[Kor3y101]

Hey everyone!

So the story goes, my handbrake and rear drums were working fine, went to bribie and got stuck in some boggy mud/water as some patrols had blocked me in and that was the only way I could go to get out, I walked it and felt it was fine, but with the weight of the car, it just sank and the rear was bogged down deep.

Now my handbrake barely works, it will let the car roll slowly on the smallest of inclines so it definitely needs fixing. I've pulled the rear drum off, and I'm left with the brake shoes on the car and the part that the studs stick out of.
I've searched for a guide and I'm just turning up with blanks.

How the hell, do I adjust the shoes for the handbrake and get them working again properly. I've hosed it all out and nothing really came out, I will degrease it this afternoon to see what happens also.

And while trying to take the drum cover off, one of the pins that holds the shoe clip on, appears to be broken, what do I call this pin and where do I get one?

Any help on how to fix the brakes and handbrake would be awesome.

[BlueSuzy]

Not sure Jimny.

Sierras had a brake self adjust ratchet thing.
There may also be an adjustment under the handbrake lever.

Most likely none of this will help and you should get some new shoes while its all apart.
Springs could be found at wreckers or Genuine New.

Mud, Sand, Muddy sand and Sandy mud is not kind to drums. Stay out of it.

[Kor3y101]

I definitely try to stay out of that shit, but there was no way to avoid it as I had to get out of the spot I was in haha.

Yeah I know they're self adjusting, just unsure of what exact part does it as I've never played with drum brakes before.
I'll have another look tonight to see how much meat is left on them, they aren't that old I'm lead to believe. May hit them with a pressure washer to see if it frees it up at all.

[losfer]

are you sure that one or both your cables arent seized ?

[Kor3y101]

Not something i had considered to be honest..

I'll have to take a look and see if they are.

[Kor3y101]

Jumped under the car and had the wife pull on the handbrake, the cables move without an issue, but gave them a hit of silicone spray anyways,
Attempted to see what adjustments were made on the lever, there's no more adjustments available, has been tightened all the way up. I tried to find a way to adjust the cable underneath, nothing that I can see. I'm probably wrong though.

Gave the springs and adjusters a good hit with the hose and silicone spray, I'll let it dry out and see what happens.
I have the drum covers a good lick of paint to make it not so rusty looking (not the part where the wheel connects onto it or the inside)

I'll throw it all back together tonight/tomorrow and see if it freed anything up.

[pete_79]

Did you find the ratchet?
You have to take the pads off to get to it properly.

After you've done the adjusters on the pads properly, go back and put the hand brake adjuster in it's correct position.

I had to adjust drums when it was basically brand new (under 30,000km) and I had to smack the crap out of it to get them moving. I seriously don't know how these can be self adjusting, there was no way that pissy little arm was going to move the ratchet wheel with how hard I had to hit it to get it moving.

*Edit;
I should have said back off the handbrake first, then do the drums, then adjust the handbrake properly again.

[Kor3y101]

I found the ratchet cheers Pete,

So I wound back the adjustment on the handbrake, and gave the adjusters a good belting with a screwdriver/hammer as well as the ratcheting mechanism. One side moved fairly freely but the other side was well and truly stuck. So I freed them up and lubed them well with some silicone spray as well as giving it all a good clean out of gunk and grime.

Took it for a drive around the block and did some hard braking. First few times the car just nosedived as the rear wasn't doing anything, then it started working a bit, then the next time they locked up and left rubber on the road.. whoops.. so I'm confident the rear brakes are working now. The handbrake is still average, but it does hold it on my steep driveway when I pull it up fairly high.
I will be replacing the drums in the new year, so I'll have another crack at it then to see if I can get it working better. It may need some new cables. Do the steel cables stretch much? I have no idea how long it's been on for, but I can only assume they need replacing after a certain time frame?

[Gwagensteve]

Adjustment at the lever should be sufficient to counter any cable stretch.

Was there much meat left on the linings?

[Kor3y101]

Ahh okay, so it must come down to the rear linings then.

There was a bit of meat left, maybe 4-5mm, (not sure how much there is when they're new?)
But I will be replacing them in the new year.

[Gwagensteve]

4-5mm is loads.