The Quick/Small/(Stupid?) Question Thread.

[Curtis]

Chromed steel back, aluminum lid

Thanks. I want to clean up the one I have but did not want to just go after it with steel wool without knowing. I'll have to figure out how best to polish up the aluminum with all its nooks and crannies.

[spl310]

Mag wheel polish works well. If it has corrosion, a brillo pad will cut it.

[Curtis]

Mag wheel polish works well. If it has corrosion, a brillo pad will cut it.

I took some fine steel wool to the back plate and it did a good job on the spot I tried. I touched the cover in a small spot and thought this must be aluminum. I have not taken it apart as yet so the filter is still in there and the weight wasn't a clue. If I had pulled it off it would have been obvious. I may just let the next owner worry about it.

[svwilbur]

Mag wheel polish works well. If it has corrosion, a brillo pad will cut it.

I took some fine steel wool to the back plate and it did a good jog on the spot I tried. I touch the cover in a small spot and thought this must be aluminum. I have not taken it apart as yet so the filter is still in there and the weight wasn't a clue. If I had pulled it off it would have been obvious. I may just let the next owner worry about it.

I prefer using "Stainless" Steel pads for stuff I care about anywhere around my classic autos as the little dust and pieces that fall off of regular steel wool will rust stuff up in a hurry. I ruined a boat's finish paint once by cleaning the aluminum trim around the wind screen with steel wool and some very fine steel particles were left and rusted overnight and a couple days later from dew getting on it. What a mess that made.

Now I only use "Stainless Steel" wool. You can get it on ebay and other places. search for "Stainless Steel 316L Wool Pads - Fine" You can also get Course and Medium but FINE is great for removing stuff and not scratching the surface very easily. So it works nice and is rust safe. You can also find i it in rolls too but make sure it says Stainless Steel. I think the pads say Lustersheen on them. There are sanding sheets, rolls and pads made in Stainless Steel. You can also get it in 434 but 316L is suppose to be a little better corrosion resistance. I have only used the roll and pads. I prefer the pads for ease of use and better density.

But Stainless Steel wool costs a lot more than steel wool but no rust worries with Stainless. It also seems to last longer than the normal steel wool.

[Curtis]

Mag wheel polish works well. If it has corrosion, a brillo pad will cut it.

I took some fine steel wool to the back plate and it did a good jog on the spot I tried. I touch the cover in a small spot and thought this must be aluminum. I have not taken it apart as yet so the filter is still in there and the weight wasn't a clue. If I had pulled it off it would have been obvious. I may just let the next owner worry about it.

I prefer using "Stainless" Steel pads for stuff I care about anywhere around my classic autos as the little dust and pieces that fall off of regular steel wool will rust stuff up in a hurry. I ruined a boat's finish paint once by cleaning the aluminum trim around the wind screen with steel wool and some very fine steel particles were left and rusted overnight and a couple days later from dew getting on it. What a mess that made.

Now I only use "Stainless Steel" wool. You can get it on ebay and other places. search for "Stainless Steel 316L Wool Pads - Fine" You can also get Course and Medium but FINE is great for removing stuff and not scratching the surface very easily. So it works nice and is rust safe. You can also find i it in rolls too but make sure it says Stainless Steel. I think the pads say Lustersheen on them. There are sanding sheets, rolls and pads made in Stainless Steel. You can also get it in 434 but 316L is suppose to be a little better corrosion resistance. I have only used the roll and pads. I prefer the pads for ease of use and better density.

But Stainless Steel wool costs a lot more than steel wool but no rust worries with Stainless. It also seems to last longer than the normal steel wool.

Good advice, thanks.

[krispoulin]

My carbs pop around/above 3500 rpm at highway speeds. If I pull the choke out 4 clicks, the popping stops and I feel the car has more power. It seems obvious that it's running lean in this scenario, but is this a symptom of something quick/small/stupid or is it more likely a symptom common to many possible issues?

[Chucks66]

Just started having a SU carb problem, seems like everytime i make a hard right hand trun the motor starts to sputter. Any ideas? No problems on a left turn.

[notoptoy]

Float levels are usually my first thought.

[mraitch]

Check to see if the coil is leaking and/or coil temperature - I had a similar problem, though mine was on left hand turns.

