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New 54 Truck

Climberdad said:
The "Primary" shoe is the wider (more surface area) of the two, correct?
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I'm no expert, but I think the the primary shoe is the one with the smaller surface. It does go towards the front.

Reason is that the front shoe tends to be "self activating". Friction of the drum turning against the front shoe (while the truck is moving forward) tends to pull that shoe towards the drum. The friction of the drum tends to force the rear shoe away from the drum. So to get equal wear and work from both shoes the front shoe is made smaller.
 
Primary Brake Shoes

No ;

The longer shoe is the secondary shoes and goes to the rear .

if it still pulls , remove the brake springs on the left & right and lay them out side by side , replace if not exactly the same .

Test 'em by dropping on cement , if they bounce , they're junk .

Did you test to see if it pulls from the front or rear brakes ? if you stamp the brake pedal @ 35 MPH and the steering wheel jerks to one side , it's the front brakes , if it just gently veers , it's the rear brakes .

If you ever got ay brake fluid or grease on the shoes , they're junk , replace e'm ASAP .

Swapping the drums right to left will tell you if there's a drum issue but that shouldn't be a problem unless it only pulls after the brakes are heated up from Highway driving and rapid stops .

When you replaced the brake cylinders, were they both the same brand ? mixing brands usually causes mild brake pull issues .

NICE TRUCK ! have the grille guard re-chromed and you'll be wanting it on ~ not a lot of oldies left with period correct grille guards .
 
Bill Hanlon said:
I'm no expert, but I think the the primary shoe is the one with the smaller surface. It does go towards the front.

Reason is that the front shoe tends to be "self activating". Friction of the drum turning against the front shoe (while the truck is moving forward) tends to pull that shoe towards the drum. The friction of the drum tends to force the rear shoe away from the drum. So to get equal wear and work from both shoes the front shoe is made smaller.
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Doh!

Going back in...:o

Cheers
 
vwnate1 said:
No ;

The longer shoe is the secondary shoes and goes to the rear .

if it still pulls , remove the brake springs on the left & right and lay them out side by side , replace if not exactly the same .

Test 'em by dropping on cement , if they bounce , they're junk .

Did you test to see if it pulls from the front or rear brakes ? if you stamp the brake pedal @ 35 MPH and the steering wheel jerks to one side , it's the front brakes , if it just gently veers , it's the rear brakes .

If you ever got ay brake fluid or grease on the shoes , they're junk , replace e'm ASAP .

Swapping the drums right to left will tell you if there's a drum issue but that shouldn't be a problem unless it only pulls after the brakes are heated up from Highway driving and rapid stops .

When you replaced the brake cylinders, were they both the same brand ? mixing brands usually causes mild brake pull issues .

NICE TRUCK ! have the grille guard re-chromed and you'll be wanting it on ~ not a lot of oldies left with period correct grille guards .
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Thanks,

Since I'm going back in anyway... I've got new shoes on order and I'll get the drums turned. Hopefully once I get it put back together correctly, I'll be in good shape. Thanks for the info on the springs - I'll test that out.

Cheers
 
Turning Brake Drums

O.K. , here's the deal :

each time you turn the drums , you've removed a significant amount of metal , this metal is _critical_ in heat disaapation and Bendix (the engineering comapny that designed the brakes on your truck) says : DON'T DO IT unless necessary due to serious out of round (pedal pulsation) or extremely deep grooves caused by running the shoes metal to metal for a long time .

Bell mouthing is also a cause for turning drums but in most cases , all you needs do is : scuff the friction surface up with some 600 grit sandpaper and you're good to go .

Drums that have been turned too many times will have sudden brake fade right when you need the brakes most .
 
vwnate1 said:
O.K. , here's the deal :

each time you turn the drums , you've removed a significant amount of metal , this metal is _critical_ in heat disaapation and Bendix (the engineering comapny that designed the brakes on your truck) says : DON'T DO IT unless necessary due to serious out of round (pedal pulsation) or extremely deep grooves caused by running the shoes metal to metal for a long time .

Bell mouthing is also a cause for turning drums but in most cases , all you needs do is : scuff the friction surface up with some 600 grit sandpaper and you're good to go .

Drums that have been turned too many times will have sudden brake fade right when you need the brakes most .
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Guys,

Thank you!

I used to do extreme rock crawling. I built a Toyota Land Cruiser into a vehicle that would literally climb the side of a building... There is a website called ih8mud.com. There is a group of folks over there that I was afraid I'd not be able to find when I bought this truck. I am very happy to have found you all.

As I stated up front - I do not know much about drum brakes. I truely appreciate the education you have given me.

