turbeau Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 the brake pedal was really stiff and engaging high. i bled all the lines and bled the master cylinder, air came out of the rear brake cylinder. then i drove it after i got off the freeway i noticed that the car would not coast between shifts but instalntly slow down like i had the brakes on. i put it on a hill in nuetral with the e-brake off and it would not roll. i could barely drive it, but not safely. had it towed home. i took off the drums and disconnected the axles and spun the hubs, the passenger side is not smooth and squeks on half the rotation, wheel bearing, driver side was perfect. i cleaned the drums and shoes and put it all back together but the brakes are on while i drive. the brake pedal is hard with very little travel. the fronts seem okay, when i jacked it up they spin almost a full turn when i spin them. the rears do not spin freely at all. cant even push the car at all. while driving the car the problem seems worse when it is warmed up, shoes expanding? what could cause the brakes to stay on? 71 z stock brakes, SS lines im trying to get to JCCS this sunday, help! thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19762802+2 Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 The same thing happened on my DD Dodge Vista, It should be the same with Z's I would have to go look but in the drum brake set up there should be an adjustment for the ebrake, so if your adjustment was off then you could have the ebrake off but if the adjustment was to high it would be engaging the brakes like if the ebrake was half way pulled or etc. I hope that makes sense, If the adjustment isn't inside the drum brakes it may be in the transmission tunnel. I would do some research on it before trusting me haha. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted September 10, 2010 Author Share Posted September 10, 2010 yeah its the same with the ebrake adjusters inside the drum. i set the adjuster all the way down to get the drums back on, but its so low the ebrake does not work. it seems that the with adjuster all the way down the shoes should be closer therefor drums fits easier. but ebrake is too loose. if i move the piston out to tighten the ebrake the shoes are out too much to fit the drum over, which means too much friction from shoes to drums and the same problem. am i confused on how this works? ill try different adjuster hieghts but have no idea how to solve this problem yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 Download the FSM and read how to adjust the rear brakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 i have a chiltons manual and it says the rear drums are self adjusting. i will adjust the brake pedal and whatever else i can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 my master cylinder arm was adjusted too short and keeping the pedal depressed a little. so as i would drive the fluid would build up and then not drain out and the brakes were always "kinda on", makes sense. now i have to disconnect the master cylinder and brake booster to pull that lever back and adjust it out a couple turns. any suggestions for removing the MC without causing a huge mess and having to bleed all the lines again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19762802+2 Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 my master cylinder arm was adjusted too short and keeping the pedal depressed a little. so as i would drive the fluid would build up and then not drain out and the brakes were always "kinda on", makes sense. now i have to disconnect the master cylinder and brake booster to pull that lever back and adjust it out a couple turns. any suggestions for removing the MC without causing a huge mess and having to bleed all the lines again? You should be able to take it off without having to disconnect the lines just be really careful how far you bend the lines or you will have more problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 i unbolted everything and tried to bend the MC backwards to give myself enouph room to spin the arm, but it wouldnt make it. I definetly do not want to overbend it and break the hard lines coming out the bottem. i dont want to take it all off but i might have too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sticky280zx Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 just remember fluid is cheap and bleeding isnt a huge task, and alot better than trying to shortcut it and something worse happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted September 12, 2010 Author Share Posted September 12, 2010 yeah i had to take the master cylinder off and clean it. put it back together and now it works. The fluid was not draining back into the MC and the brake pressure would stay. im on my way to the show and will take some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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