stupid drum brakes - question

[N1PPER]

hi, I got one o those little black two-door 1989 corolla fx-vs hatches, put new brake pads in the back drums about a year ago...and when the wheels turn, they kinda jam halfway each turn. Why do they do this?? after readjustment about evry 3 months they're still doin it. probly dragging the back...slowin me down. do they need machining or smfn??

[Lloyd]

You mean dragging when they're up in the air? There is supposed to be some drag in drums

[kingcorolla]

you dont machine drums.
just whip the wheels and check on the drums if there is an adjusting hole in the drum. If not you will need to take the drums off to re-adjust. Check the tightness of the star gear on the adjuster, see if its not loosening. Also check the tightness of the handbrake cable when its not engaged.

[Lloyd]

you dont machine drums.

Yes you do

[Ae92typeX]

Youre lucky you only have rears. I just bought a mini to do up- drums on all fours! lol.
You will get a little (very little) amount of drag on them if they are adjusted to optimun working capacity- if it is just a lil on a rotation it aint to much to worry about, it wont really be slowing you down. Ideally, jacked up and spinning with the wheel on it should rotate around quite afew times still.
If not, just back it off a few notches. Im pretty sure its auto adjusting on your car, but often when working at the mechanics I found the systems got clogged up and stick with brake dust, so give it a good cleaninf with a brush, brake cleaner/meths.
If the drums are badly groved then yes, you do get them machined, and like disk brakes they have a maximum amount of metal allowed to be taken off before the drum must be replaced.

[N1PPER]

cheers guys, yea when the wheels are in the air they jam kinda hard then release. once the back right wheel was jammed on damn hard, when i got home i cud smell burning, and decided to see how hot the drum was...burning my fingers a bit , even the mag was real hot. im sure my xpnsiv low profile tyres are wearin out faster on that side. anyway ill prob clean the inside of the drum, check the adjustment and make sure the handbrake isnt on too tight. note- use heat proof spray paint when painting brake components...expensiv but without it mine burnt from red to black! thx

[Spannergal]

just make sure you remember to take hand brake off when u do the adjustment. apparently the cable should be loosened when u work on the drums so that it doesn't stretch - i never do that tho

[[V8ROLA]]

who did the adjustment

when you clean/adjust brakes you always have the hand brake off, you should always clean the drum and shoes/components (use water as it is the best thing to use) as the dust will cause things to bind and also cause's squeeks, you adjust the star adjuster, fit the drum spin the drum and pull lightly on the hand brake cable, if it is correct it will stop the drum from spinning if it keeps spinning then it is not adjusted right, if it wont spin at all then it is to tight, remove drum and start again.
when you have done both sides you should lift the hand brake inside the car and then re-check the drums and see if it still locks the wheels by pulling lightly on the cable by the drums, if it is correct you should only just hear the drums rubbing the shoes very lightly.
if your brakes are adjusted and done properly you should never have to adjust the hand brake cable inside the car at all unless you have a badly stretched cable and that is as rare as hens teeth to happen.

[YeMs]

wheel bearing could b poo poo?