95 Chevy 1ton possible steering issues.

[dbrannon79]

Whoops!! I did use grease but it was only a light film just the get the piston and seals to go back in without cutting them! I was sitting there at my bench and the can of bearing grease was sitting right in front of me lol

there's no going back now!!

 

[Will L.]

The wear pattern isn’t ideal, but is what it is. The shoe being made in a perfect arc is what it takes to get a better pattern, so run them as they are...
Well almost.
Ever hear the line -the road to hell is paved with good intentions- ?
You had good intentions putting grease on those parts. Problem is as the shoes and drum wears, all that grease is going to act like a magnet attracting all that worn off material and will cause the very binding and wear you were hoping to avoid.


1 can of brake cleaner to get rid of it. Good thing is your a pro at yanking those drums off now.
Any thing in there ya want a lubricant on like self adjusters, use a TINY amount of anti seize. But leave nothing on those rubber seals.

 

[dbrannon79]

lol hopefuly the dust boots keep that from happening too soon. I'm actually thinking of trying to see if Advance will exchange the WC's I bought for the right ones. that way when I pull the drums off again, new ones will be installed

 

[dbrannon79]

Hoping no one pulls out in front of me again, I'll drive it around a few more days and give an update on how the brakes feel.

On to the power steering system... I plan to grab a gallon of fluid tomorrow and flush it out even though the fluid is mostly new from replacing everything months back. I also think I'm going to go ahead and replace the pressure hoses to eliminate the chance there might be a collapsing hose in the system. I already have the tube o-ring to JIC flare adapters to use hydraulic hoses and I was able to make up a couple hoses for it.

One of the guys at work said he could fix me up an inline adapter with a pressure gauge to help see what might be going on using those fittings if I needed it. So I might as well go that route, besides the PS lines look like they might be factory originals. New hoses will at least give me peace of mind that there not gonna bust! The hoses I made up are rated at 5000 psi working pressure.

I know I am going to have to replace the hydroboost since the accumulator isn't holding a charge (no emergency pedal press). I need to set funds aside to ether get the AC Delco unit or sending the one I have to someone reputable to have it rebuilt and possibly port it.

I'm not sure what exactly porting a hydroboost does or what benefit it gives over stock. from what I've read and understand, it's suppose to allow more flow of fluid to the steering gear for easier steering assist. Would I benefit at all with a ported booster?

I would like to have a freeier steering wheel to be able to steer quicker while trying to park or reversing a trailer. as it is now it's doable but difficult to steer in a parking lot using the palm of your hand to make quick sharp turns. it also has a sense or feeling like you have to overcome a resistance when changing lanes on the road, that feeling I don't like!

 

[ak diesel driver]

Fwiw back in the old days even before my time, I was told it use to be common practice to match the arc of the shoe to the drum

 

[Will L.]

Yes- get the new ‘wc’ and tell them, dont ask, that they sold you the wrong ones and you need the credit back on them. Do not accept sub par service from any parts store. Their job is to sell you the right part. If their computer has mis information- then it should cost them some money so the incentive is there to get that corrected asap.
Especially brake parts. Stopping 10’ later could be the difference of killing a pedestrian-
If they want to give you any flak- don’t hesitate to tell them it would make a great local news piece that the store refuses to accept they are selling incorrect brake parts to locals and trying to save/ make a couple bucks is at the expense of everyone’s safety. Is it a nation wide store- great then it could push to wider news outreach. Local reporters love to tease with “Tonight at 6:00, Why everyone’s life is in danger so long as autozone continues to put profit in front of your safety.”

Don’t get rid of your old booster until the new one is in and working. If you find a place that has a steller reputation of rebuilding them- do share the info here for everyone. This is a part I have seen people have to replace a few times before it is right. As to porting anything in it- idk- to get more fluid going through the steering circuit that means less has to go through the brakes- right? Umm... idk about that concept. If an aftermarket pump that put out more fluid is used so that the same volume and pressure is achieved through the braking circuit and you can get more through the steering- fine. But I would think the outfit would be doing a package of pump and booster for that. I know some folks here and Hummernetwork bought the PSC pumps for their systems. Maybe thats the go to? I would dang sure learn every single detail and hear from several people, maybe even drive one before I made a change like that. Experimental hot rodding of that circuit concerns me, maybe I am too cautious with it?

I know on hmmwvs and hummers that run the mile marker winch which taps the power steering pump as it’s source of power- when that winch is in use the brakes and steering takes more force because of the energy consumed by the winch. They definitely need fluid changes sooner than ones without it. So no free lunch. Not that I wouldn’t put one on mine of I could afford it! Haha

 

[WarWagon]

As you read the "can we make this pressed cardboard any cheaper" auto store house brands do not stop as well as the more expensive Raybestos or Wagner.

Kept adjusted tight every other oil change aka ~5000 miles with good pads and shoes they work well. Better than any 1/2 ton of this era. Disc brakes will take their lunch money except in rain where the rear pads sometimes have to dry the rotors first. New shoes do need some time miles to wear into the shape of the drum.

