I use this 1960 Jeep cj5 just on the property here, when going down hill I have to put alot of pressure on the brake pedal to get it to stop,(petal is hard) the wheel cylinders were leaking so I replaced them on all 4 wheels,blead them, still not stopping right, the shoes looked glazed so I sanded them and the drums, they have enough thickness left. Is the problem the shoes or the master cylinder ? it doesn’t have a brake booster.
Are the shoes the same you had on the wheels when the wheel cylinders leaked? If so they may be contaminated with brake fluid. If so relined/new shoes may be in order.
If these are new shoes, you may need to bed the shoes into the drums. In the past, the shoes were arced to fit the drums. But with the concern for spreading brake friction material around, that has been discontinued. The best approach is to have the drums turned and do a good job of breaking the brakes in.
Hope this helps.
Yes they are the old shoes, that’s what I’ve been wondering if the shoes are bad, I was hoping that I could sand away the glaze, but I guess your saying that the leaking brake fluid penetrates the shoes ?. I cant drive the jeep on the highway to break the shoes in do you think its enough to do it going back and forth on the driveway a bunch of times ? its about 200 feet .
Thanks for your help Researcher.
Have someone open the bleeders on the wheels while you stand on the brake pedal. If the pedal doesn’t drop to the floor when the bleeders open there is a restriction in the lines, most likely the rubber hose from the frame to the axles.