Re: Thanks Clint!


[Follow Ups] [Post Followup] [Dodge Power Wagon Forum]


Posted by Marty [174.7.23.230] on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 14:58:58 :

In Reply to: Thanks Clint! posted by Jonas Smith [67.142.161.20] on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 13:19:09 :

Jonas, You're good with those...are they off Dana 70's?
Where the mistake is made is the WDX-WM300 drums are loose from the hubs once you remove the flathead screws & when turned separate from your hubs on these trucks...forget about having proper brakes again until you fix them...assuming there's even enough meat left to redo them.
If you have a WDX-WM300 style PW & the brakes pulse when you apply them...someone has turned the drums by just clamping the bare drum in the brake lathe & it just doesn't work on these trucks. Of the 20 or so Power Wagons I've owned...none of them has had proper brakes when I bought it. If you stamp the drum & hub so that they always stay indexed & matched & then have them machined in this manner...you'll notice about a 200% improvement in your braking.
#2 most important is having your shoes arced because most of our drums have been turned so many times that they need oversize lining to make them work well. It's very important to take your drums in when buying new lining & then once arced...each pair of shoes will only work with the drum that it was sized for...you follow?
#3 most important thing is adjustment. Most PW's never get their brake shoes adjusted properly. If anyone is trying to install shoes & only adjusting the top cam bolts...your brakes are probably working on only about 10% of the lining. After installing new lining, you need to perform a FULL adjustment & most guys on here have never done it. Anyone who hasn't...do an archive search & adjust your brake shoes top & bottom using feeler gauges...that's the only way to get them worn in properly without glazing the shoes.
Once you've followed the steps above...a PW's brakes work as well as any other truck I've driven...including my 98 Dodge. No discs needed...no Hydroboost...nada. Nothing wrong with the brakes on our trucks other than operator error. The brakes are quite large, in fact, for a truck this size.
The only flaw in the PW braking system is the pre 66 trucks had a single brake system, as did all cars pre about 1964.And by the way...there's nothing wrong with that either provided you've replaced all your brake components & regularly service your brakes to be sure you're not leaking fluid. Going to a dual master was like installing an idiot light for your alternator...for people who never check anything until it's broken.
The dual system is superior when it comes to safety but I've never had an issue in 30yrs driving syngle master cylinder cars with a properly operational emergency brake & so I'm still confidant driving my old truck at 40mph & feeling pretty darn safe in her :)
That's my PW Brakes rant for the day...but heck, if you're happy spending $3000 buying discs, adapters, boosters etc...who am I to stop you :)




Follow Ups:



Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:
Subject:
Message:
Optional Link
URL:
Title:
Optional Image Link
URL:


This board is powered by the Mr. Fong Device from Cyberarmy.com