 

[dbrannon79]

About to get started on flushing the PS fluid. Went to pickup a gallon in town. All AAP sells is Fram and I’m skeptical of it, stopping by Walmart and all they have has stop leak in theirs, so I settled with O’Reilly’s since their bottle actually specified the GM part number . Also grabbed a short wide opening funnel to help pouring from the gallon jug!

let’s see how this goes...

 

[Husker6.5]

Yeah, if your drum's shoes/linings are manufactured to the OEM inside drum diameter, if your drum has been turned, even once, it will be a bigger diameter than new and the new brake shoe will contact in only one or two points (depending on the actuatuon design/hardware configuration) until enough brake shoe friction material has worn off for the shoe to fully "bed" into the drum. The larger the diameter the drum, the worse the effect and longer/more brake applications to achieve full bedding of shoe to drum.

 

[Will L.]

Just dexron 3 for the fluid.

 

[dbrannon79]

I had the thought of taking my small torpedo hand sander and barely touching the areas on the shoe where the drums were touching thinking maybe shaving off a hair or two might allow the rest of the shoe to seat in the drums. This may also be a contributing factor in why the rears feel weaker. If I do that. It’ll have to be when installing the net WC’s later. I wanna ride them and see now that there is more force on them, they might wear in

 

[dbrannon79]

Just dexron 3 for the fluid.

I’ve heard all kinds of debate about that! Personally I think it’s fine but I’ve had guys tell me stories of vehicles burning to the ground from that stuff sprayed onto the exhaust manifold from a leak!

 

[dbrannon79]

I just got the new lines I had made installed. Topped off the pump and tried it before I started flushing. The steering actually feels a little better! I reay won’t know till I drive it and get things warmed up though.
I took some photos of the new hoses installed and some of the old ones. Can y’all tell if these are the original ones? The rubber is very flexible as if there swelling from the oil. Also a photo of the bottle of fluid and my flushing setup all ready to go!

I just came inside to cool off, drink some iced tea and re-read the flushing procedure posted by btfarm

 

[dbrannon79]

Got is all flushed. I followed the instructions in btfarm’s how to thread (thanks for providing the info). The fluid came out had a reddish brown color but didn’t seem terrible (photo attached)

upon following the instructions it was said to start the engine and press the brake pedal down holding it and turn the wheel 1/4 turn in ether direction stop, refill and go again. During that process I noticed that at about the 1/4 or so turn my steering would lock or seemed to bind up. Releasing the brake the binding was gone.
Is this normal for the steering to do that?

after I went through about 3/4’s gallon flushing. I but everything back together, topped off the pump and tried the steering and pedal in the driveway. Flushing didn’t seem to change anything but it seems better with the new hoses

I also repeated the pressing on the brake and then turned the wheel and again at about a 1/4 to 1/2 in both directions the steering wheel would lock up where I couldn’t go any further unless I let go of the brake!! Is this a sign of low volume flow from the pump?

 

[Husker6.5]

I’ve heard all kinds of debate about that! Personally I think it’s fine but I’ve had guys tell me stories of vehicles burning to the ground from that stuff sprayed onto the exhaust manifold from a leak!

They'll burn to the ground from "power steering" fluid, too. It's a hyrocarbon-based liquid, just like ATF is, and in a high pressure mist, will ignite off of exhaust manifold heat, too.

 

[Husker6.5]

I had the thought of taking my small torpedo hand sander and barely touching the areas on the shoe where the drums were touching thinking maybe shaving off a hair or two might allow the rest of the shoe to seat in the drums. This may also be a contributing factor in why the rears feel weaker. If I do that. It’ll have to be when installing the net WC’s later. I wanna ride them and see now that there is more force on them, they might wear in

Don't. You'll only make the problem worse by creating high and low spots of several thousands. Just make sure the shoes are bedded/seated right in their installation configuration and let normal usage and time do the rest. If it really bothers you, find a long back street or empty big parking lot and do a whole bunch of 15-0 mph stops, varying the pedal pressure each time. That will quicken the seating/embedding process. You're right, once the shoes are seated, the pedal won't feel any different, but your brakes will stop better as you'll have more friction contact surface.

 

[WarWagon]

Brakes are more important than steering. The hydrobooster gets the PS flow and pressure FIRST. It can hog it all and leave NOTHING for the steering box. Air won't compress and flushing the system can put air in the system. Further attempting to charge up a bad accumulator in the hydroboost can screw the works up as it takes all the flow and pressure to charge up regardless if you are on the brakes or not.

And stop on the e-brake several times to help seat the shoes. But keep rolling to cool them after stopping sessions. I adjusted mine every 2500 miles till they seated in. Then every other oil change. Oil changes for HD use were 2500 miles by the book and UOA confirmed 3000 was too many.

 

[Husker6.5]

I forgot all about that method, @WarWagon, using the E-brake! Word of caution to @dbrannon79, don't over press the E-brake lever and wind up pulling a Bootlegger's Turn!

 

[MrMarty51]

I forgot all about that method, @WarWagon, using the E-brake! Word of caution to @dbrannon79, don't over press the E-brake lever and wind up pulling a Bootlegger's Turn!

Yup, and it can happen fast too.

 

[WarWagon]

Yeah, pull the release handle for the e brake and hold it while you apply the e brake so you can release it as needed...