STILL pulling to the left

[billschroeder5842]

Any ideas? I'm stumped.

I had a pretty good pull to the left with my front drum brake set up.

I took both sides apart, inspected each side, confirmed that the wheel cylinder was working and did a manual adjustment.

I put it together and it seem to be working fine and braking in unison----for about 15 miles.

Now, I'm starting to pull to the left again....

What did I mess up?

[Ghoste]

Something worn in the front end letting it move under certain conditions and changing the alignment?

[billschroeder5842]

Coudl be however I  had the front end rebuilt a couple of years ago with all new bushing, tie rods...etc

Plus it rides perfectly straight down the road....only pulling when brakes are applied

[HPP]

Contaminated shoes? Swap em side to side and see if it pulls to the right.

[Indygenerallee]

Have you changed your brake hoses?? could be collapsing

[billschroeder5842]

Swapping and hoses....I'll check this weekend!

Good thing it is a weekend!

[68 RT]

Shoes not pulling back? Weak springs, backing plate not lubed?  Also pulling left/right under braking could also be caused by rear drums out of adjustment. Does it pull the wheel at all speeds? Under heavy or light braking?  Did you try driving car again after brakes cooled down to see if it still pulls?

[billschroeder5842]

The brakes pull more under heavy load; if I "stab" the brake the wheel will jump out of my hand. If I apply slowly the car will drift but much more slowly.

I'll adjust the rears this weekend.

The heat makes no differnce, it will pull when I apply the brake hard.

thanks!

[b5blue]

I had a similar pull to the right, just as you describe. It was a strut rod bushing that had gone worn on the inside where you could not see. I only found it during a front end overhaul. You could back up and it would kinda reset itself. Brake more than lightly and the pull came back!    

[billschroeder5842]

Thanks all for the ideas but I'm growing impatient so I ordered, new wheel cylinders, brake shoes, springs and hoses. I got it all for 80 bucks so not a big deal.

The steering wheel pulls  (jumps) so hard under braking that it has GOT to be something mechanically wrong.

I'll post my progress tomorrow after I remove, install, break, remove again, re-install and get it wokring (hopefully).

[billschroeder5842]

Well, moderate success...

As predicted I successfully removed replaced, broke, worked aroun, removed parts I'm not supposed to but finally got it back together.

So, I noticed that both brake shoes removed were plenty thick, but had cracks running down the middle and seemed to be a bit glazed. WTF?

The car now seems to brake straight (ever so slight pull to the left) however the pedal is not rock solid, but it isn't spongy either.... but something in between.

I know drums feel different than disk, but does this seem to add up? I bled each side three times (passenger side first).

Thanks!

[cdr]

in the old days we would grind the shoes to match the contour,[arc] of the drum,now you have to drive a lot of miles to seat the shoes,until the get seated the brake pedal will be softer than normal 

[billschroeder5842]

Thanks--good to know. I'll just relax and plan my braking FAR in advance!