Hi folks,

So I just spent the day replacing my rear drum brake shoes and I'm running into a snag. No matter what I do, the brake pedal goes to the floor and I only get about 20% of the original braking capacity. The e-brake works as before and the handle seems properly adjusted. I've done this minor surgery on previous vehicles without trouble and this time around I even used the Haynes manual. I've performed a couple of Haynes suggested tests to verify that my brake booster is still air tight and it is. If it wasn't for the fact that I didn't touch any hoses or bleeders, I'd swear there is air in the system. The only thing I suspect are the self-adjusting levers. I believe they are supposed to spin a gear and subsequently vary the lenght of a rod to push the shoes further appart as they wear. Seems to me those levers (one per side) have tendancy to pull away from the gear. I've taken the drums off many times, shrunk the rod and pushed the brake pedal and I can hear (and see if the drum is off) the gear turn. What else could it be? Suggestions?

Thanks in advance

 

Well, it turned out to be air in the brake fluid. I used a vise grip to pinch the brake hose and remove one corner at a time until I determined the problem was confined to a single wheel. With a piece of plastic tube, an 8mm wrench, a water bottle and a helper I removed the air and a few ounces of fluid. Bingo!