balancing rear drum brakes

[l1ttle_d3vil]

my car got failed on its wof for not braking evenly, im 99% sure its the rear drum brakes (ae85 diff) which weren't braking evenly under light-ish braking.

it pulling to the right and the right-hand drum was alot tighter fit over the brakes than the LH side. i've loosened the brakes off a bit but now I'm thinking it may pull to the left if I've loosened the RH side abit too much...

so is there a proper way to "balance" the brake so they brake evenly?
do you adjust them both back so they are loose, then pump the brakes so they re-adjust themselves or something? just wondering if that would work as apparently they adjust themselves to take up the slack of when the pads get worn...

thanks.

[Zak]

It's done with the hand brake adjustment. Just make it so they both have the same amount of drag on the shoes when you turn the wheel.

Also, apply the hand brake gradualy and see if the wheels lock up at the same time when you turn them by hand.

[Jdawg]

If its got auto adjusters, yes, let them adjust themselves.
You may have a warped drum, uneven wear on the shoes or possibly the return springs on the shoes are shagged on rhs allowing the shoes to grab.
Make sure the lhs is bleed properly too.

[Lloyd]

Take the drums off and get some emery paper/cloth onto the drums and shoes just to roughen them up a bit. Check your wheel cylinders aren't leaking and are bled up alright, and not siezed. Brake fluid on the shoes will give you a bad reading. Adjust the shoes up so they are just dragging the same amount on each side. Pretty much adjust them up until they just lock and then click them off a couple so they are just lightly dragging.

Pull the handbrake on a few times and recheck it to make sure its still how you adjusted it up to. Adjust the handbrake at the lever now if it needs it. Pull it on one click and see if they wheels are both free. If they are then try another click and so on. Both wheels should probably lock at about the same time or within a click of each other.

Take it for a drive and pull the handbrake on a little bit just to get some heat into them and bed themselves in a bit. Take them back down and see how close the balance it.




Was it out on both service and park brake, or just one?

[rollaholic]

HRT wins

edit - it sounds like the place doing your warrant doesnt have a braker roller machine, so they wont have to be perfect - just close enough that the car doesnt pull to one side anymore

[fangsport]

Take the drums off and get some emery paper/cloth onto the drums and shoes just to roughen them up a bit. Check your wheel cylinders aren't leaking and are bled up alright, and not siezed. Brake fluid on the shoes will give you a bad reading. Adjust the shoes up so they are just dragging the same amount on each side. Pretty much adjust them up until they just lock and then click them off a couple so they are just lightly dragging.

Pull the handbrake on a few times and recheck it to make sure its still how you adjusted it up to. Adjust the handbrake at the lever now if it needs it. Pull it on one click and see if they wheels are both free. If they are then try another click and so on. Both wheels should probably lock at about the same time or within a click of each other.

Take it for a drive and pull the handbrake on a little bit just to get some heat into them and bed themselves in a bit. Take them back down and see how close the balance it.




Was it out on both service and park brake, or just one?

while you have it in bits. remove the self adjusting mechanism and free it up and lube the threads. often rear imbalance is created by seized adjusters.

[l1ttle_d3vil]

Was it out on both service and park brake, or just one?

it appears to be just the pedal brake which makes it pull, the hand brake pulls the car up evenly.

had to get into town before the shops shut so put the wheels on and took it for a drive, didn't adjust them perfectly but its definitely made a difference. will pull them off again and give it a good tidy up, hopefully it'll fix it.

thanks.

[rollaholic]

if its just the pedal you might have a leaky wheel cylinder, did you get a chance to check them while it was apart?

[hsmidy]

also just to add check ya tire pressures are even youll be suprised at how much of a difference it can make to you braking