do your brakes lock up

[nailpounder]

this car has been in my family for over 35 years i cant ever remember the brakes locking up under hard stopping 

anyone had this problem or is this normal?

 

[Stanglover]

this car has been in my family for over 35 years i cant ever remember the brakes locking up under hard stopping 

anyone had this problem or is this normal?

 Front or rear?

 My car has a front disc conversion, but in this case, the front and rear circuits are separate. There is a separate adjustable bias control valve for the rear drums. Without it, or with it set too high, the back left wheel locks up on hard braking. The dif is an open type, so that means there is no 'drive' to that wheel under braking, hence the lock up.

 You may have other problems as well and a proper brake service may be in order.

Geoff.

 

[nailpounder]

this car has been in my family for over 35 years i cant ever remember the brakes locking up under hard stopping 

anyone had this problem or is this normal?

 Front or rear?

 My car has a front disc conversion, but in this case, the front and rear circuits are separate. There is a separate adjustable bias control valve for the rear drums. Without it, or with it set too high, the back left wheel locks up on hard braking. The dif is an open type, so that means there is no 'drive' to that wheel under braking, hence the lock up.

 You may have other problems as well and a proper brake service may be in order.

Geoff.

i just converted to front disc brakes the car stops better then it ever has  , i hit the brakes hard at 25 mils hr and it hurt me as i slammed into the seat belt lol

but no lock up front or back ( never has any tire locked up since i can remember )

 

[jpaz]

I have factory front disc brakes and drums in the rear. I have always had a problem with my back brakes locking up under hard braking. What I found out recently was that the idiot who restored my car used a distribution valve instead of a proportioning valve. So the brake fluid pressure was the same for front and rear instead of more for the front than the rear.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Without anti lock brakes you should be able to lock up all four brakes and slide the tires.

Back in the day of manually adjusted brakes shoes a good mechanic would take the car out after doing a brake job get up to maybe 35 mph stand on the brakes. He would have his brake adjust tool with him and run the shoes out until all four wheels would lock up even. A properly adjusted set of brakes would allow you to let go of the steering wheel and come to a stop without pulling one way or the other.

With disc there is not adjustment they always drag and actually decrease gas mileage. The rear drums should have self adjusters. They work when you are backing up and put on the brakes. As the torque twists the shoes it pulls on the cable and adjusts the screw out tighter.

If you have had the drums turned they should have cut the arc on the shoes to fit the larger diameter of the drums. If they did not you only have a small patch of the brake shoe that will hit and not stop very well. The will eventually wear in but a slow process on a seldom driven vehicle.

It is my opinion that if car will not slide the tires something is not right. Check PB booster with a vacuum pump to see if you have a leak. If you switched from drums to disc did you change the master cylinder they are different dia.. Disc brake master is I think 15/16" and drum is 1".

Pull the rear drums off and look at the wear pattern on the shoe. If not hitting all the way around you need to have them ground to fit the drum. If drums are cut to the max you need to replace the drums. If the front disc are cut to the min. thickness you need to replace them also.

Every time before I go out for a drive I stand on the brake pedal with both feet. If there is a hose or seal about to go I want it to go sitting in the garage.

 

[Stanglover]

this car has been in my family for over 35 years i cant ever remember the brakes locking up under hard stopping 

anyone had this problem or is this normal?

 Front or rear?

 My car has a front disc conversion, but in this case, the front and rear circuits are separate. There is a separate adjustable bias control valve for the rear drums. Without it, or with it set too high, the back left wheel locks up on hard braking. The dif is an open type, so that means there is no 'drive' to that wheel under braking, hence the lock up.

 You may have other problems as well and a proper brake service may be in order.

Geoff.

i just converted to front disc brakes the car stops better then it ever has  , i hit the brakes hard at 25 mils hr and it hurt me as i slammed into the seat belt lol

but no lock up front or back ( never has any tire locked up since i can remember )

 I see, Looks like I misread or misunderstood what you were saying. YOU have never had brakes lock up, has anyone else?

Yes I have as I described, but since I have the adjustable control for the rears, not so much. With the car being a "one wheeler peeler" with a 4 speed, there is always going to be a tendency for the left to lock up as there is no drive to that wheel. When the clutch is in all the way, then they both can lock up. There's also not enough weight on the ass end of these cars. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Spike Morelli]

I have owned my Mustang for 29 years. It's an everyday driver, and I don't believe I've ever locked up all four corners, or either just the fronts or backs. I've often thought that If I worked in a brake shop, I could spend the time to really get them up to snuff. The car has discs up front, drums in the rear. The last time I did a brake job up front, I removed the worn semi-metallic pads and replaced them with a Raybestos organic material...….and I agree with the other person who said the semi-metallic brake better...they really feel better anyway.