Well, finally got the 73 Duster together and went on maiden voyage under cover of darkness since didn't have license on it yet. First thing was that all my electrical work was fixed but new problems erupted such as when I hit brakes, all side markers and park lights come on and directionals do the same. That hadn't happened before. Also have major oil leak around valve cover gasket even though it is on tight. Biggest concern is I think the front sliding calipers are locked. All brake components are new. I have no reverse so pushing out of garage was tough. Also when gear and hitting the gas it would bog down and barely move. I believe that to be the brakes locking. Any suggestions on getting them freed up? They seemed better when pushing back into the garage. Also, is it possible the transmission is frozen up? When on the stands and in gear, the wheels turn fine. As always thanks for input.

Mike

Are you positive it is the front brakes and not the rear? Check the rear adjustment, as well as the e-brake cable. It may be that it is not fully disengaging and the shoes are still pressed up too tight against the drum.

Make sure the brakes are bled well, and that you do not have a drum/drum master cylinder on there. If you did have a drum/drum master cylinder, it would make the front discs drag a bit.

Thanks. I thought it to be the fronts because I had it on 4 jackstands. I know the front wheels were hard to spin but not the rears. I adjusted the rear shoes and e-brake per the manual. Also, I ran it with the rears elevated and engaged the tranny, it seemed to run OK. How would I know about the MC? I replaced it and the booster and specified front disks when I bought them. How can I check now? Thanks.

Mike

yikes... sounds like you have a lot of bugs to work out. Take your time and keep your sense of humour, and be patient above all else. Good luck!

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Well, raise the front back on jackstands, and turn the wheels by hand to get a feel for how hard it is to turn them. Then open the caliper bleeder screw, and turn the wheel again. If it got any easier, then there is excess pressure in the line.

Pierre hit on the problem. The front discs will develop excess pressure that causes binding of the pads. I found that by simply removing some fluid from the front disc well of the m/c fixed this. I left the level about 3/8" from the top of the m/c.

Alienduster, hmm, something seems amiss with your solution to your problem. The only way I can see that changing MC reservoir level affects pressure is that you lower the level so much that towards the end of the pedal stroke the MC is pushing air into the system.

I agree. Re-bleed the brakes. The square X-section O-ring in the caliper piston bore twists outward when the pedal is depressed. When the pedal is released, the pressure is released and the o-ring pulls the piston back away from the rotor when it returns to its normal square shape. Maybe there is air in the lines.

You, also, may be dealing with a bad brake line.

You know, I never adjust the e-brake cable. I've found that if the e-brake is not holding, or the handle extends too far, the brake shoes are usually too worn and need to be replaced. In other words, it's not that the cable's out of adjustment, it's the shoes friction mat'l thkness that is out of spec. If no one messes with the cable, you know the brake shoes' condition without pulling the wheel and drum & inspecting it.

If you're not real experienced doing brakes, I'd recheck your work on the rear shoes. Get a picture of your exact application from a service manual and follow it exactly. Remember the long shoe always is toward the rear of the car.

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'66 Cuda 225/4spd
'66 Dart GT convertible 225/auto
'64 Dart GT 340/4spd

I have to be out this week but this weekend I hope to investigate. The reason I adjusted the ebrake cable was because there wasn't one on there when I got the car and had to install one. I really suspect the fronts however. I also never drove it until the maiden voyage so how it was on stands may be different than on the road. I had to originally build and use a pressure bleeder because I could not get fluid to the rears. After that, I did a manual bleed all the way around again and detected no air (hose from the bleeder running into bottle of fluid and when no bubbles, air is gone - I actually do a couple more pumps and bleeds to make sure). Thanks again everyone. I am close to getting this out of the garage for sure.

Mike

It seems strange you had to use a pressure bleader, initially, to get fluid to the rears. Did you bench bleed the master cyl, before installing it? Did you replace the rubber hoses, or any of the steel line? You might have a restiction.
As for you problem, with the parking lights coming on when stepping on the brakes. Check for a bad ground at the rear lights.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

I did a bench bleed of the MC and I replaced all the rubber lines but not the steel. I basically replaced every single component of the brake system except for the proportioning valve and the steel lines. I suspect the proportioning valve was sticking. I was able to get fluid all the way around with the pressure bleeder. I only pressured up to between 10 and 15 psi. Once I got fluid flowing, I also did a manual bleed. That was to make sure I could continue to pump fluid using the pedal (I figured that might be important for real braking). I would also say that once I installed the new calipers and pads, they didn't seem to "slide" readily. Is it possible that is an issue?

Thanks for the insight and also for the electrical suggestion. I agree that normally on older vehicles the ground somewhere is the first suspect. I had checked all electrical before reinserting the instrument cluster and everything worked. Because of that I am also suspecting that maybe I broke something loose when reinserting and will check that out as well. I also know on my 98 VW Passat, it used to do weird things like that and it turned out to be the wrong bulbs were installed at the factory.

Thanks everyone, I will work on it this weekend and see what happens.

Mike

I checked each wheel and the front wheels barely turn with great effort so the disks are still locked pretty tight. The rears drag slightly. I don't think they drag enough to make a difference. However, I will pull the drums and back them off a bit more. I also want to double check to make sure the longer shoes are on the rear. I am sure I checked that and did it that way but it won't take but a minute to verify. Unfortunately I now have a bigger problem I will present to the engine forum. I guess I still need to rebleed to remove the lock from the fronts? What if they still stay tight, what would that indicate? Could the small bolts that secure the sliding mechanism be too tight? Thanks everyone.

Mike

the calipers are supposed to slide from side to side pretty easily, take them off of the car, and see how hard it is to move the sliders, you should beable to move them easily with one finger. if they are tight, take them apart, and clean them, make sure there is NO rust (its been awhile since i've taken an older mopar caliper apart but it they should slide on a metal shaft running through a rubber grommet, alot of the time rust builds up behind the rubber "gromet" and makes things too tight, in this case clean the rust out with some sandpaper, or even a grinding stone on a die-grinder. at work i use a brake hone but as long as you can get the rust out its ok. when re-assembling coat everything generously with anti-seize (never-seize) instead of grease, grease alows things to "slow down" and hang.) Also make sure the piston is pressed all the way back before re-assembling. there may also be a bleeder on the proportioning valve, i'm not sure if you hit that yet but give it a try, after thats bled you'll have to re-blead all the brakes.

on the rears they're drum brakes, drum brakes are supposed to have alittle "friction" when trying to move the wheel, this just means that the pads are adjusted right. discs should have more drag than dums, but you should still beable to move them pretty easily.

Justin

Thanks everyone but I still need clarification. The calipers on the front are brand new but the hardware it mounts to is not. I believe you are talking about how readily they slide within those mounts? Thanks.

Mike