Brake trouble shooting

Sterclan- I believe the lines are standard set up, they run from the master cylinder to fitting on the axle, hardline along the axel to the knuckle then transition to flexible lines

 

Tarry 99 that is one of the things I've been thinking about that may be a contributing Factor on why the passenger side binds up so much more than the driver side.

 

Boney, If you still have the old Master cylinder on there I would change it first to a dual chambered Master cylinder. Did you just do 11" brakes in the front only and still have the old 9 inch in the rear or are they both front and rear 11"?

Were the drums used or new?

When brake shoes were the only option years ago it was common during a brake job to arch the shoes to match the newly cut or resurfaced drums so that both were working off of the same diameter to get complete contact on the shoe surface.........If your drums are old..........with a new set of shoes that could also be a problem. I would bet now you could hardly find a shop anymore that would not during a brake job replace both the shoes and drums as a unit to match the sizes......If you have used drums it may be hard finding an old auto machine shop that still arch's shoes..........although they are around.

 

In some areas it's illegal to arch-grind shoes without specialized equipment and licensing. My area is one of them. I used to have shoe-arching equipment but the cost outweighed even having the equipment. There are shops that specialize in that type of thing but it is typically cheaper to replace the shoes and drums with new than to have this service done. If a factory correct restoration is being performed the. It might be worthwhile.


Sent from my iPhone

 

I think Vanguard has the best suggestion of the root cause of your trouble. Mixing different brake fluid will cause all the rubber cups in both MC and wheel cylinders to swell and bind. Even if no mixing took place, I don't know how well your rubber cups will tolerate DOT 5.

If I were you I would look at this, and if the rubber is swollen replace them all with rebuild kits, flush and fill with DOT 3.

Don

 

There is a lot of voodoo talked about DOT #5 versus DOT #3, (and now DOT#4 and even DOT #5.1). People tend to go in circles on it. Let's just say there are different reasons to prefer each, in different applications.

So without reopening a endless can of worms may I say just this...

Correct, they should not be mixed. (And note that #5.1 is NOT the same as #5)

But I have used DOT #5 in Jeeps and other vehicles. I merely flushed the system with the #5 to replace the #3, no other cleaning. In more than twenty years since I have had no problems whatsoever with those systems. None. I would have expected more trouble with the stock DOT#3.

I think the OP should simply check the M/C before pursuing all kinds of complex and esoteric alternatives.

 

You probably have more issues other than just the possibility of the master cylinder being a problem with residual pressure in the line...if the master cylinder were the cause of residual pressure locking the brakes up, it would happen with the rear brakes too, beings that you have the single cylinder.
If the front brakes are the only ones giving you a problem, the first thing I'd do is pull the front drums & have a look.
Where in Ca. are you located? If you're not too far off, I'd be happy to give you a hand.

ETA: I don't know where I got the idea that it was the front giving you all the problems...do all four lock up?

2nd edit...the master cylinder will NOT be the cause of pulling to one side or the other. You have other issues.

 

are the rubber lines at the knuckles new or old ive seen more than one hose fail inside and cause the same symptoms.