78rallysport
Veteran Member
Hello to the Nastyz28 community. I have not posted for a couple years probably. I'm trying to get my 78 rallysport 350/th350 back on the road. I have a few minor issues that I'm having a little trouble with.
A year or two ago I replaced some key parts to my brake system. Master cylinder, brake booster, rear drums, drum shoes, drum hardware/springs, drum brake cylinder. At the time my breaks were really soft. I think it was my brake booster or master cylinder leaking, so I just figured I would replace all the rear brakes to be thorough, (the fronts had been redone within the last 5-10,000 miles.) The rears weren't dead, they were just really worn, so I figured I'd replace them.
The problem is that the driver side brake drum is really hard to put on, like I had to hammer it on, then tighten the lugs to get it flush, so basically when I drive it, it's like that wheel is always braking, even when I'm not.
I tried rebuilding it 2 or 3 times. Tried switching drums. The star adjuster for the shoes is all the way open. One thing I've been thinking is maybe it has something to do with the emergency break. Maybe I adjusted it to make it fit? I don't remember. Also my exhaust is kind of hanging low. I'm wondering if possibly my exhaust could be hanging on the emergency brake cables causing them to be activated? Has anyone heard of this?
I've research the threads. Researched a lot. Just thought I'd share and maybe someone might have some insight. Honestly, I always heard people complain about doing drums, but when I was doing it I felt like it was really easy, like doing a puzzle. (of course now I cant figure out this problem, so what I felt was easy has turned into a frustration.) Had this old mechanic neighbor of mine look at it. He said it looked like everything was in the right place.. He suggested I sand down the braking material on the shoes, which I did and helped it not to be as tight of a fitment on the drum. Any ideas or thoughts from anyone would be appreciated.
Both L and R wheels are suspended off the ground in this video.
Also I have a little engine issue. It overheated pretty bad once. Bad enough to warp my flexplate, which was a pain to change out. The engine still runs and everything, just makes a clicking sound from the valvetrain and has a little after fire out the exhaust. Maybe a valve is getting stuck, or damaged/broke. I tried taking the valves covers off to look at the valvetrain, everything looked relatively fine, I didn't notice any significant play between a rocker and pushrod, one might have seemed slightly more loose than it should have been, but I'm no pro, so I don't know. Again, any opinions appreciated.
In this video you can hear the clicking while I film under the hood. I think it's a valvetrain issue, because it seems to cycle with the engine firing cycle. Then you can hear an afterfire right when I walk over to the exhaust at about 00:19 seconds and later at 00:53/54. Any ideas on what this might be would be helpful. Also, how serious do you think this is? Cause the engine still runs, like i could just drive it and it wouldnt bother me, I just dont want to if it could cause some catastrophic failure that would wreck my whole engine.
If you read all this and/or reply, just want to say thanks. Sorry it's so long.
A year or two ago I replaced some key parts to my brake system. Master cylinder, brake booster, rear drums, drum shoes, drum hardware/springs, drum brake cylinder. At the time my breaks were really soft. I think it was my brake booster or master cylinder leaking, so I just figured I would replace all the rear brakes to be thorough, (the fronts had been redone within the last 5-10,000 miles.) The rears weren't dead, they were just really worn, so I figured I'd replace them.
The problem is that the driver side brake drum is really hard to put on, like I had to hammer it on, then tighten the lugs to get it flush, so basically when I drive it, it's like that wheel is always braking, even when I'm not.
I tried rebuilding it 2 or 3 times. Tried switching drums. The star adjuster for the shoes is all the way open. One thing I've been thinking is maybe it has something to do with the emergency break. Maybe I adjusted it to make it fit? I don't remember. Also my exhaust is kind of hanging low. I'm wondering if possibly my exhaust could be hanging on the emergency brake cables causing them to be activated? Has anyone heard of this?
I've research the threads. Researched a lot. Just thought I'd share and maybe someone might have some insight. Honestly, I always heard people complain about doing drums, but when I was doing it I felt like it was really easy, like doing a puzzle. (of course now I cant figure out this problem, so what I felt was easy has turned into a frustration.) Had this old mechanic neighbor of mine look at it. He said it looked like everything was in the right place.. He suggested I sand down the braking material on the shoes, which I did and helped it not to be as tight of a fitment on the drum. Any ideas or thoughts from anyone would be appreciated.
Both L and R wheels are suspended off the ground in this video.
Also I have a little engine issue. It overheated pretty bad once. Bad enough to warp my flexplate, which was a pain to change out. The engine still runs and everything, just makes a clicking sound from the valvetrain and has a little after fire out the exhaust. Maybe a valve is getting stuck, or damaged/broke. I tried taking the valves covers off to look at the valvetrain, everything looked relatively fine, I didn't notice any significant play between a rocker and pushrod, one might have seemed slightly more loose than it should have been, but I'm no pro, so I don't know. Again, any opinions appreciated.
In this video you can hear the clicking while I film under the hood. I think it's a valvetrain issue, because it seems to cycle with the engine firing cycle. Then you can hear an afterfire right when I walk over to the exhaust at about 00:19 seconds and later at 00:53/54. Any ideas on what this might be would be helpful. Also, how serious do you think this is? Cause the engine still runs, like i could just drive it and it wouldnt bother me, I just dont want to if it could cause some catastrophic failure that would wreck my whole engine.
If you read all this and/or reply, just want to say thanks. Sorry it's so long.
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