My Drummer's front brakes have been going a bit weird. They've lost a degree of power on both the foot and handbrake. Sometimes when I depress the pedal the car pulls up straight, but with reduced power, sometimes it pulls to the left, and sometimes it pulls to the right. Hydraulic pressure is good, and the brakes are adjusted OK.

I'm not going to get chance to pull the drums off to investigate just yet, so has anybody got any ideas of what might be going on? Ta.

Oil contamination or contamination of some sort maybe ?

Wheel cylinders leaking fluid on to the brake lining

Glazed lining (shoes to close to drums)

Buggered engine and gear box mount (pulling the hand brake cable)

Jono,
another possibility, perhaps a lining is beginning to separate from a shoe?
How long since they were fitted and had they been in storage for a good while prior to fitting?
ken

Thanks guys. I guess they've been on for about 6 years (I can't remember what mileage off the top of my head). I was going to strip and check them this year anyway, pre-Spain, but I guess it'll have to happen rather sooner than I'd planned now. I don't know how long the shoes were sitting aorund for prioer to me fitting them, although I think I'd probably had them in the garage for a while.

I don't think there are any fluid leaks as the pressure remains constant, and they don't need pumping.

Sounds like the shoes are Fubar'd - when I got the shed, the brakes were adjusted OK but still wouldnt stop and it was only when I got them off that I saw the shoes had about 2mm of lining left on them.

On my old 1979 drummer, I went through two sets of shoes in 3 years so if they have lasted 6 then I guess they are horlixed......

Yes, I'm thinking it's most likely that as well. But 2 sets in 3 years? How ever many miles were you doing?!

Not quite the same, but I had a Metro with front discs. The brakes were useless as they had done many years, but not many miles. Fitted new pads and had good brakes. I guess it can happen with shoes as well.

Used to do about 12,000 miles a year - mainly racked up blasting like a loon down the A515 to Birmingham every weekend from Disley to see my better half who was studying there at uni.......

The miles are not so important.
I've driven across Australia some 4.200 km and only used the brakes 10 times. Hitting the cities and you used the brakes every bloody 5 meters.