1962 Cadillac brake issue

[Caddie62]

After driving at freeway speed (65+) for 15 + minutes, I start to feel a light vibration in the steering wheel which increases if I don’t pull to the side of the road. As I attempt to brake to slow down, the brake pedal pulses like crazy and brakes are poor at best.  Once the brakes (I assume) cool off, I can take off again only to have it happen again 5 miles down the road. It did this to me 4 times in about 25 miles of freeway driving.  I’ve had the brakes inspected and they replaced one set of shoes on the front due to a crack in the lining. They also turned all 4 drums and wound up having to replace one of the front drums. I’m wondering if they have the shoes adjusted too tight. Car stops amazingly well around town, but I am limited on how far I can go on the freeway. Has anyone else experienced something like this? Thanks in advance. Steve

[Big Fins]

Your post reads like the shoes are way too tight. The cracking in the lining is known as heat checking. It comes from the lining mating to the drum surface too closely. In time, you will ruin the drums. If you have a factory service manual it will give you the correct procedure to adjust the brakes.

Short of that, you may have a brake hose that has internally collapsed stopping the fluid from returning after the brakes are released. Have they been replaced? You may want to look into this.

Remove the wheels, replace at least 2 lug nuts to hold the drum on square. You should be able to spin the assembly by hand. Adjust the star wheel to where you cannot move the drum assembly then loosen it until you can turn it, but still hear the shoes contacting the drums. Do this to all 4 wheels and you should be good to go.

[dadscad]

After adjusting the brakes as big fins described and the car is still supported by the jack stands,  pump the brake pedal several times to get the shoes out against the drums.  Then immediately after releasing the pedal for the last time, try to spin each drum. A helper would be great.  If there is a fluid return blockage, you will have difficulty turning the affected drum. If both wheels on the same axle resist turning, you may have a master cylinder issue, if the line back to the master cylinder is clear. To test, Loosen the fitting at the master to see if that will expel the pressure and allow the wheel to spin. If pressure is released and you can spin both wheels,  the lines are clear. HTH

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

Check your parking brake cables.  Insure that the
mechanism fully releases and the rear brake shoes
clear the drums.  If the system hasn't been serviced
for years or replaced, it could be "hanging up" and
dragging on the rear shoes.

That will heat up the brake system quickly and cause
vibrations then brake system failure due to boiling fluid.

It happened to me about 25 years ago.  At first, even
the dealer mechanics could not figure this out.

Mike

[russ austin]

Replaced a drum?  Hopefully with a good used part, as the new repop drums are proven junk.  I have good used drums if needed. 40 per drum.