Reverse rolling only

[Dodger]

Good Day,

My 53 Dodge Truck only rolls backwards. I changed a lot with my front end. I replaced the master cylinder and with a dual port and split the front brakes and rear breaks.  I replaced the wheel cylinders as well but while replacing the drums they were very hard to turn in both directions.  Turning the drum toward the rear was fine but it would not turn forward.  I loosened the wheel nut until the drum turned but I feel that it really should be tighter. This issue was on both front wheels.  After putting the truck on the ground and bleeding the breaks, the truck would not budge forward.  No problem going in reverse.

 

Could I have an issue with the wheel bearings?  I greased them and they seemed fine. I didn't remove the inner bearing.  The bearings are the only thing I haven't replaced. The shoes had already been replaced when I bought the truck 5 months ago.

[Los_Control]

I really have no idea whats going on here.

Only way I could approach it is to raise all 4 wheels off the ground ... figure out which wheels are offending.

 

I seriously doubt it is a wheel bearing .... possibly  .... I dunno .... Raise it in the air and turn each wheel separately .... see where it fails.

 

Maybe a brake issue .... just need to find out where the problem is starting from ...

[9 foot box]

   Your brake pedal should have some free play before the push rod engages the MC piston. With the changes that you have done, that’s my first guess. Pull the pin for the push rod to the MC and it should release the brakes, shorten the rod for free play. Some have had a problem with the pin on the wheel cylinder being too long on aftermarket wheel cylinders. If you haven’t done a minor adjustment and the brakes are still tight, that could be the reason. I had to file down the slot on the WC pin on one of my projects to get full retraction of the brake shoe. The original pin didn’t fit the newer cylinder boot seal.

[kencombs]

I would suspect a brake adjustment problem also.   Push rod, maybe but the direction of travel part of the problem makes me think one or both shoes are touching the drum at rest, then grab when turned.

 

What nut are you referring to as a 'wheel nut', cam or anchor?   In any case, follow the directions others have provided and that should work.

[Ivan_B]

Isn't this one of them dual slave cylinder drum, which is supposed to grab even better when you are going forward, or did these come about later?

As previously suggested, check the MC pedal free play and adjust each wheel. When you lift the wheel off the ground, it should spin freely each direction, preferably with no dragging at all. Also, if you have not already done so, it might be useful to take the drums off and make sure that everything is alright in there, like the retention springs are not broken, for example  

[John-T-53]

1 hour ago, kencombs said:

What nut are you referring to as a 'wheel nut', cam or anchor?   In any case, follow the directions others have provided and that should work.

I suspect he might be referring to the spindle nut. 

Tightening instructions are in the manual. They are just snugged up while turning the drum, backed off, and snugged to the hole alignment.  Never "tight". 

 

Also the OP said he only greased the outer bearing. Now he could have two competing base types of grease. When was the last time the inner bearing was greased? Suggest greasing both and replacing the seals. Why only do one? 

[John-T-53]

11 hours ago, 9 foot box said:

   Your brake pedal should have some free play before the push rod engages the MC piston. With the changes that you have done, that’s my first guess. Pull the pin for the push rod to the MC and it should release the brakes, shorten the rod for free play. Some have had a problem with the pin on the wheel cylinder being too long on aftermarket wheel cylinders. If you haven’t done a minor adjustment and the brakes are still tight, that could be the reason. I had to file down the slot on the WC pin on one of my projects to get full retraction of the brake shoe. The original pin didn’t fit the newer cylinder boot seal.

 

This is a handy guide for those of us without the miller adjusting tool. Browsing all over the site was a moot effort trying to find this file. I thought it would be under "Technical/brakes", but not. Not in "resources" either. It only came up searching "brake" under the "downloads" category.

 

[Dodger]

Appreciate the input, but just haven't had time to get back under the truck and it may be a couple of weeks before I can make time to work on it again.  Yes, I was referring to the spindle nut.  I also suspect the brake adjustment is whats hold me up as I already ground down the break pedal shaft to the "new" after market master cylinder.  I'll provide feedback on adjusting the brakes shortly.

 

Thanks again ...