I look forward to trying to return the favor.

Cheers
 
Returning The Favor :

Is easy : fix it , drive it , fall in love with it , don't abuse it , share it with freinds and kids so all will come to know and enjoy how much Generous Motors must have loved us to have built the mighty Advance Design trucks ! :D

BTW : ' sharing ' does not include letting others drive it unless you know they're good for the damage they'll inevitably do .... :rolleyes:

Kids & dogs however , should be allowed to climb on and slobber all over , any old pickup truck , it's a match made in heaven .
 
Hello all,

I've decided to replace all of the wheel cylinders, shoes, springs, flex hoses and the Master Cylinder. This way I'm starting with components I trust.

My current master cylinder has a brass 1 input to 2 output "splitter" attached to the output. Is this the same as you have seen? I can not find anything about it in the shop manual of any of the parts catalogs. It sort of looks like someone went to Home Depot and made something work.

Cheers
 
First: If you have rebuilt everything brake-wise, you should check your wheel bearings. Brakes can start doing funny things if your wheel bearings are shot.

Second: Did you put new return springs in? this may be the problem if you didn't

Third: I wouldn't bother vacuum bleeding. I have tried those expensive gadgets for bleeding brakes and I personally think that they are worthless (unless you are bleeding motorcycle brakes) Just do your brake bleeding the old fashioned way. and make sure you bleed your brakes in the correct order. also: make sure that they are adjusted properly. These brakes function on the f.m. principal (f-ing magic principal) There is that magic spot to where they are adjusted just right.... sometimes it is just hit and miss and requires several adjustments, some guesswork, and then the magically work properly.

Fourth: keep in mind that this is an old beast, which means it will not brake quite the same as a new car. no sensors, computer chips, or other fancy gizmos... just a simple machine. (this is one of the first things I mention to anyone who takes my truck out on a test drive... although there are very few that are granted that opportunity)
 
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Jeeeezzzeeee.......

You let others drive your truck ?! :eek: I guess I've really gotta work on my trust issues :rolleyes: hard to do after 40years of watching ruined vehicles roll in the shop door and the borrower never wants
to pay for thier damage because ' it's just an old truck ! ' (car,Moto) :mad:

Your point about the brake springs is _very_ well taken ~ they *must* match side to side or it'll never work correctly . to test old brake retraction springs : drop 'em on the floor for about 6" , if they bounce , they're toast , I don't care of you bought 'em new last summer ! .

Proper adjustment is also critical , the shoes must not drag ! if the drums are out of round a little bit , you'll hear the shoes -touch- as you spin the wheel by hand but this is just a faint " ch-ch " sound and most shop's radios will drown it out .

I am now trying out a pressure bleeder and it works _fantastic_ ! I need to modify the spare master cylinder cover a lister gave me so I can use it on old GM trucks .

Lastly , if you've bled 5 quarts through it and the brake pedal is still spongy , try ' The Stick Trick ' ~ this is a cool thing I leanred from a BMC engineer ~ wedge a stick between the seat (dash , steering wheel ,
whatever) and the brake pedal so it's held down , leave it for 24 hours then remove the stick and let it sit for a few minutes and VIOLA ! the brakes are <magically> hard as a rock ~ try it , this really works and is great to put that long gone " new " feeling into your Moto's hydraulic disc brakes , using rubber bands to hold the lever to the twistgrip .

Or you can do it to your old truck parked outside just for grins , you should feel a differance to-morrow unless your brakes are *perfect* allready .
 
Success!!!

I finally got all the parts in and had some time and good weather. The brakes are great. Even and it stops very well. While I was in that far I noticed that the brake backing plate was pretty nasty. Looks like the Passenger side outer axle seal was leaking. So, Opened the rear end and poped the axles and seal out. Replaced them as well. The gears show some normal wear - nothing too bad.

Since we last talked I've determined that the gas tank is full of rust. So I'm planning on replaging that next. Since I'm replacing the fuel tank I decided to let the truck run while cleaning up after the brake job to try to burn down the fuel level. My father-in-law was my bleeder buddy and he noticed that there was a puddle under the truck. I went to look at it and realized that the line to the side of the oil filter was leaking. I touched it and whoosh - oil everywhere. Thankfully it happened sitting in the driveway and not driving down the road causing a fire, engine siezure or an accident. At least that's what I'm telling my wife about the huge oil stain in the driveway...

I love this truck!!
 
Climberdad,

You can remove those old stock oil filter lines and carefully cut the hoses off the fittings and replace the hose on the existing fittings using hose clamps and fuel line as it will be oil resistant. This is a cheap and easy fix and an alternative to buying new lines and having to wait for them to arrive. I learned this trick from Nate and it works really well.

