Trumpy71

hey, im new to this forum and whatnot, and im not sure if im posting this in the right place. but i have a four door 71 torino 500 and i have some oil leakage which im blaming on an old valve cover with a missing bolt. but i think i need to worry about my brakes more. i have front drum brakes and they scare me a little. im hoping just because theyre old but i have to press all the way dont and it doesnt feel like theyre working unless i pump them some then press the pedal all the way down and it only feels like it effects it at all whithin the last 2 inches of the pedal push. ive read that people dont like them and convert them to disk brakes but im not mechanically inclined nore financially able to do this right now. but im wondering maybe the drums are just too old? and if new ones would help out signifigantly. i dont live in a hilly area so gravity wont have much play here. i just need something to stop me.

thefonz

Drum brakes were adequate for many years. Yours can be serviced. Something this old needs gone over thoroughly so you have good brakes.

Trumpy71

thank you, is it costly/time consuming to have new drums put on?


im sorry i dont know much about all this but im only 17 and fell in love with the torino.

thefonz

You may need to only get yours turned instead of replaced. The brake cylinders need to be checked for proper working order. Brake shoes should be fairly cheap. I don't know how much new drums would be if needed. You could call a couple of shops for prices.

Trumpy71

you say brake shoes...i wouldnt need new drums if the shoes where the problem?

thefonz

You may or may not. A shop that turns them can tell if they need turned or if there is enough metal to turn them. You may need new ones, I'm just saying , it is not definate, one way or the other.

ZH 1

G'day Trumpy71,

You didn't mention how long you have owned the car. If it is a recent purchase then perhaps somebody has "played" with the brakes and maybe you need to bleed them.

Trumpy71

i recently had the brakes bled. the front brakes work fine now but still the back has some problems. and when i do hit the brakes it pulls to the right.



people have told me to give up on my torino, telling me its a waste of time. But I'm hopefully going to prove them wrong. i just need a decent v8 to replace my lame I6.

Bkin

Before I ever worry about how fast I can go I pay attention to how fast I stop!
All four corners need to be looked at and seviced. Pulling one way or the other is telling you that one side is engaging either bofore or stronger than the other. 70% of your stopping power is in the front brakes. If you have to pump your peddle to engage the brakes you have air in the lines. Grabbing on any wheel is caused by the brake cylinder of that wheel. They can be serviced but they are not expensive. If you are losing fluid in the system you are leaking somewhere. All four brake lines must be bled in a certain order starting with the one farthest from the master cylinder and moving closer at each wheel.
Even your I6 can get you up to 60mph and a tree will stop your car fast.