brake squeeling and vibration when turning left

[Powerhouse]

Hello,

Any one have some pointers on why a squeeling sound or vibration in front driver's brake would occur when turning to the left. Not vibrating like tire hitting something. It is more like the squeeling turns into a vibration. If I step on the brakes when noise starts it tends to silence it. I have replaced the shoes recently. Drums are turned as well.

Thanks for any ideas.

[greg g]

might be some foreign material on one of the shoes, or perhaps the wheel bearing needs to be snugged.

[54Illinois]

Did you adjust the adjusters? The nuts on the back of the drums?

[Powerhouse]

I have made all adjustments...it seems clean in there too. I have taken them on and off a few times all ready to inspect. I do not see anything out of order.

as far as wheel bearing snugging...how tight should it be? I am guessing tight enough to keep it rolling smoothly but not binding the bearing surfaces so the drum won't spin. It seems dead on.

I just don't get it. I am going to try and swap out the drum on the one side with a spare I have. Then change the shoes again.

Thanks for your help so far everyone.

[randroid]

Powerhouse,

The way I was taught to tighten wheel bearings is definitely a "shade tree" manner but I've used it for years and have never had a bearing go bad. Tighten the bearing until you feel drag then back it off. Tighten it again to ensure you don't have too much grease then back-off 1/4 turn to allow for heat expansion then find the closest slot for the cotter pin but never back off as much as 1/2 turn. Almost too simple but I've done dozens of them that way and thousands of miles were put on the vehicles afterward and never a failure.

I've seen torque specs for wheel bearings but never when I needed them and I can't find any listed in the manual. Use common sense and keep an eye on the bearings but the method I described will certainly get you back on the street.

Just out of curiosity, the wheels are well tightened to the drums, yes? I don't know what the torque spec is for lugs on our cars but my '84 SAAB spec is 78-82 lbs.

-Randy

[Rusty O'Toole]

Ever since they took out the asbestos in the 80s brakes tend to squeal more on the old cars. One solution is to bevel the leading edge of the shoe. Just take a file and file down the end about 3/16 to 1/4".

Some cars had a spring like a screen door spring on the brake drum to kill vibration and squeal. They made a half round groove in the brake drum to hold it, sometimes they rust off or fall off.

[flatheadtim]

I would sand (ruffen) the shoes and round the edges a little. You should spin the drum while tightening the bearing nut, tighten the nut just till you feel it get tight then back off a little. Check and see how much play you have with tire off ground shake tire one hand on top and one hand on bottom of tire there should be very little play. Make sure where the play is and correct if to much.

[Powerhouse]

OK folks...

The left side piston on the front drivers side wheel cylinder was jammed out.

This caused the left shoe to stick out all the time which wore the shoe down very quickly. I had to work the piston around to get it to move. I will have to rebuild that sucker and hone it a bit to get it moving freely. or get a new cylinder.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Happy Motoring!