Adjust brakes going in reverse

[computersoc]

2001 Ford Ranger XLT 2.5L manual transmission.

My rear drum brakes were out of adjustment and the shop told me once they readjusted them that there's a self adjuster in there that works. They said go in reverse. How many times and how fast?

I took the truck to an inspection shop later that day to get its state inspection and they removed a drum to inspect the rear brakes and my brakes felt out of adjustment again once they passed the truck and I drove home. Would just removing the drum do this? I found a parking lot and went in reverse four times and it feels better now. I'm basing this on pedal feel and ebrake pedal feel.

The first shop made the ebrake nice and firm and held well. Service brake pedal was firmer too. The second shop that did the mandatory yearly state inspection gave me back the vehicle and the ebrake pedal went very low and was soft. Service brakes didn't feel as firm either. I did the 4x reverse and it feels fine now.

Not sure if there's a standardized process?

 

[Mark_88]

I've used it a few times on my 88 Ranger and 95 Suzuki and they worked fine afterwards. The number of times depends on whether you adjust them with the tool before assembling. I was taught that you should ratchet them a few times with the tool and spin the wheels by hand...if they start to bind then back them off a notch or two. then do the reverse adjust.

 

[don4331]

Here's what I suspect:

When brakes are used, the surface on which the pads act is slowly worn away, but the area which isn't remains at original thickness*. So, in order to remove the drums, you need to loosen the adjuster.

When the drum is reinstalled, the shop should do the initial adjustment to get the pads back to their original position. But, if one is lazy, you just bolt the tire on and call it good. In theory (and your practice), the self adjuster will take up the slack over the next couple stops. This is one of the reasons, they tell you to be care for the 1st few stops after brake work...

Now, I am kind of anal about my brakes, so I adjust the pads meticulously after service, so don't notice any real difference after having drums off. I do notice when the self adjuster isn't working and needs manual intervention. (This need for adjustment/self adjusters not working perfectly is part of the reason disc brakes work better)

The self adjuster will do coarse adjustments going forward, but you really need to be going backward to get the fine adjustment. This is due to how drum brakes "self energize" - when you brake going forward, there is significant force on the adjuster. When you back up, there isn't significant force on the adjuster, so the lever can move the star wheel to take up any slack as the brakes are applied. (Technically, even pumping the brakes sitting still or applying the parking brake works).

You don't need to be going very fast/far. Just let off the pedal long enough for springs to retract the pads, then firm stop.

There isn't really a standard of how many times (depends on how loose/how stiff adjuster is/etc/etc). You can remove the plug on the brake backing plate and adjust as well - occasionally I do this if I don't want to go to all the effort of removing wheels. It is best done with rear axle up on jack stands and truck in neutral, so you can rotate the tire and feel when the pads start touching drums.**

*In most cases, there will be a build up of rust on the inside edge that you have to loosen the pads sufficiently to get inside to remove the drum. When I remove the drums, I sand this off so when I put them back on, I can have the adjustment very close to final before re-installing.

**Was a historic prank - slip under someones truck and adjust all 4 drums (hey, I go back a long ways). Truck would be stuck with brakes locked on. And it is royal PIA to reverse the tension off in a dark parking lot (you have to push the self adjuster off then rotate the star wheel).