1973 Plymouth Valiant Drum Brakes Issues

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J

JamesAutumn

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Hey everyone,

It's been awhile since i have posted on this site. I have a 1973 Plymouth Valiant Slant Six. Currently i'm running into trouble with the brakes on my rear driver side.

The drum brakes were fine but needed replacing. So a year ago i replaced them with a set i got from Advanced Auto. They didn't fit correctly so me and my dad did the best we could and eventually got them lined up like the previous set of brakes.

Well about a month ago, i was driving home and felt my rear driver side pop and sway the car a bit. I pull over to closeby bank, by the time i do though it's smoking up the road. Basically the brakes were close to being on fire because of some sort of failure either by the way we installed them or just time taking it's toll on the parts.

I do know however that i have never replaced the springs/etc on the drum brakes through the whole car since i've owned it.

If you guys need pictures i can take some in a bit to show you what my situation is like.

Basically for the moment i want to drive the car, so since the tension on the springs for the brakes are loose what are some tips you'd suggest i do? and i have the old pads i can put back on which weren't too worn out but they will get me mobile and back into my own ride.

Basically this long message is to ask how i adjust my drum brakes at the most minimal cost[no cost and home fixes would be preferable but i know better] to me and ensure i can get my brakes to be safe again.

Oh when the whole brake pads crystalised and smoked up the bank parking lot thing happened my wheel cylinder basically lost the rubber around it so i believe i'll buy new on that one.
 
In what way did the replacement brake drums not fit and what did you guys 'kludge' to get them on? Spring sets do lose tension when they are heated too much so you at least need new rear spring sets, but you will undoubtedly need more things, like the right drums.

I would not expect anyone to advise you how to kludge things in at all; you need to plan on returning it to stock, new condition with all the right parts. Anything else could still be unsafe, and no one wants the responsibility, and it is not fair to ask them to help you do anything but to do it correctly and safely.
 
I think you have WAY more troubles than "adjusting" the brakes "at minimum"

PHOTOS of the damage are nearly going to be mandatory, here

You have a service manual? There is no excuse. They are free and are WHAT YOU NEED if you are going to do anything at all with these cars.

you can download them here:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?p=1970088617

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=31

What you are screwing with here is the potentially most important, life threatening systme on your car, except maybe, for the steering. Please think about that
 
Appreciate the tough love on this guys. I did check the springs and they were lose so the comment on heat doing that gives me insight atleast to why it happened.

I didn't put the wrong size of brakes on. My family consists of mechanics and i'm still learning best i can to work on my car so when i can't reach a family member i try to seek answers elsewhere before i do something serious.

The brake pads were accurate size to the old ones but i think at this point it is apparent the whole drum brake on that side maybe even the whole do need a good replacing of new parts all around. Sadly, i don't have the cash for that so small steps in getting the present problem worked out is going to have to do. This isn't a project car it's my daily driver so i need to do what i can to get mobile and pay bills/etc.

Thanks for the links to the manuals it will be handy for the next steps i will have to take. For posterity sake i'll upload photos when i get back to work on it monday and show you guys all that happened with it.
 
Which "springs were loose"? All springs inside the drum brake should be tight, otherwise they aren't doing their job. The rears can be tricky in that the parking brake can be adding a bit, making it hard to get a new set of shoes to fit. Still, many have mentioned having trouble getting the drum on. I had to re-use my old adjuster wheel since the new one was just a little longer and wouldn't let me get the drum on the new shoes. Pretty sure my parking brake cable was loose.
 
JamesAutumn said:
i think at this point it is apparent the whole drum brake on that side maybe even the whole do need a good replacing of new parts all around. Sadly, i don't have the cash for that so small steps in getting the present problem worked out is going to have to do. This isn't a project car it's my daily driver so i need to do what i can to get mobile and pay bills/etc..
Click to expand...

You don't have a choice. From your own description, this is unsafe to drive. I sure as 'ell would not want to meet you coming down the road.

If you have a family of mechanics you should be able to get this done no problem.
 
I should add, that when I install new drum shoes, I leave the adjusters fairly loose so the drums spin freely. The last thing you want is the shoes dragging (as you found). The pedal travels a lot then, almost to the floor. First thing I do is backup in a parking lot, jamming on the brakes ~10 times. You will feel the pedal sink less each time as the self-adjusters do their job. Those who rarely backup and stop with force, like those who install a circular driveway at home, sometimes get too much pedal travel.
 
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