| Re: Hard to turn left [message #777549] |
Sat, 15 July 2006 06:32 |
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Everybody: I found the problem- it was the brakes !
I noticed my right rear wheel got very hot after a short drive. After
removing that drum, I found that the wheel cylinder was sticking open,
causing the brake shoes to drag. This caused the car to be very
difficult to turn left. Sort of like those dune buggies with the
separate rear brake handles to assist turning.
I couldn't find any issue with the cylinder, as when I opened up the
bleed valve, the cylinder retracted properly. The real issue was the
rubber brake tubing that connects to the metal brake lines. These were
very old and collapsed over time. They would pass brake fluid OUT
because of the high pressure from stepping on the brakes, but would not
allow the fluid to come back IN, hence locking the brakes on.
Replacing the rubber lines fixed this problem, and the 'hard to turn
left' problem completely. THe car also has more apparent power without
the brakes being constantly on !
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| Re: Hard to turn left [message #784797 ] |
Mon, 17 July 2006 11:13 |
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Keep an eye on the ground around that wheel for a while to make sure that
oil does not start to collect on the ground when it is parked. Sometimes
excessive heat can mess up the rear wheel seal - maybe damage the o-rings on
the wheel seal or something.
--
KWW
'65 Beetle (Jenny the IOC)
'64 Beetle (TBD the Blue Wave)
"bokuglen" <grbarton [at] gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1152937972.959401.207460 [at] s13g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> Everybody: I found the problem- it was the brakes !
>
> I noticed my right rear wheel got very hot after a short drive. After
> removing that drum, I found that the wheel cylinder was sticking open,
> causing the brake shoes to drag. This caused the car to be very
> difficult to turn left. Sort of like those dune buggies with the
> separate rear brake handles to assist turning.
>
> I couldn't find any issue with the cylinder, as when I opened up the
> bleed valve, the cylinder retracted properly. The real issue was the
> rubber brake tubing that connects to the metal brake lines. These were
> very old and collapsed over time. They would pass brake fluid OUT
> because of the high pressure from stepping on the brakes, but would not
> allow the fluid to come back IN, hence locking the brakes on.
> Replacing the rubber lines fixed this problem, and the 'hard to turn
> left' problem completely. THe car also has more apparent power without
> the brakes being constantly on !
>
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