VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc I'm stuck ... really. Brakes question.

OK. The nephew was in town the other and he's very mechanicaly inclined so I thought I'd give him a much-needed break from the grandparents and see if we could fire up my '38 Chevy. I'll have to run it from a gas can. So, naturally, you don't want to try and start it in the garage, where it's been for 4-5 years. Well, along came Murphy. I can't get it out of the garage because the wheels won't roll. Heck, they won't twitch. I having to teach myself basic mechanics, but here's what I think I've figured out: the factors behind the stuck could be that the brake fluid has leaked onto the drums and now they're stuck. A long time with no movement could be an issue. Mechanic told me to take a hammer and band around the drum, starting in the center and working out. (Should I have done this without the wood block?)Nothing. Also advised that I could adjust the brakes down and this would loosen the drum. As I understand from reading the manual, you do that through a hole on the front of the front-wheel drums and on the back of rear-wheel drums. So on the front, I stuck the screwdriver in the hole and can feel no gears. I'm guessing the whole has to be aligned with the adjustment gear, which you do by ... turning. Also, should the access hole be uncovered? The problem is also compounded by the fact my garage is full of crap, so getting to the wheels is difficult. I wasn't planning to blow my whole limited budget on a mechanic to get the wheels rollings, but I'm at an impasse right now. Any thoughts, tips, suggestions? Thanks.
Oh, yeah, We did finally get the gas tank out to clean. It's not original and is nearly a perfect fit, which makes it a bear to remove. Couldn't change oil cuz we couldn't get the plug loose. That I've put lubricant on.

The brake shoes are stuck to the deums. To back-off on the front adjustements bring the adjusting hole up to almost top center and look into hole with a flash light for the adjusting wheel teeth......if the drums don't turn it will be necessary to remove the hub nut and wheel bearing and try to remove the hub and drum. This will give you some wiggle room to move the drum around. You can try striking the drum with a big hammer, hitting the side of the drum at the very outter edge..good luck.

OK. Thanks. So now I'll have to read up and figure out how to take off the hub cover and the bearings. ... in a tight space. When I hit the side of the drum with the hammer, I presume we're talking about the fin part, not the very back part where the drum fits into the whatever it's called--the part that the drum fits in to.

Pry off the dust cap and remove the cotter pin and hex nut. The outer bearing should come off easily. Backing off on the shoe adjustment is your best bet. Tap on the drum all the way around if you can to vibrate the shoes loose from the drum. Tapping on the backing plate won't help much...but it couldn't hurt either.
If push comes to shove, or should I say if pull comes to shove, put a chain on the car and pull it out into the sunshine and have at it!

Coach

Strike the side of the trum (part facing you) but at the very outter edge next to the cooling fins....not on the fins.

A method to prevent this happening again to leave the vehicle with park brake released. The brake linigs absorb moisture and the resultant rust sticks to the drum. Jack each wheel and attempt to turn the wheel that dont move is the problem, most probably a rear.
Tony

Thanks again. I definitely had left the e-brake on this whole time. My best-case scenario solution is to get the car running and keep it that way! So you think I should focus on the rear wheels first? Question about the bearings. Do I need to remove all bearings? I notice that from reading the manual that the front appears to be relatively simple, while the rear may require a special tool. Is that the case? Am trying to bet back to it Sunday or Monday, things have come up. Thanks again, experts!

The front wheel bearings require regreasing every 10,000 miles or 10 years. Follow the instructions and do this for sure. The rear bearings are lubricated from the differential gear oil and require no service. Perhaps the rear brake cables for the Ebrake are rusted tight and thats why the brakes are not releasing.

Taylor
The rear drums are held in place by the wheel itself. you only need to remove the wheel lug nuts and wheel. This will give you a clear go at the brake drum ande when it is free of the linings will slide of.
Tony

I will try the rear. I tried to turn the rear wheel and couldn't, but I haven't tried removing the wheel and pulling the drum. To grease the e-brake, where would I do that? At the brake and then at the frame where the back seat would be? I'm looking at the service manual drawing. Been hampered a bit by the weather because I have to set stuff out of the garage and it has been unseasonably rainy here in Texas. Other days have also been unseasonably humid, enough to kill the poor old Emerson I was using that is probably older than the Chevy. Part of the reason I like old cars is the opportunity for a learning experience and I'm certainly getting that!

I have just been down this route on my 36. Hopefully it's similar.
Firstly, assuming it's the rear brakes that have jammed, and you have a trolley jack, jack up under the diff and push the car out of the garage with the back wheels off the ground.
Now you can work on it.
The adjusting slots are on the back plate behind the drum so you have to access them from inside the wheel arch. There are 2, horizontal slots at the top, one each side of the brake cylinder.
Use a flat screwdriver through the slot, you are feeling for the edge of a vertical star-shaped wheel. There are 2 adjustment wheels for each brake - and the one toward the front of the car turns the opposite way to the other one. Now, I think this is right, but looking from the back of the brake backing plate, you adjust the left hand one by moving the screwdriver handle DOWN to back them off. The right hand adjuster works the other way, ie move the handle up to back it off. I am fairly sure that is correct, but if it's not, you'll feel the adjuster get very stiff as it takes up any clearance, if so, go the other way.
Also, you may find removing the drums is not an option, as the shoes wear a wide groove in the drum over the years, so as you try and remove them they will get even more stuck.
If you decide to use force (ie a tow car) make sure you have plenty of air in the tyres. It's very easy to have a tyre slip round the rim and tear the valve stem out of the tube. If it's all 4 wheels, maybe by jacking the rear up, you only have the two front wheels to force round. If that is sucessful, you might be able to move them far enough to get to the brake adjusters (front).
Good luck.. Let us know how you go.

Whatever you do, about a day before you do it, spray a bunch (that is a whole mess of) PB Blaster in every adjuster port and around the edge of the brake drums until it runs out and makes a mess on the garage floor. Do that a couple of times and it will make the job easier. Also your better half will swear that you smell like you've been doing something really weird out in the garage!