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OK, I admit it; I've had this annoying grinding noise coming from the right front ever since I bought the car.
I first took the brake apart the day after I got the car, before I even drove it home. There was no sign of metal-to-metal anywhere inside it, so I pulled the remaining three drums just to make sure it wasn't a problem showing itself from somewhere else on the car.
No problems, nearly full brake linings on every wheel, no shiny spots, no sign of anything out of the normal.
Ever since then, on cold mornings, or when I first drive the car for the day, it grinds like it's destroying itself at the first two stop signs, then the noise disappears.
There's a small suggestion that the car is pulling to the left, making me think it's still the left front (although it may be the left rear, as you well know!)
Today I opened up all the brakes for the third time. Still no sign of anything unusual, plenty of brake linings. The only thing I could think of was a contaminated brake lining.
I disassembled and carefully cleaned the entire left front brake assembly, then soaked the brake linings with brake cleaner a couple of times, scrubbing diligently with a new, clean cloth each time to remove any contamination. There was no wheel bearing grease or leaking brake fluid inside the brake drum. Except for the dry dust ground off the linings, nothing at all to see.
The surface of the linings is somewhat shiny from use, so I roughed it up with a file just enough to give it some tooth and eliminate any thoughts of chattering from the smooth surface.
After reassembly it didn't grind, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.
Somewhere around here I have a new set of front brake shoes. It looks like I'm gonna have to break down and install them. *sigh*
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Steve
Baron of Greymatter
SoCal
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Been a while since I've been into 544 brakes and forgot what's in there... but...
Are the front drums self adjusting? I get all sorts of brake wierdesses in my Jaguar for self adjuster ratchets that have a mind of their own... sometimes noisy, sometimes quiet, some times pulls left, sometimes right, sometimes the pedal just goes to the floor and nothing happens...
Watch out folks if you see a dark maroon (purple) XK120 coupe headed your way ;-)
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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You get tired of the XK120 just poiint it my direction!
My Dad had a silver XK140 roadster when I was about 12/13. I'd like to get a roadster or coupe, or even a MKVII.
Speaking of which, soneone donated a nice-looking MKVII to the local Salvation Army. I saw it in their sales lot, but by the time I finished my business and went back it was long gone! *sigh*
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My '64 seems to be the same as yours. I purchased the car this spring and the seller told me that it had developed a noise in the right front brake and it pulled a bit to that side. He told me that he hit the brakse real hard and the problem went away. As I drove the car home, the brakes pulled right, and got better as I drove.
I have driven the car weekly around town, making one trip of 30 miles to the Lars Anderson Transportation Museum near Boston for Swedish Car Day in October.
I have not driven since then because of the weather here in northern Massachusetts. I have not done much to the car because I want to drive it during good weather. Besides, I do not plan on really restoring it, just fixing it up a bit.
Today, the roads were clear, so I took Beetlebomb (Does anyone remember that song?) for a ride and did some errands. As I pulled out, the brakes were grinding and pulling much like before. I suspect contamination and will try cleaning, removing glaze if it is there, and perhaps swapping the linings from side to side. Like you, I will re-do all the brakes eventually. My standards for the mechanics of a car are much higher that those for the appearance. If I find anything, I'll let you know.
What a great Brick!
--
'96 855R,'64 PV544, '67 P1800, '95 855, '95 854, the first three are mine, heh, heh, 405,000 miles put on 8 bricks
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I've had the same noise from shoes contaminated by brake fluid; hope you've got it solved.
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Doesn't sound normal and if it is grinding it should express itself as a gouge somewhere - but I imagine it is disconcerting.
What about the spring clips holding the shoes in place?
Could it be that the shoe drifts/twists and grinds its edge on the drum until the brakes have been applied a couple of times and properly oriented?
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No, as I said before, three close inspections of the backing plates, drums, and brake shoes show no evidence of grinding. It's apparently just noise, and I'm going to say it's contaminated brake linings.
I scuffed up the faces of the linings so there was no chance of chatter, as you'd get from glazed brakes. It really didn't help much, but at least now I'm certain it's not REALLY grinding itself to bits.
