Self-Adjusting rear brakes?

[Creager]

i wasnt sure if drum brakes on these cars came with the ability to self-adjust... you know by going forward, hitting the brakes, going in reverse, hit the brakes... go forward again... yall know the drill

i was doing this after i did my rear brakes yesterday and it didnt seem to help much after doing it for 15 minutes. Brake petal (still) sponges straight to the floor. I know its the rears because i can put on the parking brake and the truck will roll like a *******.

Also, anyone use the KKM filter and/or the 70mm MAS from explorer express? I just wanted to get some insight into what kinda proformance increase i should see when the ones i ordered finally come in the mail.

 

[nascar_intimid]

I always take the self adjuster completely apart and wire brush all the threads lean with degreaser and clean threads again and then I put COPPER based anti seize on the threads and run it back and forth a few times to work it in...then I adjust up until the drum slides on with a little resistance( not a lot) and then you are good to go...works 100% ...100% of the time

 

[nascar_intimid]

Self adjusters only work in reverse by the way....

 

[jimmiecakes]

And they work in really small increments. After a reline, the brakes need to be manually adjusted the first time. Also, if the shoes don't rest against the anchor pin due to faulty e-brake cables or other problems, the self adjusters will not work correctly.

 

[Creager]

I always buy new hardware when i change my brake shoes... even though its probably completely unnecessary but its only 10 bucks.

doing the back and forth thing seems to work the best for me. They are pretty much back to normal now, a couple laps down the hill and i think ill be good to go.

i tried doing it just in reverse and it didnt do much for me... it was eaiser then going back and forth up a hill (i drive a 5 speed, trying to shift as little as possible)

 

[nascar_intimid]

next time adjust the adjuster yourself before you put the drum back on not too tight just a little less than snug

 

[mrboyle]

Like mentioned, the self adjusters only work to a point. In order to get the brakes properly adjusted after you replace the shoes you will need to do it manually. You can do this one of two ways. You can preset the adjustment by running the adjuster out by hand a little at a time untill the drum will slide on with a little resistance. Or you can adjust them through the hole in the backing plate using a brake spoon. Either way you do it, once set, the self adjusters will keep the brakes adjusted fairly well. It is still recomended to check the adjustment every now and then.