Fellow SOLs,
I'm back with another overheating wheel problem.
Many thanks to those who responded to my previous
post about the overheating disk brake on my 69
Sprite. The concensus of the net wisdom was that
my old flexible brake hose was acting like a
one-way valve which prevented the calipers from
opening up when the brake pedal was released.
The problem was indeed the hoses. When I replaced
them with new stainless steel braided hoses the
problem went away. The brakes are MUCH firmer now.
However, I have a new problem. After taking the
car for a 25 mile spin I notice that the rear right
drum brake was overheating. I jacked the car up
and, not surprizingly, found that the brake was
engaged on that wheel. I pried the drum off and saw
nothing unusual. I took the other side apart for
comparison. That side, which was not overheating,
actually had an unhooked return spring (go figure).
After some fiddling and head scratching I realized that
one half of the cylinder on the overheating wheel was
sticking out about 1/4 of an inch further than the other
half. I whacked it back in, backed off the brake
adjuster a couple of clicks and found that I was then
able to put the drum back on and pumped the brakes a
few times. Both sides then turned freely.
The question I would like answered before I go back on
the road for a test drive is why would the the cylinder
get stuck in the extended position. The cylinders are
relatively new (about 6 years, low mileage) and the
springs seemed plenty strong enough. My only possible
explanation is that the brakes were badly out of
adjustment and the hydrolics pushed the piston too far
out to a position where it got hung up. Is this possible?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Bob Grant
69 Sprite (ratty but runs - sort of)
(DPO of another, much rattier 69 Sprite last seen
tooling around Oxford OH in 1981)
Department of Biological Chemsitry and Molecular Pharmacology
Harvard Medical School
grant@vp4.med.harvard.edu
Bob Grant
69 Sprite (wants to grow up into a Big Healey)
Department of Biological Chemsitry and Molecular Pharmacology
Harvard Medical School
grant@vp4.med.harvard.edu
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