Fintail stuck rear wheels after parked 7 years - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ScooterABC · #1 12-20-2013, 01:13 PM

I bought a Fintail. Yeah!!!! It's being delivered today by a truck. It sounds like it isn't rolling, probably due to stuck rear brakes or something. Anyway, the transport agent couldn't figure it out.

Besides making sure that the e-brake is off, making sure that the car is in N or the clutch is pressed in, what are the things I can do to "un-stick" the rear wheels of the car?

Manual transmission on the tree. Is it possible that it is stuck in a gear?
Is there a way to encourage the release of a stuck E-brake?

thanks
Scott

cooljjay · #2 12-20-2013, 01:49 PM

I believe the fins have four will drums.....the e brake was probably left on when it was sitting fusing the shoes to the drum.....only way I could see freeing them....is removing the wheels and removing the drum.....may have to bang on it for some time to free the parts.....not easy on a drum style brake car...

Tomguy · #3 12-20-2013, 02:00 PM

Even if the vehicle didn't have the parking brake applied, it's very likely the shoes are frozen to the drums. Based on the fact that the fronts spun but not the rears, it sounds like you have a front disc & rear drum setup. The easiest way to fix this issue will destroy the rear drums but they're probably shot anyway. After you get it in the air, with the car firmly supported on jack stands and you in no danger of being injured (including wearing long pants and sleeves and safety glasses), you'd want to use a sledge to crack the drums off. This is, of course, if a few firm whacks with a sledge on the top & sides of the drums do not free the wheels or allow for easy drum removal.

Edit: The easiest way to crack off rear drums from my experience is to smack them firmly right on the portion of the drum where the face (that mounts against the wheel) meets the braking surface. Typically this area has a slight curve to it. A few good hits there can split the drum apart enough for you to get a metal chisel in to split it off thoroughly.

ScooterABC · #4 12-20-2013, 02:23 PM

This doesn't sound fun at all! But thanks to you both. I believe the car is front disk rear drum. The car was stored in a garage so at least it didn't have much weather to deal with. I'm half hoping that a trailer ride from Dallas to Pasadena might have caused something to become loose.

Any other ideas? Any chance of this being transmission related?

On the E-brake, is there a physical lever that actuates the shoes to the drum and can I move that by force (if I were under the car on jack stands for instance)?

I also assume that I could easily have ONE drum stuck, and not the other, right?

thanks
Scott

Idle · #5 12-20-2013, 04:49 PM

Before you break anything jack the rear up and assess the situation. The E-brake is a cable set-up that will be easy to see once you are under the car because it will be the only system of cables under there.

Releasing the E-brake will allow the cables to slack off so then you will be left with the shoes stuck to the wheel. Look for a slot in the backing plate that might have a rubber plug in it and use this slot to spray some Liquid Wrench or something like it up against the top of the drum. It will run down over the insides of the drum and some of it will go where it is needed. Caution here. It will start draining out the bottom of the drum so put down something to catch it.

Look at the photo of the backing plate. It will show where the adjusting nuts of the shoes are and you can then try to back off the shoes. This is a cam type of device so all it will do is back away, allowing the shoes to have someplace to go if they come loose. Some tapping on the drum might be in order here, but not so much as to break it.

The text in the photo applies to rear disc brakes. You are only concerned with the photo of the backing plate.

You can also insert some lugs into the holes in the wheels and place a breaker bar between them to give you some leverage to turn the axle. Again, use caution here. This is just to give the shoes a nudge to break loose and not a way to tear the end of the axle off.

And after looking at the photo it appears you might be able to shoot some Liquid Wrench right on to the shoe face itself if you can insert the nozzle into the area between the break drum and the backing plate.

Idle · #6 12-20-2013, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScooterABC

This doesn't sound fun at all! But thanks to you both. I believe the car is front disk rear drum. The car was stored in a garage so at least it didn't have much weather to deal with. I'm half hoping that a trailer ride from Dallas to Pasadena might have caused something to become loose.

