Lately I noticed that the left front brake is sticking (dragging), even as I was pulling out of the driveway (feel as if the hand brake is not release properly although this is only on the front left). Steering pulls to the left too when driving.

To make matters worst, once on the move, the left front brake is almost not there. Even when I brake from 30mph, the car pulls violently to the right as if only the right front brake is working.

I have the standard 9" brakes all around with single master cylinder. The brakes were overhauled and working fine before. All shoes, return springs etc. are less than 6 months old.

Any advice? thanks.

Syed
Malaysia

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Cars: 1966 Dodge Dart 270 Convertible,
1990 Alfa 164 Twin Spark
1980 BMW 735i 5-speed

http://www.weddingcar4u.blogspot.com/

Sounds like it's stuck so that the spring can't pull a shoe back or that the wheel cylinder can't push the shoe out. These brakes are self-adjusting, but how the feature works is not explained very well in the owners' manual. To use the feature, find a suitable place, accelerate backwards to approximately 15 mph/24 kph, apply the brakes very firmly. You may be able to hear pops or clicks as the adjuster works on the star wheel spreader between the brake shoes. Drive forward to evaluate any change. If you decide to repeat, allow the brakes to cool so that they do not fade which would compromise the process.

My hope is that this process will free up the stuck shoe(s) in addition to adjusting the brakes. In any event, it's probably time to pull the front wheels to evaluate the cause and to evaluate any damage that this situation has caused to the brake shoes.

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You can't fix stupid. - Ron White