I've been working to improve my brakes, with very little success. A while back I put in a 9" rear with big drum brakes. New spring kit, new shoes, new wheel cylinders. My brakes might have been a *little* better. Over the course of a couple of months my brakes got progressively worse. I put new shoes and springs on the pass side (it was raining, didn't feel like fighting the weather to do boths sides and the shoes looked good anyway). Well, I finally got around to doing the driver's side. I pulled the drum, and the shoes were in good shape. I put in new springs and shoes, and a new wheel cylinder. I also replaced the wheel cylinder on the pass side at this time (I was told to replace them in pairs). The brakes weren't any better. My father-in-law tells me to adjust the brakes out. I did, until just barely causing resistance when raised off the floor and rotating the wheel. I go for a ride, and the car tries to pull to the left (driver's side) when braking. I figure it's because of the newer shoes on that side. So I brake often, and drive a little with my brakes applied. Smoke starts coming from the rear drums!. I pulled the drums (after letting everything cool) and saw no damage. Must be the master cylinder, so I install a new dual res master cylinder. No improvement. Now I'm wondering if I made the shoes crystallize when I did my driving with the brake on. If it was enough to make smoke, I figure it got pretty hot. This weekend I plan to pull the drums again. What should I look for to tell me if the shoes have crystallized? It takes way too long to get the car to stop, and that's about all I can think of that would be causing this. Thanks /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
Shane
PS - Yes, the master cylinder was bench bled and all the lines were bled afterward.
Shane
PS - Yes, the master cylinder was bench bled and all the lines were bled afterward.