[68maliboo]

Hello,
I have a 68 malibu and have noticed drag on the car and the smell of hot brakes after driving it. I converted the car from manual drums all around to power disks in front. Just recently finally replaced the proportioning valve to disc/drum. Until I did this I never had the dragging, but knew that my rear drums weren't really doing anything.

Tonight I raised the rear end off the ground and was barely able to turn the tires by hand. Went ahead and removed both rear wheels and drums (pads wew touching drums but was able to remove drums by just pulling then off...no hammering/pryint etc.) I did notice more brake dust and grit on the driver side as well as the fwd pad on this side being much more worn down than the back pad. Passenger side was cleaner and the pads seemed closer in thickness. Both wheel cylinders seem to be ok with no leaking. Parking brake cable is unhooked.

I installed the drum and wheel back on passenger side only and spun wheel and did hear some dragging.

Any advice on where to go from here would really be appreciated. I have a feeling that the passenger side slight drag is probably normal, and the uneven pad wear on driver side is a sign of major problems. How much drag is normal?

Also, the car isn't really driven that much...could constantly backing out of the driveway and then not putting many miles on the car be causing the adjusters to overtighten the pads?

 

[novaderrik]

could be an adjustment issue, but the star wheels and lever are designed to not be able to apply enough torque to cause problems.
pump the brakes, and start cracking the lines at the master cylinder and working toward the rear wheels.. find where the pressure isn't getting released, adn you've found your problem.
have you ever replaced the rubber line from the frame to the axle? they can go bad and not allow pressure to release, but yet still look perfect on the outside.

 

[tristatechevelle]

I had a backing plate on mine come loose, It cocked just enough at times to drag the shoes on the drum. It was not evident until I physically checked it for the hell of it. and sure enough. Just my two cents.

 

[Dmax]

I had a similar problem. I thought it was my adjusters and replaced all the drum hardware. Turns out it was the parking brake. I just disconnected it. Deal with that later.