Any other ideas? Any chance of this being transmission related?

On the E-brake, is there a physical lever that actuates the shoes to the drum and can I move that by force (if I were under the car on jack stands for instance)?

I also assume that I could easily have ONE drum stuck, and not the other, right?

thanks
Scott

Once you get both wheels into the air you will be able to tell which is stuck. Due to play in the drive train a wheel that is not stuck will have a bit of play in it. If it turns any at all it is not stuck.

Try this with both wheels before moving on. If both have a bit of play then undo the driveshaft and see if they turn freely. If they do the problem is either in your driveshaft or your transmission. I cannot remember if this car has a carrier bearing or not, but they freeze up as well and will prevent the entire drivetrain from turning.

The good news here is that carrier bearings are cheap and somewhat easy to replace, but if it is frozen hard you might want to take your driveshaft to a driveshaft shop so they can replace the bearing and rebalance the assembly.

ScooterABC · #7 12-20-2013, 08:19 PM

Car arrived with wheels un-stuck but lots of resistance. Clutch pedal to the floor. Pretty nice interior. Lots of de-resting to do on the interior chrome. But it isn't a rust bucket...

Any comments on wheel resistance? Tow driver said bearings....

I'll post a new thread asking what a mystery (but original) wire is supposed to be connected to.

THANK YOU people
Scott

Marrs · #8 12-21-2013, 11:59 AM

Check that the transmission rod ends are connected where they go through the bulkhead and connect (eventually) to the top of the transmission. These are known to break and leave a driver stranded if not in N when it happened, so you want to verify this isn't a compounding issue before addressing the wheels/brakes. The are two, one covers the lower gears and the second covers the higher gears, ball end at the front side and rubber bushings at the top of transmission.

Idle · #9 12-21-2013, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScooterABC

Car arrived with wheels un-stuck but lots of resistance. Clutch pedal to the floor. Pretty nice interior. Lots of de-resting to do on the interior chrome. But it isn't a rust bucket...

Any comments on wheel resistance? Tow driver said bearings....

I'll post a new thread asking what a mystery (but original) wire is supposed to be connected to.

THANK YOU people
Scott

It could be bearings. Check on the axle near the wheels for grease zerts. I once had a 109 and they were all over the place but hard to see as there is so much stuff tied into the rear axle near the wheels and they are so small.

This might be another case of dropping the driveshaft and seeing what turns and what does not. It could be everything is frozen up a bit, but if isolating the axle from the transmission makes one or the other turn it will be a lot easier to find the trouble.

vstech · #10 12-21-2013, 11:13 PM

I agree, I'd drop the drive shaft, and see what turns.
clutch pedal on the floor, sounds like it may be fused as well. check linkage and verify the trans is in neutral... spin one tire at a time, and see if the diff turns or the other wheel... try to spin the diff input... feel for resistance. pull the wheels and drums off, and see if the axles are free...
you may want to drop the diff cover and look inside for rust/bearings there too...

ssk831 · #11 12-22-2013, 01:15 AM

Sounds like transmission or axle now. Maybe the drums are incorrectly adjusted and have some drag.

ScooterABC · #12 12-24-2013, 01:03 PM

I guess people missed the post where I said that when the car arrived the wheels are un-stuck. There IS resistance on the right front (surprise) wheel when lifted off the ground, but not so much that I can't push the car around on the driveway. I haven't lifted the rear off the ground but I suspect whatever was binding "unbound" when tow truck pulled it out of the garage, or so I was told. I suspect that to have been a stuck drum or caliper, possibly just the right front wheel or possibly more. I doubt I'll ever know.

At this point I have the car in a position where I can work on it. It has started (with starting fluid plus new gas in the tank) but it is not going to idle, etc. I'll change the oil before working further with it and post new threads about my adventures with the car. I have two already to ask about but they are quite specific...

thanks!