I used a good spray brake cleaner and scrubbed the lining faces with a clean cloth several times. I don't have any gasoline on hand, but I've managed to clear up contamination by letting the brake shoes soak in gas overnight. Pretty good solvent, even if it is too dangerous to use!
I'm going to begin building up the parts needed to do a complete rebuild. That's wheel cylinder kits, new shoes, and a good place to have the drums turned and the linings arced.
Considering that I really don't use my brakes very much (as compared to most other drivers around me!) I think this time I'll upgrade to semi-metallic linings, or even some of the better ceramic shoes. The reduction in the life of my brake drums should be offset by the way I drive...that's to say 'feets off the brakes!'
Funny Story: I drove over the mountains to Bakersfield to share the Christmas holiday with family. The roads that will get me from here to there and back again are just two: Highway 14, which is straight, fast, and ends up as a freeway going down a steep grade as Highway 58 between Tehatchapi and Bakersfield. This is not my favorite route, as the semi-trucks on the highway downgrade are either crawling along in low gear of highballin' it at over 90 mph! Get squeezed between a couple of trucks and you'll have to change your undies!
The other route is Highway 178, which climbs over Walker Pass and drops into the Kern River Valley, before changing to freeway for 14 miles, then changing again to a narrow, twisty road that's wedged between the canyon wall and the dropoff to the river below.
Needless to say, even with the occasional 'flatlander' creeping through the canyon, it's a lot of fun. The V44 folks from Holland drove through here and had a great time!
ANYWAY, I drove over in the PV544, and returned last Tuesday afternoon. The twisty part of the canyon is at the western, or low end. I usually slow down to check for faster drivers coming up behind me so I can pull over and let them by before I get into the canyon. I just hate people who tailgate!
Tuesday the traffic was light, and although I met a fair amount of traffic going the other way, I didn't have anyone come up behind me until I was about a mile and a half into the canyon.
I noticed headlights behind me, but I had to pay attention to the road, so I couldn't tell immediately what kind of vehicle it was. A little later I saw it was a red Porsche, maybe a 911 or 912 model. Not new, but a nice car.
I checked once in a while to see if he was close enough for me to pull over and let him pass, but he stayed a ways back there until I finally pulled over in a really long stretch where I wouldn't have to come to a full stop, and I could see the road behind me and would be able to pull out again without the danger of someone whipping around a turn and creaming me.
As I pulled over, the Porsche drew alongside and lowered his window.
I figured he was curious about my Volvo, but he shouted that my brake lights were out...then he slowed to a stop and told me he had been 'pushing it pretty hard to keep up' and wanted to know what I was running.
I'm always up for a little car talk, so I shut the engine off and crawled out of the car. I used one of my crutches to press the brake pedal, looking at the rear bumper to see if the lights were working or not.
The lights were fine (as I knew they were, since I had just recently gone through and soldered all the press connectors solid!) and I opened the hood to show him the engine.
He seemed confused that it was just a 'stock' Volvo 4-banger (NOT!) with an automatic transmission.
I then told him the brake lights seemd fine, but also that I hadn't used them while driving through the canyon until he was alongside and slowing to a stop.
His eyes got pretty big. Apparently he had the car, but not the driving skills. And I'm so crippled up I can hardly take more than a few steps!
After we talked a while, he took off ahead of me, and sure enough, he was riding his brakes on every turn.
I just zipped around him at the next opportunity and gave my little car a good exercise run. I was on the freeway section for 5 or 6 minutes before he passed us again.
Anyway, the brakes are somewhat quieter, I'm not too worried about them, and I'm planning a nice mid-winter brake rebuild soon. Maybe I'll get lucky and find an old 122 that can donate its front disk setup!
Steve
Baron of Greymatter
SoCal, juast southwest of Death Valley.
1965 PV544
http://www.geocities.com/steve_sms/volvo
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The only thought is that you might switch sides with the lining to see what happens. Also, is there slight bevel on each end of the lining? On some cars the leading and trailing shoes have different size material and as such you need to make sure that the proper one is in the correct place. there may also be a density difference in the type of material between the front and trailing shoes. Maybe someone had replaced the right front lining only and its of a different material. Thats about all the ideas I have for the moment. Luck, Copterplt in sunny Tacoma
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