Andy
 
Bruce;

Like Andy said , look closely at the ends of the oil filter hoses , they have sheet metal crimps on the ends ~ carefully slit the crimps longitudally and the rotten hose will slip off , revealing an std. hose barb , take that to your FLAPS and get some hose to suit and some clamps too , the full circle typ is far better than the gear typ , doesn't pinch & cut up the hose...

As far as your gas tank , go to OSH or other " Big Box " hardware store and look in the flooring dept. for bottles of " Jasco Metal Etch " ~ it's Phosphoric Acid and you pour a few quarts into you tank (after it's out of the cab , dig) and then a few gallons of distilled water (0nly .99 CENTS @ the drug store) and then a package or two of BB's , plug the outlets and shake the beejeebers out of , let sit and shake some more , keep on shaking and rotating it untill you see shiny metal when you peer inside it , get some clean gallon jugs (water jugs from neighbor's recycle bins) and a LARGE funnel , lay some clean felt (thift store) in the funnel and strain the liquid back into the jugs , remoave the fuel gauge sender and look in there with a flashlight , if it's shiny clean , you're good to go , I usually find I need to pour the mix back in and slosh it around a few times , each time I drain it I strain it and then I discard the filthy felt scraps , you'll prolly want to pour in a couple more boxes of BB's too (I clean & re-use my BB's but hey , I'm a Yankee farm boy)

Once you've cleaned it all out , consider buying a gas tank lining kit from your local dirt bike Moto dealer , maybe _two_ kits , you'll do a better job than the radiator shop will .

Be aware that the new , re-pop fuel tanks ALL LEAK and will need this same cleaning and then lining before you can use them but it'll go faster as they're not rusty inside . of course they're so poorly made they usualy split and leak again , leaking fuel in the cab IS NO JOKE .

I use only original fuel tanks as I watched a fellow burn to death in a car once..... :eek:

One last thing ~ you're never going to have a clean driveway again , these trucks leaks when brandy new in the dealership , 53 years later guess what ? it STILL LEAKS . :rolleyes:
 
vwnate1 said:
One last thing ~ you're never going to have a clean driveway again , these trucks leaks when brandy new in the dealership , 53 years later guess what ? it STILL LEAKS . :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

LOL - i'm used to them dripping - but this one was a flood! ;)
 
vwnate1 said:
As far as your gas tank , go to OSH or other " Big Box " hardware store and look in the flooring dept. for bottles of " Jasco Metal Etch " ~ it's Phosphoric Acid and you pour a few quarts into you tank (after it's out of the cab , dig) and then a few gallons of distilled water (0nly .99 CENTS @ the drug store) and then a package or two of BB's , plug the outlets and shake the beejeebers out of , let sit and shake some more , keep on shaking and rotating it untill you see shiny metal when you peer inside it , get some clean gallon jugs (water jugs from neighbor's recycle bins) and a LARGE funnel , lay some clean felt (thift store) in the funnel and strain the liquid back into the jugs , remoave the fuel gauge sender and look in there with a flashlight , if it's shiny clean , you're good to go , I usually find I need to pour the mix back in and slosh it around a few times , each time I drain it I strain it and then I discard the filthy felt scraps , you'll prolly want to pour in a couple more boxes of BB's too (I clean & re-use my BB's but hey , I'm a Yankee farm boy)

Once you've cleaned it all out , consider buying a gas tank lining kit from your local dirt bike Moto dealer , maybe _two_ kits , you'll do a better job than the radiator shop will .

Be aware that the new , re-pop fuel tanks ALL LEAK and will need this same cleaning and then lining before you can use them but it'll go faster as they're not rusty inside . of course they're so poorly made they usualy split and leak again , leaking fuel in the cab IS NO JOKE .

I use only original fuel tanks as I watched a fellow burn to death in a car once..... :eek:
Click to expand...

I agree - this is not something to half ass. I did not realize that the aftermarket fuel tanks were that bad... I was really not looking forward to cleaning the inside of another gas tank...
 
Chiro said:
Climberdad,

You can remove those old stock oil filter lines and carefully cut the hoses off the fittings and replace the hose on the existing fittings using hose clamps and fuel line as it will be oil resistant. This is a cheap and easy fix and an alternative to buying new lines and having to wait for them to arrive. I learned this trick from Nate and it works really well.

Andy
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I've got new lines on order - but I will definitely keep the old fittings and have some "spares".
 
Hello All,

I've been busy since the beginning of November and I thought I'd post a couple of new pictures of the truck.

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