[GeoffM]

My carbs pop around/above 3500 rpm at highway speeds. If I pull the choke out 4 clicks, the popping stops and I feel the car has more power. It seems obvious that it's running lean in this scenario, but is this a symptom of something quick/small/stupid or is it more likely a symptom common to many possible issues?

If you use Keith's primer on carb set-up in the tech wiki, he advises to set mixture at 2000rpm. With the stock needles and even the ADQ needles, you will find these carbs are rich at idle and tend to lean out at higher rpm. So if you set mixture at a lower rpm, odds are it will be too lean at higher rpms.
If you reset your mixture at 2000 and you are still leaning out above 3500rpm you could check for leaky throttle bushings or look at going to a different neele profile like the ADQ's that Keith promotes.

[Chucks66]

This wouldnt be a problem if i was home in Vegas but im im Oregon with the car now. Keith only lives a few miles away from me. I would of asked him but i didnt want to bother him while he's driving back home from the Shasta show.
I'll call him to confirm the problem but it sucks that i brought it to Oregon for a family vacation and now its acting up.

[spl310]

I'm betting that its just the elevation change. Just use a little choke until you get back down near Satan's waiting room.

[Curtis]

I'm betting that its just the elevation change. Just use a little choke until you get back down near Satan's waiting room.

Too funny. So would you call Death Valley Satan's arrival lounge or the surface of the Sun?

[spl310]

Las Vegas is a den of inequity, and hot as a skillet in a country diner. It's also known as the city of lost souls. Sure sounds like Satan's waiting room to me.

[svwilbur]

I need some help understanding the rear brake shims for the wheel cylinder. I read the tech wiki http://www.311s.org/pmwiki-311/pmwiki.p ... rBrakeInfo and I read this http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph ... im#p103038 which has some pictures. But nothing addresses my question about movement, sliding of the wheel cylinder or tightness with the shims in place.

But my issue is this. If I press the brake pedal very hard the left rear brake locks up and does not release quickly. On the road you feel it having a major drag. Not good acceleration when this happens. It happened 4 times during the Mount Shasta 684 mile run. luckily it released after a minute or 3 or 4. Just waiting for it to catch fire or smoke bad but it never did..... thanks.

I took it apart when I got home. I had to pry the drums off as I had hit brakes hard on the road before driving into garage. Things looked OK. I cleaned it up and grease contact points and had the drums turned for kicks but did not really need it. I also verified the shoes were on the correct way. Put it back together and pressed the brake pedal and it was totally locked up on the one side (REAR LEFT Driver side, the passenger side was fine. I could not turn the tire or wheel. Took it apart and had to pry the drums off with screw drivers between the axel end and the drum. that took a long while as they are in full ON lock.

What I noticed this time is that the wheel cylinder is able to shift a bit in the slot it mounts into. It appears to have slid to the outside forcing the brake shoes apart and it does not slide back so the rear most shoe is wedged up against the drum very tightly and it will not move.

My QUESTIONS
1.) with the shims in place should the wheel cylinder be able to slide?
2.) Is this a floating wheel cylinder, (I think I read somewhere that it is)? (it seems like it needs to be as the other side of it does not have a #9 piston cylinder (page 177 handbook and service manual) on the front side of the rear left brake wheel cylinder. They only have one. So it seems like it needs to float to work properly and be able to push the front shoe out.
3.) if it is suppose to float how easily should it be able to move?

I can move mine by hand if I push really hard with the shoes off and I just push on the brake cylinder.

***** Here are two pictures. note the lack of a gap on one when it is slid to the right and a gap to the right side when I push it to the left.
It seems to lock the brakes up when it goes to the right (toward the rear for the driver side) on the left rear wheel. And it drags the brakes for a while.

So Is this suppose to slide easier so the springs will pull everything back into place and CENTER the wheel cylinder in this slot?

Mine seems to just go to the right and stay there. And it that position the brakes do not release.

I plan on removing the shims and checking their orientation to see if they look correct and also clean it up around the surfaces so it can slide better if that is what it is suppose to do.

I can take my other side (passengers side) off and compare but I have had it lock up on that side before as well.

Right now I have the adjusters all the way backed out as the shoes are fairly think still. Not new but only about 4,000 miles on them in the last 8 years. The PO never used it much.

ideas????