Rear drum brake adjustment

[trqmnstr]

I just adjusted my rear shoes which has helped my stopping distances a lot. The shoes were not even making contact with the drum. That's how much they needed to be adjusted. Also, my parking brake hasn't worked in some time now. I think these two problems are linked together. I assume since my shoes are not adjusted correctly then there's no way for my p-brake to work. Is that correct? Also, I read somewhere that the rear shoes should slightly drag when you freespin them. What do you say? If so, I need to keep adjusting. I posted this elsewhere but was getting impatient. Thanks Clay

 

[JFaughn]

Ifs its tipical parking brake , its the cable thats rusted on the inside not leting the cable move and in turn causing problums with the shoes, P. brake did not back off the last time applied,or the rear brake shoes do need to be adjusted for both the brakes to work becouse the is not enough reach made by one push of the peddle or the short pull of the cable, the adjusting method I've ended up with is to adjust till the wheel locks up then back it off a few clicks just so the wheel turns freely but you can hear a little drag, the reason is if you adjust the to the drag then there is still to much play becouse the shoes pivot at the top and you can have drag on one and a lot of gap on the other , what we're trying to do is get the same gap for both.

 

[trqmnstr]

I took the driver's drum off and I could see the p-brake action as I pushed the p-brake pedal in. I put a foot on the pedal and leaned out the door to see the brake. It was working and it released as soon as I pulled the release lever. That leads me to believe that my p-brake is not the problem. I think I need to keep adjusting the shoes. Thanks for the response. Keep them coming. Clay

 

[Joe G.]

I touch up the rear brake adjustment every oil change. They work like they are supposed to. The so called automatic adjustment may or may not work so you have to do it manually to make sure.

 

[trqmnstr]

How much do you have to adjust them at oil changes? How do you know when they are correct? Thanks

 

[Bob Wagner]

I do around 15 clicks every oil charge.

 

[Joe G.]

I always inspect my brakes every oil change. I adjust them until the drum will barely slide on. I'm almost deaf so I can't hear the shoes drag on the drum to tell if the adjustment is correct by sound. This method works fine for me. I can only get about three or four clicks to get the adjustment like that.

 

[trqmnstr]

Bob, 15 clicks, that's quite a bit! Isn't it? You guys are adjusting to compensate for wear, right? That seems like an aweful lot, but I'm no expert. Thanks for the replies. Clay

 

[Bob Wagner]

these drum brakes suck amd adjusting is always needed. I will be towing the 5er on monday so I adjusted the brakes today 15 clicks did the trick

 

[trqmnstr]

Do you guys think that my p-brake will work if I have the shoes adjusted correctly? I'm going to play with them again tomorrow and see what I can come up with. Thanks Clay

 

[Bob Wagner]

just jack the back end up. block the front wheels and release the ebrake and put the truck in neutral.





The ebrake works on engine compression and has nothing to do with the wheel brakes.





the ebrake and pedal brakes are 2 independent systems

 

[trqmnstr]

Bob, I said p-brake not e-brake. It's OK. I forgive you. We all have our moments.

 

[Bob Wagner]

Bob, I said p-brake not e-brake. It's OK. I forgive you. We all have our moments.

I thought you wer talking pac brake

 

[trqmnstr]

I only wish I had an e-brake. I have to drop a grand on a new clutch so that may be out of the question for a while. I hate spending money on my truck knowing I still owe money on it.