[sstteevvee]

Hi Guys

Looks like i'm gonna be starting a few threads in order to get my beast up to standards. I used the search but couldn't find anything.

Anyway, i have a 83 sj40 which has drum brakes all round. I'm pretty sure my front pads are gone but i need a hand determining where i need to measure to see if shoes or drums need replacing. I've attatched some pics of the front right pad which is at a similar point to the left one.

The silver piece above the pads is a 5c coin, i put that there so you can get an idea of how much meat there is left.







and a pic of the drum which is hard to see anything really






Also if anyone can give me a rundown on how to adjust/maintain these brakes it would be greatly apppreciated

Thanks
Steve

[S13RR4]

If my eyes are correct you appear to have a lip on your drums, I'm fairly sure you would need to get that machine or new drums but others may no better

Also you may get a bit more out of your pads but they do look fairly low.

Just my 2c

[steak_knife]

Do a disc convertion, best thing you'll do, no more adjusting front's every 3 week's & no more random pulling under brakeing when cold..

You shoe's are fine, but you will need to adjust once the drum's are back on..

[sstteevvee]

I'm pretty sure the "lip" on the drum is just a slight build up of brake dust. You can see in the first pic where i scraped some away to see if it was a lip or not.

Disk conversion ay, could be on the cards, how much is involved?

[3cyl]

Bits off a 1.3 go on but till you get the parts together you've got a fine set of drums there, adjusted and clean they'll work fine. Getting a little hard to buy 1 litre shoes these days is the only reason I'm considering going to discs in front.

[zooky08]

3cyl wrote:

Getting a little hard to buy 1 litre shoes these days

can I ask what you mean by this
Suzistore stock them, so how are they little hard to buy?

[sstteevvee]

Thanks fella's

Would anyone be a able to give me a dummys run down on how to adjust these brakes. I have a haynes workshop manual but its bloody useless! It doesn't mention anything about the non self-adjusting brakes

[Rockhopper]

Mate, no offence intended, but if you are'nt really sure how to check and adjust your brakes, then put it back together and get it to a qualified mechanic. Brakes are way to important to second guess your way through the repair. Judging by the photo's you have about 5000 - 10000 km's left on the brakes. The drums can only be checked with inside calipers against manufacturers specifications. If they fall below that you need to replace them.

[2stroker]

zooky08 wrote:

3cyl wrote:

Getting a little hard to buy 1 litre shoes these days

can I ask what you mean by this
Suzistore stock them, so how are they little hard to buy?[/quotee]

What he means is that unlike Suzuki disc pads which you can buy from anywhere you need to go to a specialist place like suzistore and pay more than you need to, also disc rotors are available aftermarket while front drums are not. So yes they are getting harder to find.

[2stroker]

Rockhopper wrote:

Mate, no offence intended, but if you are'nt really sure how to check and adjust your brakes, then put it back together and get it to a qualified mechanic. Brakes are way to important to second guess your way through the repair.

Yes brakes are important but also very basic, get someone to show you and learn another skill. If you own a Suzuki and you don't work on it yourself you are missing half of the pleasure and satisfaction of owning one.

[tonyevans]

3cyl wrote:

Bits off a 1.3 go on but till you get the parts together you've got a fine set of drums there, adjusted and clean they'll work fine. Getting a little hard to buy 1 litre shoes these days is the only reason I'm considering going to discs in front.

I just got full set all four wheels of Ebay $40 - Tony

[sstteevvee]

While i understand the importance of brakes i'd much rather do this myself. I'm not a complete kook when it comes to turning a spanner and i'm sure that if someone had the time to show me what to look out for i'd be able to pick it up quite easily. As has been said above if i raced to the mechanic every time i wanted something done it would defeat the purpose of having a zook.

[2stroker]

Pity you live in WA or I would be happy to come over and lend a hand

[sstteevvee]

Alrighty, bit of an update. Tis all sorted, got myself some new shoes from a place in Malaga (Perth) they manufacture their own shoes etc.. think the name is clutch and brake australia. For all 4 front shoes was $35 thought that was pretty good. I then had to go to the suzi store to get a new diff filler cap as mine is seized and rounded off which means i'll have to wreck it to get it out. While i was there i asked about adjusting which is all fairly straight forward. All up prob took round an hr or so to get them in and adjusted. Pretty chuffed that i sorted it all myself

Thanks for the info pps

[tonyevans]

Well done Steve I have always said the best way to learn is to research and then DO IT