[TheOtherLeft]

Hiya all,

It's my understanding that drum brakes (on the rear of my GV in this case) are self-ratcheting. Does this mean they adjust for when the shoes gets worn?

Reason I ask is I don't think my rear brakes have been changed in about 8 years (it's a 2002 model) and since the weekend the handbrake handle seems quite stiff when I engage it i.e I don't have to pull it as far to engage the handbrake.

Could this be due to the self-adjusting mechanism and does this mean my brake shoes are worn?

Cheers

[royce]

been through any mud?

the handbrake will seem lower when they ratchet to the next stop, I notice it in mine every few months, but if tis bad it always pays to have a alook

[TheOtherLeft]

royce wrote:

been through any mud?

the handbrake will seem lower when they ratchet to the next stop, I notice it in mine every few months, but if tis bad it always pays to have a alook

I haven't done any 4WDing in a few months so it's not mud related.

My brakes are squealing a little but only when it's cold. When I've been driving for a while they are fine. I might check them over in a little while though.

The brakes work fine though

[steak_knife]

TheOtherLeft wrote:

royce wrote:

been through any mud?

the handbrake will seem lower when they ratchet to the next stop, I notice it in mine every few months, but if tis bad it always pays to have a alook

I haven't done any 4WDing in a few months so it's not mud related.

My brakes are squealing a little but only when it's cold. When I've been driving for a while they are fine. I might check them over in a little while though.

The brakes work fine though

Pull your drum's off & have a look, sound's like thay are either worn out or full of dust.

Thay do "self adjust" to a certain extent, but like drum's of old, if you have dirt or even brake dust aplenty in there it will clog up the adjuster.
Every time my H/brake dose as you described I know it's time for more than just a hose out.

[TheOtherLeft]

I've checked the shoes and there's still a little meat left on them. I measured 1.9mm in the middle of the shoe and according to the service manual the minimum thickness is 1mm.

The thing I noticed is the uneven wear of the shoe. There's more meat left at the bottom of the rear shoe compared to the top of the shoe. Is this normal due to the nature of drum brakes?




I've never changed brake shoes before so is there anything special I need to take care of when changing them?

[Scrawny]

Yes, the uneven wear is just the nature of drum brake shoes. If the lowest point is 1.9mm then you have some time up your sleeve. Just make sure you check all the shoes.

[Red89]

TheOtherLeft wrote:

I've never changed brake shoes before so is there anything special I need to take care of when changing them?

Keep an eye on where all the springs connect up to and which way around the shoes are.

[gravity_powered]

Hardest part I've found is getting the return spring back on. I don't know the proper way to do it, I just used a pair of vice-grips and swore a lot.

[steak_knife]

gravity_powered wrote:

Hardest part I've found is getting the return spring back on. I don't know the proper way to do it, I just used a pair of vice-grips and swore a lot.

That's the way!!!!

[Scrawny]

I usually connect the springs to the shoes first then lever the shoes on. It gets more fun the bigger the shoes and springs get

[TheOtherLeft]

ScrawnC wrote:

Yes, the uneven wear is just the nature of drum brake shoes. If the lowest point is 1.9mm then you have some time up your sleeve. Just make sure you check all the shoes.

It was 1.9mm midway up the shoe which is where the manual told me to look so I assume I have a little more time.

[TheOtherLeft]

Which brand of brake pads does people recommend?

I've always used Bendix (4WD pads for the front) but are the other brands just as good?

[steak_knife]

I've never really had a bad shoe, thay only do 30% of the work.