Re: 34 brake adjustment

Posted by Tim Cole On 2011/10/3 19:20:45

Dear JW:

I dealt with a case where the complaint was violent shimmy upon braking. The car was trying to go out of control.

The problems found were as follows:

a) Loose right front spring anchor u-bolts
b) Seized vibration damper (read accessory bumper)
c) Sticking right front brake cable
d) Large flat spot on right front wheel bearing race
e) Non-functional shock absorbers

So what would happen here was when you stepped on the brake the wheel bearing would hit the flat spot and amplify the duo-servo action of the primary shoe, which would then advance the sticking cable into lock up, which would then jerk the steering wheel out of your hand. Somewhere in there the loose u-bolts and dead shocks would throw in their symptoms as well.

It was bad.

This is not an isloated case because I spoke to someone else who had the same problem.

In this case I think the car hit a curb way back when which brinelled the bearing and subsequently wore a chunk out of the race.

Another cause of this problem is if a vehicle is stored after a long run in hot weather the grease melts from the load bearing rollers which then rust. This happens to mobile homes that are parked after vacation. The solution is to roll the vehicle a few feet a day later the protect the bare spots.

Hope this helps.