brake second opinions

[p24-1953]

So a few years ago (5) I replaced all the pad/shoes, cylinders, hoses and master cylinder. I installed them and adjusted them by feel. They stopped good and would lock up the front if you put them to the floor but the pedal always went to within a inch of the floor. Since I moved to the mountains I have had issues. They work well in flat terrain but in the hills they fade fast. So much so that the pedal will go to the floor after a big hill and the car will still roll. I have tried to adjust them but never solved it so I took it to a reccomended shop. He told me that he could adjust them properly but that my drums need to be turned. Which I knew because of slight pulse due to a warped drum. When I picked it up he told me that " that was the last time the rears could be turned but they were still okay. However I would have a low pedal because they were fully adjusted out." The pedal will go down about 3" before you start slowing. Its a firm pedal but it still doesn't stop on a dime or even a quarter. Its more of a dollar stop. If I were have someone pull out front of me I don't think I could stop. Is what he said true? can the low pedal because by the condition of the drums or are they just not adjusted properly?

Edited October 8, 2012 by p24-1953

[Plymouthy Adams]

Yancy..for all purposes you could easily throw good money after bad...but for the same coin you can upgrade to the disc brakes..contack our boy Charlie (olddaddy) at Rustyhope...I know it may not be your first choice at effective repairs..but in the area you now in..brake fade is not a good thing..

[austinsailor]

Tim is right, but you asked for opinions. In my opinion, you've aleady thrown away good money on a guy who has no clue of what he's doing. What a BS story he fed you.

[p24-1953]

im thinking i need to get a brake guage and see if i can get them set up right. so the half pedal line is a fib?

[Plymouthy Adams]

In my popinion, if you make a couple trips to shops for an analysis/second opinion you could pay for a large portion of the upgrade..front disc will get you good strong non fading stopping power..also any future brake work will be chump change compared to redoing the original yet again..

[1941Rick]

Sounds like you need another shop to work for you.....if the drums are tured to allowable diameter you should still have adjustment left so you can stop the car. Make sure the brake lines are properly bled. any air will make the pedal go down and feel spoungy. Did my rear brakes on the weekend and took a bit to bleed them and now I have 1/2 solid pedal. They must be carefull bleeding the brakes as the master cyl res is not to big and it is easy to get more air in the system.

[austinsailor]

Adjusted properly with the correct tool will give you solid pedel maybe 2" to 3" down.

They will never stop like a modern car with power disk brakes, but they can be quite satisfactory for most situations. But they do have to be adjusted properly.

I put all new original type parts on my b1b. After adjusting with the factory tool I had solid pedel 2" down. Doesn't stop like a race car , but quite acceptable for a 50 mph top speed vehicle.

[Niel Hoback]

My opinion after recent education; if your shoes are adjusted all the way out and still don't stop the wheel, the major shoe adjustment was either done wrong, or not done at all. It's likely that a brake shop today doesn't even know that there is a major adjustment.

Also my opinion, if you deal with hills on a regular basis, you NEED disc brakes.