Brake shoe adjustment... which is which?

[TexAndy]

Trying to adjust one of my front brake shoes today (passenger side) and I could not for the life of me figure out which cam adjusted the tops and which adjusted the bottoms.

I ran out of light, so I just turned the cams to where the wheel would spin freely and jacked her down for the night.

 

[Keith_J]

Don't feel bad, I get the turning direction wrong unless I have a picture in front of me.

There are 4 adjusters, 2 top and 2 on the bottom. Fortunately, this is the right front wheel and you can pop the cover off the drum and visually inspect the gap. As long as you adjusted it to free spinning and still have good height on the brake pedal, it is fine.

 

[jatonka]

Well, the top two adjusting bolts adjust the top of the shoes, called fine adjustment.
The lower two adjusters with lock nuts on them adjust the lower part of the shoes, called initial adjustment. There is a view port on the brake drum that will accept a narrow feeler gauge to set the lower adjustment according to your manual. There is a cover over the port that you need to open to set the lower shoe clearance. Hoping this helps, John T

 

[TexAndy]

Ok, cool. It must have just been one of the top ones then that was dragging slightly as it didn't take much turning in one direction to lock the wheel up.

eta: Yeah, I didn't even realize there were two sets of adjusters. dur hur deep durr...

 

[littlebob]

Don't feel bad, I get the turning direction wrong unless I have a picture in front of me.

There are 4 adjusters, 2 top and 2 on the bottom. Fortunately, this is the right front wheel and you can pop the cover off the drum and visually inspect the gap. As long as you adjusted it to free spinning and still have good height on the brake pedal, it is fine.

I have to print the TM and bring it out to the garage with me. I remember having to do the bottom first. I think there were a lot of posts on it it that I used for reference when doing mine. I have to take the front down again because I noticed leaking
wheel cyliders on both sides.
Pedal height is a good thing, but having all adjusted equally is important to keep it straight when hard braking.

 

[WillWagner]

Adjust the top ones all the way in. Get a feeler gauge...010 IIRC and get that clearance at the bottom. Go to the top and adjust there so you have the same clearance. Spin the drum and see if it drags...it will...give both a slight adjustment to stop the drag. Do the same on the front...or rear if you started at the front shoe. Kinda a PITA, takes a bit, but it will eventually work out.

 

[ctmustang]

 

[LanceRobson]

As stated above the upper adjusters are for minor adjustments such as restoring pedal free travel so you don't push the pedal halfway to the floor before braking starts.

If the ruck pulls to the side on braking, brakes grab etc, do the major adjustment.

If you have not done a major adjustment on this particular truck, I'd advise that you do one. It will let you see the condition of the shoes and you will be able to do somewhere between 2 and 4 minor adjustments before needing to do a major one again.

Lance

 

[Keith_J]

Andy forgot to mention we had done a 12k bearing service and wheel cylinder replacement on this truck. After driving it for an hour, I felt all the hubs and drums to make sure everything was correct in the temperature department. The right front drum was a bit warmer than the rest but it wasn't smoking hot. I could touch it without burning my hand. And the brake pedal was proper.

 

[TexAndy]

Yeah, we did a complete 12k service so we know the shoes look fine. Remember, keith is the "Deuce Whisperer."

I'll just do the minor adjustment again today by adjusting the front one outwards until the wheel locks up, then backing it out a quarter turn. Then doing the same for the rear shoe.