Brake shoes

zurbfoundation

Addressing a break imbalance in the rear of the camper, thought i would start with an inspection of the shoes on the side that was at fault. No leaks on the cylinder, i gave it all a clean up. The drum is nice and evenly worn with no gouges or grooves. there is no grinding that i can hear. Shoes dont look workn to me, but I have never worked on drums before so unsure about shoe condition. it might just be a case of adjustment between left and right. What do ye think?

zurbfoundation

barneygumble99

What readings did you get for footbrake and handbrake ???

zurbfoundation

See attached for figures

smuggler.ie

Looks OK from here.
Check adjusting screw

Self Adjusting System

The parts of a self adjusting system should be clean and move freely to insure that the brakes maintain their adjustment over the life of the linings. If the self adjusters stop working, you will notice that you will have to step down further and further on the brake pedal before you feel the brakes begin to engage. Disc brakes are self adjusting by nature and do not require any type of mechanism.

Your adjusting screw is just beneath cylinder... but you know this yourself.

How to do brake force balance test in car or truck

zurbfoundation

thanks - yeah can adjust them. just wanted to know should i change shoes.

smuggler.ie

I am not the expert, but to me shoes look good - even layer, probably half way worn. On other hand - once you have drums off.....

DublinDilbert

One is pulling with 3 times more force. Check the cable isn't seized on that side. Is there individual cable for left and right? Check the auto adjuster is free and working correctly.

tyney

zurbfoundation wrote: »

thanks - yeah can adjust them. just wanted to know should i change shoes.

Murfit in finglas will re line them for around 13 Euro each.
While you have them off...

zurbfoundation

thanks lads -

@smuggler.ie - yeah i think so. probably half worn

@DublinDilbert - have not checked the cable but will do before i do anything else

@tyney - Im a long way from Finglas - thank though.

Will try adjusting them to be even and hopefully that might do it.

greasepalm

have you checked wheel cylinders are free to move,if you have a second person get then to lightly press brake pedal while you have 2 screwdrivers between shoes and the rim to see if they slowly move out and return when pedal is released,partially seized you will be needing 2 new ones.

ok flipped the nct report it is mentioning handbrake,with drums off pull handbrake up does it stop halfway up,then look at position of handbrake levers as bad one maybe not pulling forward pointing to seized cable,replace all then.

if its adjustment manually adjust the rotating spool so that drum is just sliding on freely,when both sides are done put wheels on and pull up a few notches at a time checking each wheel in turn when both are equal it should stop turning both.

zurbfoundation

Its reporting less force on nearside as opposed to offside on the braking test. So I'm thinking nearside needs adjusting. Will inspect that one later and get then both in the air in stands and see how they are spinning compared to each other.

Also service brake was a fail. But this adjustment i have outlined above might affect that also.

greasepalm

So would lazy cylinders.

martyc5674

To check for seized cylinder just push one of the shoes towards the cylinder... if it’s nice and free then it should push the opposite shoe out and vice versa. After that I’d be checking adjusters and cables.
Marty.

zurbfoundation

Cleaned them all up, shoes moving freely as far as i can tell. Gave it the spin test (ok, not so scientific I know) and Nearside was definitely spinning more free than Offside - so i adjusted that one a little ( a bit too much at first, had to wind it back ) and have them spinning roughly the same - about one revolution for one good strong shove*.

Will see how that goes. Have a CV Boot and tie rod end to do also so if i need a re-alignment after that (may very well do), i will get the brake imbalance checked then also.

*May not be a recognized unit of force

richardsheil

zurbfoundation wrote: »

Cleaned them all up, shoes moving freely as far as i can tell. Gave it the spin test (ok, not so scientific I know) and Nearside was definitely spinning more free than Offside - so i adjusted that one a little ( a bit too much at first, had to wind it back ) and have them spinning roughly the same - about one revolution for one good strong shove*.

Will see how that goes. Have a CV Boot and tie rod end to do also so if i need a re-alignment after that (may very well do), i will get the brake imbalance checked then also.

*May not be a recognized unit of force

Try the equally scientific method of jamming on the brakes on a bit of wet grass and measure the marks left - particularly useful if the vehicle does not have abs.
Also try the even better jam on the handbrake on wet grass test. Measure the length of skid marks to determine evenness.

zurbfoundation

richardsheil wrote: »

Try the equally scientific method of jamming on the brakes on a bit of wet grass and measure the marks left - particularly useful if the vehicle does not have abs.
Also try the even better jam on the handbrake on wet grass test. Measure the length of skid marks to determine evenness.

these tests sound like a lot of fun and i can see my missus or my local gaa field grounds man agreeing with me.

Also heard of engaging the handbrake while rolling down the hill and see if one side dips first. Shes a bouncy auld thing so that might do also.

Thanks!

DublinDilbert

zurbfoundation wrote: »

these tests sound like a lot of fun and i can see my missus or my local gaa field grounds man agreeing with me.

Also heard of engaging the handbrake while rolling down the hill and see if one side dips first. Shes a bouncy auld thing so that might do also.

Thanks!

The one on a slight incline does work, doesn't have to be anything major. Just allow the car/van to roll backwards slowly and apply the handbrake, see which side grabs first.

tcawley29

Easiest way to test is to pull the handbrake on the chippings outside your house and look at the tracks. Once finished you can kick the chippings back into place and there is no evidence of what you done

barneygumble99

zurbfoundation wrote: »

Cleaned them all up, shoes moving freely as far as i can tell. Gave it the spin test (ok, not so scientific I know) and Nearside was definitely spinning more free than Offside - so i adjusted that one a little ( a bit too much at first, had to wind it back ) and have them spinning roughly the same - about one revolution for one good strong shove*.

Will see how that goes. Have a CV Boot and tie rod end to do also so if i need a re-alignment after that (may very well do), i will get the brake imbalance checked then also.

*May not be a recognized unit of force

With the handbrake off there shouldn’t be any friction in the brakes whatsoever. Will cause unnecessary wear and heat build up. Personally I would get both back wheels off the ground and pull up the handbrake 1 or 2 notches and check the resistance both sides then adjust.
With the handbrake off, the shoes should be just about to touch the drum but not actually in contact with it.

mullingar

When I'm fitting or adjusting rear shoes, I adjust them until they are just starting to touch the drum, then I fit the wheels with 2x nuts and pull the hand brake one notch at a time and make sure each wheel is equally as hard to turn

zurbfoundation

Just to update retested the van and had no issues with brakes. I got knocked on alignment as i had changed a track rod end. Hopefully re alignment will get me over the line