I've never been really good with drum brakes. Aside from advising me to swap over to disks (which I'd love to do, but just can't swing it right now), why don't my self-adjusters self adjust? If I setup the drums with minimal clearance, my pedal is nice and high and the car stops pretty good. It doesn't last long though. Pretty soon the rear brakes get out of adjustment, making for lots of play in the brake pedal before the rears engage.

I try the ol' backup and jam on the brakes, but the adjusters don't seem to be doing their job.

Any help?

gene

 

Check your adjuster. Look at the teeth on the star and also make sure that it turns freely. If not put some hi-temp brake grease on there. If it's totally busted, get a new one.

 

I'll check. The last time I did any work on it, I replaced the star adjusters because they were basically shot. There's a good chance it could use grease.

Honestly, the car sat for 2 years in my garage - but, this problem predates that.

 

Check to be sure those adjusters are on the proper sides - one has left-hand threads, and the other is right-hand. You can tell if they are on the correct side by turning the star wheel in the same direction as the adjusting arm would turn them if it was moving down over them; they should spread apart.

Pete

 

I don't think they have ever worked on any car...

 

 

Take the adjusters out and clean the threads with a wire brush, then lube them up and you should be good for a long time.

 

yeah, what he said...

also, make sure the adjuster arm isn't binding and that the spring is not toast.

 

All great advice - thanks. I guess I need to get my butt in gear and fix it up this weekend. I don't get it - how is it that something so dirt simple can cause me so much grief? Oh well.

rock on!

gene

 

Once, one of the arms that spins the adjuster on my car was bent; don't ask me how that happened. I just bent it back... probably should've bought a new one, though.

 

If there is any dirt withing the threads of a screw can it turn? Not very well. So if it can't turn very well or at all then it won't work.

 

Also, the spring that runs parallel and right behind the self adjuster, if it is put on the wrong way it will catch on the star wheel and not allow the wheel to turn and adjust. If it's on the wrong way, take it off and turn it around.

 

I took a look at the brakes last night. The star adjusters are in really good shape - practically new. The threads looked perfect, no junk whatsoever and they don't stick. I did grease them up with anti-seize compound (the stuff you use on spark plugs for aluminum heads).

For the life of me, I can't really understand how they work - I have some idea, but it's just no totally clear to me. That's probably why I went to college for an electrical engineering degree Anyway, I've got the right-hand threads on the right rear wheel, and the left-hand threads on the left. It looks correct, since the adjusting arm sits below the star, and looks like it adjusts in the upward direction.

OK, so I did a static adjustment then took the car out. In a parking lot, I did a few backup/brake jams. The pedal definitely got higher, and the brakes are working better. Maybe it's correct then, eh?

Now my problem is that the pedal is still mushy. I'll bleed the system to see if that's the remaining problem. Any chance the booster isn't doing it's job? I'm not sure how to tell this. Any suggestions?

 

Check this, Bendix Brakes FAQ's

http://www.bendixbrakes.com/en_us/faq/index.html

 

The best way to under stand how the star adjuster works is to give yourself a demonstration. Take a screwdriver and put it between the top of the secondary pad (rear) and the anchor pin. Pry away from the anchor pin while holding the shoes towards the backing plate with your other hand. It requires about 1/16" of movement to make the adjuster work. As you pry, the adjuster lever will move the star wheel thus moving the pads out as they wear. They actually adjust on release of the pedal and not apply.

As far as the brake booster, check all of the vacuum lines and make sure that they are tightly connected. As far as the mushy-ness, if you don't have any leaks within the system, bleed the brakes again.

The best way to bleed the brakes it not to pump them 15 billion times then loosen the bleeder valve. Bleeding is done by volume, not pressure. So ease into the pedal and let all of the air 'go around' the fluid. Start at the right rear, then left rear, the right fron, then left front. This is assuming that you don't have a vacuum bleeder and/or pressure bleeder.

 

I agree that bleeding is best done with smooth, even pedal pressure. I have always had good luck by simply allowing the system to gravity bleed. Assuming that the master is completely bled...

 

If I remember correctly, gravity feeding makes a big mess - although, I only tried it once and I probably did it wrong. Are you supposed to all wheels at once, or one at a time? If it's one at a time, is the sequence the same (right rear, left rear, right front, left front)? Also, once you open the bleeder, how much do you let flow through?

 

It's in sequence as I mentioned above. You probably want to hook a small tube up to the bleeder valve and into a small container so you don't have a huge mess.

Edit: You want to let it flow through until all of the air bubbles are done coming through the tube. Be sure to check the M/C fluid level between each wheel bleed and make sure that there is an adequete amount of fluid in there.

 

Yeah I do the same sequence as stated above, furthest from the master to start with. I just pop the bleeders, one at a time, and let it pee out a bit. I also open and close them a few times to be sure all the air is out. Having a partner pump the brake pedal works just fine, but sometimes no one is available to help so the gravity method also works just fine. No matter what, never let the master go dry...or ya gotta bleed that, and then you NEED a partner...

 

check the gravity bleed setup this guy came up with - it's for a bike, but the principle is the same

http://www.moccsplace.com/images/bra...er/bleeder.htm

what do you guys think? Kinda cool!

 

Pretty neat little device...

Build one and let us know how it works for ya...

 

Yep, I'll try it - if it works, you can call me Doc