I just picked up my 70 Maverick this past weekend and trailered it to the house because it was pulling really hard to the left when the brakes were applied (4 wheel drum). I took apart the brakes, cleaned everything off and replaced the seals on all four wheels. After putting it back together, it still pulls do the left. I'm not used to wokring on drums too much, could this mean a bad wheel cylinder on the front driver's side??? Also, the car had a "ticking" from the engine (1970 with a 200) after it got warmed up. I poured some ATF into the crankcase and now that noise is gone. Hopefully the detergents cleaned out some of the gunk. I will post some pics of my car as soon as I get some webspace to put my pics. Thanks in advance for any help...Rob
pulling check to see if the drums spin freely there should be a very slight drag on all four, just make sure there all spinning about the same also check the tire pressure an under inflated tire will also make it pull, visually check if the tires leaning one way or the other. maybe the allignment is bad.
When I put everything back together I made sure that the drums dragged on each wheel. When I drive down the street, the car goes perfectly straight, but the second I hit the brakes, the wheel jumps to the left pretty hard. I'll recheck both things just to rule them out as a possibility. Thank you
Front right brake cylinder could be froze, causing it to not engage, which would make the car pull to the left. At least one brake cylinder was froze on my car when i picked it up.
like mm427 said it could be a sticking wheel cyl. drive it a little and try the brakes hard a few times. the good news is it's on the font, when you do the disk swap it will go away . this is the reason most people do the swap...frank...:bananaman :bananaman
Wheel alignment can make it jump, too. If the left wheel has a lot less caster. Check your strut bars and see if the adjustment nuts are threaded on about the same number of threads from left to right and that one of the bars aren't bent.
pulls hard to the left I'm having the same pulling to the left problem. ('72 I6 200 4 -door, all drum brakes, manual brakes/steering) Everything is new... brakes shoes, wheel cylinders.. bled till the cows came home. Absolutely no leaks. All new suspension rubber. Swapped front drums left to right to test(no diff). Car alignment was done, and drives arrow straight. Here is the real issue; when the brakes are cold(morning) the braking is perfect for the first few miles. Then, slowly, it starts to pull more and more to the left when the brakes are used, until it feels as though there is no right front brake. When it cools down for several hours, the pull goes away. All the brakes are adjusted to just scrape when spun, off the ground. Three different reputable shops have also worked on the brakes without success. I've spent some serious money. I just put 4,300 into the rebuilding of the engine and various components of my Comet, so I'm not giving up. Anybody have ideas?
Have you replaced the wheel cylinders? They are so cheap brand new, really no reason to bother with rebuilding them. I'd honestly suggest just going to disc brakes, they are infinitely better then drums on a car that is driven on a regular basis. Though that will mean a total 5 lug swap. I wish there was some option for those who wanted to go disc brakes and keep their 4 lug wheels.
Yes they are new. As I said all is new... Master cylinder, etc. I have let various mechanics replace whatever they wanted. I haven't checked for a pinch in the hydraulic lines... that is next I think
