on tonight.

Thanks

Michael. I hate to ask, but anyways ... Are the little stubs that stick out of the cylinder properly positioned?

And yes, you did mention a flat piece:

".......was in the left rear because sometimes i could hear some metal rubbing.I took the drum off and the little flat piece of steel ....."

And yes: with lining I refer to the material rivited or glued on the shoes.

Rob

Are the little stubs that stick out of the cylinder properly positioned?
Are you talking about the little spring things you have to have a tool to put in ,or use needle nose pliers?

I didn't see a spring that goes with the flat piece with the slot in each end :confused:

I'll take it apart tonight and take a look and some pics.

Michael. I am referring to the actuators that move the shoes when braking. Could be one has slipped out of place, but not far enough to cause the rubber cup to come out. In that case both shoes will not move correctly because they work together (or not at all) and the parking brake actuator is separate from this.

Rob

if the parking brake cables are not free to move easily the parking brake will hold the shoes away from the wheel cylinders causing a low pedal situation be sure that the parking brake parts return to aun aplied position the adjust star wheels to obtain slight drag on drums hope things go well

Really dumb question, but did you try to adjust your brakes with the parking brake on???

Sounds like an adjustment problem to me. Good luck smile.gif

Michael, In the worst case, get the hardware kit for your brake ( and wheel cylinders if wetness is present ... it seems that you may be missing some parts ) and just freshen up the set-up. Otherwise, check the brakes on one of your friend's cars ... The GM drum setup is standard... it is only a matter of whether you have self-adjusting or not ... I am from Chatham ( home town ) ... I will post you back if I come up next week-end .. hopefully, you have this resolved by then .. When I first read this, I thought you may have had the adjusting wheel in backwards ... what is your current status on this ?

Really dumb question, but did you try to adjust your brakes with the parking brake on??? Nope,i had just hooked the cable up and the drum was off too,i just kept turning the wheel then puttin the drum back on till it was alittle hard to get back on then i backed off a bit.

Current status? im driving as is graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I still havn't taken it back apart.I don't have time during the week and about 30min ago i got back from my brothers house,i think we just blew the engine in his 67 bu :eek:

I know for sure we blew a head gasket.

It's got a hot 350ci,350trans,125shot NOS,4.10's,10" slicks ;) Wooped up on a 03 Cobra and a 67 LT1 Camaro with 4.88's and a 250shot graemlins/beers.gif

I guess i'll get around to it sometime.

Mike, sometimes the drum may have a ridge on the inner lip if they haven't been turned in a while, making the "slide on" method unreliable.

You need to make sure the oval "punch-out" has been removed, slide the drum on, and adjust the star wheel thru the drum, spinning the drum often to make sure you don't over-tighten it. I usally set mine so they'll spin between 1/2=3/4 turn with a good hard spin. Bet that's the problem.