Truck stuck

[osajaj]

Ok, so I did some work on the truck, new seal on rear output shaft, oil change, usual maintenance stuff. Car was sitting for a bit. Changed the pads all around. While changing the rear driverside brake we pressed the pedal and it shot one of the pistons out, grabbed it before it fell out and put it back in with the rubber sleeve over it. Two problems I have now.
1. Car starts but won't catch and idle, sputtering, backfiring and stalling. Smells like fuel, but if I try and press the gas and release the clutch, it starts to stall and backfire. If I press the gas pedal all the way down she stalls out. What to do? She wont even move if I finesse he gas and clutch and keep her running. So this leads to problem 2. Car is stuck, meaning I think that rear piston that shot out is jamming things, thoughts. I came to this conclusion jacking the front end and seeing that I could somewhat spin the wheels until they catch to spin the other side. Then did the same with the rear, passneger side could spin until it tried to spin the other side. Went to that side and couldn't budge the thong.Do you think that entire piston needs replacing, or am I missing something.

I know that's a really long write up but this is the best place to solve problems, and I wanted to be thorough. Thanks for the help!

[SafeAirOne]

Having the wheel cylinder piston come out of the cylinder isn't a big deal, so long as you put it back in the same way it came out. Did you slacken the brake adjuster cams all the way and see if the wheel spins? If the adjusters are over-tightened, it's just like having that brake on all the time.

The poor idling is something unrelated to the brakes, obviously. Did you do anything ignition or carburettor-related lately?

[osajaj]

Mark yes, they are slackend all the way. I took the wheel off, took the drum off and the hub spins, until tension from the other wheel which is good. Problem is I put the drum back on and tighten the screws holding the drum and it doesnt spin. It will spin if i just slide the drum on but when i tighten the screws no movement. Also pedal goes all the way to the floor, but that may be because the brakes need to be bled since i shot the piston out, right? How do i bleed the brakes?

In regards to the truck running crappy, i didnt not mess with the carb or anything to do with the engine.

Also, when i took the wheel off i noticed one of the studs on the hub is shredded, meaning i will need to replace that as well, how difficult is that job?

This up keep and improvement is turning into a nightmare!! I will supply the beer if anyone is in Rhode Island and can come shed some light.......

[SafeAirOne]

Hmm...Did you install new shoes that are too wide? 109 front brake shoes are wider than the ones that go on 88's. Could the engine just be bogging down because it can't spin the rear wheels because one is all bound up?

[osajaj]

its the driverside rear wheel and the car is bogging/sputter just sitting idle. The brake shoes are new and for an 88. I am so stumped at all this now since she has been running great before hand and I have not done anything to the engine.

[Revtor]

"usual maintenance stuff." -what does this mean? so you changed the oil and then did that stuff. And now it wont idle. Perhaps your carb was adjusted for how everything was set before "Usual maintenance stuff", and now after that it needs to be adjusted? But you said that you didnt mess w.the carb. did some line get bumped and fall off? Is there vacuum stuff on a 62? Too much oil fouling a breather, messing w/vacuum/carb?

Sounds rich running.. I'd check the plugs.

sorry I cant be of more assistance!
~Steve

[bkreutz]

its the driverside rear wheel and the car is bogging/sputter just sitting idle. The brake shoes are new and for an 88. I am so stumped at all this now since she has been running great before hand and I have not done anything to the engine.

Obviously there is something different between the sides if one side spins and the other doesn't. As a last resort you could put the rear on jackstands and remove both sides piece by piece and compare the two, there has to be a difference somewhere. (I'd look at the brake shoes again, you said they are new 88"s but it wouldn't be the first time that a wrong part got put in the right box)

[rwollschlager]

is there a possibility you accidentally put the parking brake shoes on the axle and the shoes for the axle on the parking brake?

and yes you will need to bleed the brakes now that the cylinder blew out. When you bleed them though make sure you put the brake drum on otherwise it'll keep blowing out.

check to see that all your vacuum lines are connected and all your ignition wires (the spark plug wires and the other smaller gauge wires that go to the distributor and coil) are connected.

If you haven't got this sorted out by early May I'll be home by then and we'll get this thing going

-Rob

[osajaj]

Yes I am sure I didnt use the incorrect pads, since they came by themselves and the others were sets per axle. I will quadruple check the plugs and wires and any other connections. I will also pull the carb off and make sure everything seems to be working properly. Exactly how does one bleed brakes? Rob i will be quite pissed off if she is not sorted before you get back! But thank you for the support...always appreciated. Do you think i should swap drums and see if it is the drum thats the problem?

[rwollschlager]

I would not pull apart the carb. I had running issue this summer and everyone was quick to blame my rochester carb for the sole reason that "it wasn't a weber". After rebuilding it and replacing gaskets and getting no change in performance it turned out to be an ignition issue. Carburetors don't go bad overnight, it'll be a gradual failure in performance. Check you're point gap, check to see if your cap is worn out (grooves worn into the contacts or just worn/burn contacts), make sure your rotor is in good shape, make sure the thin rubber vacuum line is attached to the distributor and not cracked or split along the way. When you're working on it today give me a call.

[artpeck]

On the brakes issue a few things. I would start and go back through how you installed the shoes and particularly the springs. I have found that it is easy to misintall them and that could be the issue. On bleeding them just buy a cheap bleeder hose (clear plastic that goes over the bleeder nipples) have some pone pump the brakes starting at the farthest away wheel from the master. The green bible has very specific directions but I have found that if your system and cylinders are good bleeding is very straight forward.

[osajaj]

Ok. Regulated the fuel a bit from the carb. Seems to catch an ok idle but gas it and she dies. Going to order some new plugs an maybe rotor for distributor. In regards to the brakes, I will get a bleeder hose and do that. But what I learned is that when I tighten the drum on and spin the wheel the drum will tighten on itself. My thought here is that the drums have worn differently and that with the new pads they lock up. My thought is new drums will solve this problem. Thoughts?

[o2batsea]

Brakes:
I found that you really need both wheels of the axle in question up off the ground when bleeding. Since you want to spin the wheel to check the tightness of the shoes, you have to have the opposite side free.
Do not attempt to bleed until you have the wheel mounted and the lugs tight. This will pull the drum into position and it will be properly in line. Just using the "hold in place" screw may result in the drum being cockeyed.
Adjust the snail cams on the shoes until the wheel is very hard to turn by hand, especially with a new set of shoes. The difference between the brakes being on and off is mere thousandths of an inch, and with new shoes bedding in, they must be tight.
Bleed the brake farthest away from the MC first and work backward.

Sputtering:
Condensor bad, vacuum leak, timing off.

[osajaj]

Ok, so do not buy new drums. They are just binding hard when I put the screws on the drum and it doesn't allow me to spin the wheel. I will bleed the brakes once I solve this problem, correct?

[gudjeon]

For the no idle, rough running bit, check the fuel pump output. Many an old vehicle that frequently sits a lot, or not, have the fuel pump go kaput. The problems it can cause mimmick ignition problems. Check the usual along with this is a good way forward before tearing into more complicated stuff. As for the brakes, the new shoes may be rubbing on the ridge worn into the drum. Set up and bleed if there is no leaks after putting the seals back.