MarcDeSoto

Good questions Rich. First of all, the car is not a car yet, just a rolling chassis. I've already bled the brakes. I have a hard pedal which gets tight at about 2 inches of pedal travel. The four wheels spin but not really freely. There is some shoe contact, which I was told was OK. I am now tackling the next project of getting the engine started.

Today I fixed the problem finally, although I still don't know for certain what the problem really was. I used my jitterbug to take some more material off of the shoe linings. Then I replaced the rear wheel bearing and seal and the front wheel bearing. The races looked fine, so I didn't replace them. Now the drum goes on and turns even when I cinch up the spindle nut! Thanks for all of you help here!!!

OK Ken, let me clarify that. The race and the bearing were not out of place. It was just the seal. Hope that clarifies it. I'm going to do what Harmony said to check the race and bearing. If they are OK, I'm going to take some more material off of the shoe linings.

Yes, I know from the above video that you have to put the drift between the cut outs. As he said, sometimes you have to resort to heat to get them out. I already ordered new bearings and races and seals from Rock Auto. I wonder if my problem is just the old one. That my shoes are still just too thick, as sanding them has helped with the fit?

I removed the drum and removed the inner seal and bearing. I tried to remove the race, but it wouldn't budge. The parts looks OK to me. Can I just leave the race in if it isn't obviously damaged? Could the problem be with the outer bearing?

I watched this video on how to replace front bearings, races, and seals on a 1951 GMC truck. This is the closest to a 48 DeSoto that I found and it looks similar to my car.

In answer to your question, no, this is not a basket case. It was driving just fine before I took it apart some 40 years ago. It badly needed an engine rebuild at that time, but I made the newbie mistake to say "Hey let's take the whole car apart and do a ground up restoration!" I have ordered some new cups and bearings and seals. Thanks for the advice! Do I remove the inner race with a hammer and drift? Marc.

I just checked the inner bearing and saw that the race was raised up about 1/16" above the hub. So I hammered in down. Then I put the drum back on and it was really loose. In fact it was too loose. I put the outer bearing back on and cinched up the nut, but the drum was loosey goosey about a 1/4" play! So I took the drum out again and used a punch to get the inner bearing even with the hub, but still too loose. So I think you are on the right track. There might be something wrong with my wheel bearing. Maybe I should get new ones.

I repacked the outer bearing, but did not repack the inner bearing. I did that but it was probably 25-30 years ago. I thought that the grease would still be good. So you are saying that tightening the spindle nut should not lock up the drum. So something must be wrong. I will check my drum and examine the inner bearing.

Yes, am I wrong in calling it the spindle nut? Why doesn't the shop manual have a spec for it? Or is it just something that the manual thinks all mechanics know? I guess you can mark the outside of the cam spring so you could see when you reach the most relaxed spot when you are adjusting the cam. Well I guess tomorrow I'm going to continue to sand more material off of the shoes.

Well, today I used a bastard file to file the push rod slots. Brakes were still too tight. Then I sanded the shoes again the same way using 60 grit on a jitterbug with 60 passes on each shoe. That improved the fit quite a bit. I'm able to put the drum on easily and turn the drum with shoe contact. But when I tighten the spindle nut even just finger tight, it locks up the drum. So still more work to do I guess. I looked for a spec on spindle nuts and could not find a torque spec in the manual. Does anyone know?

Thanks James and Harmony! You both make excellent points. You might be right about having weak brake springs. Even though I did have a mechanic at the brake shop "test" them. All he did was drop them on the floor and pronouce them OK. I guess I could file the slots on the push rods and see what happens. That might be better than taking more material off. James, isn't turning the minor adjustment cams clockwise on the right and counter clockwise on the left until the cam stops putting them on the flat spot? Anyway, I'll try what you guys suggest first. Thanks, Marc.

Yes, I did all of that. Had no problem with the rear brakes or the left front brake. But the right front brake is giving me fits. The shoes have been arced twice by C.H. Topping. But I guess it was not enough. So I put the shoes in a vise outside and wore all the protection in case they are made of asbestos, and shaved them again. I used a jitterbug sander with 60 grit paper. I made an even sixty passes over each shoe. It is now maybe a little better, but still not good enough. I can turn the drum with a lot of effort, but when I put on the spindle nut, it locks the drum up so that it doesn't move. I guess I need to take a lot more material off these linings.

I do have that tool and I have used it. Problem is what do you do when you adjust the shoes for maximum clearance and still can't get the drum on, or in my case, get the drum on and have a locked wheel?

I got the left front brake drum on just fine and the nuts torqued. but the right front brake is being a pain. I finally got it so I could push the drum on, but can't turn the drum. Maybe the shoes on the right side need a third shaving?

The rear brakes were a breeze to do, but I'm back to square one on the front brakes. I've spent all afternoon trying to adjust the shoes, but now I can't get the drum on. I got the drum on before, so I don't know why I can't get the drum on now. I know the anchor bolt cams are tricky and so are the minor adjustment cams. When I follow what the manual says, it just gets me into more trouble. I'm at a loss now.

Just did my rear drums this way by holding the anchor bolt from the front with a box wrench and torquing the nut to spec from behind. Worked like a charm. The drum went on easily. Don't know if it will be that easy on the front brakes, but I hope so. Thanks for everybody's input on this. Marc.

To Sniper: You sound like you are the one who doesn't read the shop manual. If you had read it, you would know it doesn't answer my questions. I always have the shop manual and the Parts Book at my elbow when I am doing this work. All the shop manual gives you is the torque spec, not when to do it. The only reason I have all of these questions is when I follow what little direction there is in the manual, it doesn't work. So I have to do all of these things to find some way to get it to work. Look at all the work Harmony had to do to torque his anchor bolt nuts. That's not in the shop manual. So just following the shop manual is not the answer. To desoto 1939: I think the pre-war brakes are a little different than the post war. My anchor bolts don't have that notch that sticks out beyond the nut so you can stop the anchor bolt from turning. So I will the hold the anchor bolts from the front with a wrench with the drum off, and torque the nuts to 55 ft. lbs., then install the drums. If there is a better way, tell me. And don't say read the shop manual. Been there, done that.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to adjust the shoes and then torque the anchor bolt nuts with the drums off, so I can hold the nut from rotating with a wrench. Do you think that is a better way to do it?

That design looks far superior! Harmony had to do a lot of work to get something that worked.

Keith has 1938 MoPars and a 53 Chrysler which I think he sold. Maybe those anchor bolts are different on out postwar cars? Harmony, that's an ingenious device! I was thinking. Wouldn't it be easier to just do the brake adjustment with the drum off. The torque the nuts before mounting the drums, making sure you don't turn the anchor bolt cams? Or is doing the torque job before mounting the drums not possible?

I found out today that when I torque the anchor bolts to spec, then the brake drums tighten up so you can't even turn them. I found that even if you just tighten the anchor nut a little bit it tightens up the drum. Lockheed brakes have a deserved reputation for being difficult. I think it's time to take it a brake expert like C. H. Topping for adjustment.

Since all MoPar makes in post war years had FD except Plymouth, I looked in a Plymouth manual. I have a P-15 Plymouth Parts Manual, and apparently the early models had an 11" clutch disc and the later models had a 10" disc. I'm curious how do you weld a FD together? Do you have to saw it open first? Do you weld the impeller to the housing?

Or you could clean it with a wire brush and spray some Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer on some areas. I wouldn't worry about the original paint as no one is going to see it after you put down carpeting or rubber mat.

Thanks Conn, so you wire the coil directly to the negative side of the battery. And you have the auto choke wired up. Then, you hot wire the solenoid to the starter. Thanks, Marc.