How To Adjust Your Drum Brakes
Adjusting brakes on a car is a simple procedure that will improve the stopping distance of your car. Disc brakes adjust automatically every time they are used. Most drum brakes are designed to adjust when you drive in reverse and come to a stop. This isn’t to say that drum brakes don’t need to be adjusted occasionally.
You may also consider doing an overall checkout on car using car diagnostic tool which will detect any faults in the engine.
Otherwise…
The only time you would need to adjust disc brakes on a car is when they have been changed or any time the caliper has been removed.
To adjust disc brakes all you need to do is pump the brakes a few times with the engine off, start the engine, pump the brakes a few more times, and then make a few stops with the car. The disc brakes are now adjusted and will remain that way through normal use.
Drum brakes are a little more in depth to adjust but can still be done easily. Jack the car up and support it on jack stands. With the wheels still on, spin the tire and see how many revolutions it makes before it stops on its own.
The tire should spin between one and a half to three full rotations. The more drag you put on the drum the less the brake pedal will travel when stopping the car. This also can reduce the life span of your brake shoes and the drums.
To adjust the drum brakes you need to locate the cutout on the backing plate that gives you access to the brake adjuster. The cutout normally has a rubber plug in it that you have to remove.
Once you have removed the plug you can insert a flat-head screwdriver into the hole to push the lever holding the brake adjuster in place away from the adjuster. Now you can insert a second screwdriver to move the adjuster. After a few turns on the adjuster spin the wheel again and see if the wheel spins more freely.
If so you need to spin the adjuster in the other direction. After a few rotations of the adjuster you need to center the brake shoes. You can do this by pulling on the parking brake cable by the backing plate.
Once you have the brakes adjusted to your liking engage the parking brake and push the brake pedal to the floor. Now go out and check to ensure that both wheels are holding with the parking brake applied.
If one of the tires is holding and the other is not you need to adjust the parking brake cable where it splits into two cables. Once you have the brakes and the parking brakes adjusted to your liking release the parking brake and make sure the tires spin again. Lastly don’t forget to put the rubber plugs back into the cutouts.
Finally, another video we found helpful on this topic…
How to Clean and Adjust Drum brakes in Six minutes!
Why do my rear brake pads rattle but stop when I apply brake I keep adjusting hand brake but it comes back Volvo s40 2008
Maybe this will help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm_I8j9nTHc
What are the major components of brakes?
Drum brakes deserve more recognition than I’ll provide in this article, but due to the superior serviceability, heat rejection, and prevalence of disc brakes within the industry, that will be the focus. The major components include:
1. Brake rotors
The brake rotor is the spinning disc which rotates with the wheel; this is used as a source to reject energy into, turning kinetic energy into heat. As with all of the components listed here, there will be one at each wheel.
2. Brake calipers
This is a mounted device which includes an internal piston that applies pressure to the brake pad. Pressure occurs when you press on the brake pedal, forcing brake fluid into the piston which forces the brake pad against the rotor, slowing the vehicle and creating heat.
3. Brake pads
The brake pad is a wearable part which contacts the brake rotor. The pressure of the brake pad against the brake rotor, along with the speed differential, is what allows your car to slow down.
4. Brake lines
These are the lines used to supply brake fluid to the brake calipers. When you press the brake pedal, this pressurises the brake fluid which travels through lines to each of the four wheels to create forceful contact between the brake pad and the brake rotor.
Anybody asked first, what Is Drum Brake?
Because before going to know how to adjust drum brakes, it is vital to know what the drum brake is and how it works. Let’s start with the definition of drum brakes.
Drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of shoes or pads that press outward against a rotating cylinder shaped part called brake drum.
The term drum brake usually means a brake in which shoes press on the inner surface of the drum.
When shoes press on the outside of the drum, it is typically named a clasp brake.