drum brake and adjuster wheel variations

I just got done replacing shoes and springs and thought I'd post up regarding the only issue I had. I searched for drum brake info before starting out, which helped, but most of the threads illustrated a different setup than mine.

Obviously there was a design change over the years. My '96 has the D35 with 9" drums. The problem I ran into was with the retainer springs for the adjuster wheel lever. I damn near threw the originals out with the old shoes and the NAPA hardware kit didn't include new ones (the parts were for the earlier style brakes).

If you're changing your rear brakes, don't forget to pull these little springs off the trailing shoes:



Here's a shot of everything back together. Sorry it's a bit out of focus but I couldn't find a nice closeup shot when I searched, so I snapped a couple with the little digi. Hopefully these pics will help someone else out in the future. Mediocre pictures are better than no pictures, right?

You'll notice however, that the adjuster lever isn't contacting the star wheel. Do I have something wrong here? The cable is properly routed in the channel on the guide and I'm pretty sure everything else is correct. Same problem on both sides.

I can't tell without seeing the whole assembly, but the adjuster is supposed to contact the bar....for adjusting purposes.
They supposed to automatically adjust themselves, so if you have any concerns don't drive it like that. If not correct, it could lock up the rear wheels at any time.

Make sure that the pivot for the cable is seated correctly in its hole. When you insert he spring into its center hole, it's easy to dislodge it and the spring will hold it in wrong. If the pivot has fallen out of the hole your cable won't engage properly. The part supplied in aftermarket parts kits doesn't sit very deeply or firmly.

It's one of the parts # 10 in this picture, where the cable takes a bend:

x2 on what he said.I just got through going through that with my rear brakes....the part that the little cable goes over(#10 in the pic) wasn't seated right causing the cable for the self adjusters to not have proper tension.Make sure the spring(#1) that holds the little crescent shaped piece(#10) is installed right.

put the adjuster leverage between the spring and spring holder, this has solved on mine.
I don't know how to explain better in english, when I've time I will post a picture

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll check everything out again. Might be the #1 spring not seated correctly.

Thanks for the diagram too but this illustrates the problem I'm having researching this issue - that diagram shows a different setup than mine.
My adjuster parts don't look like those pictured here, or in my Haynes manual.

Who did the rear brakes last? When I went to change my rear brakes some time ago (it was my first time doing drums) I discovered that the shop I had do them right after I bought it had swapped the adjuster hardware from one side to the other and left out one spring on each. That was the last time I've ever been to a mechanic.

Bought it off a dealer's lot about a year ago, so I've no idea who did the brakes last. They looked ok, other than the grunge, rust and the fact that one shoe had shed it's friction material.

Anyway, these were the only pics I've found so far showing my setup (from Jeepin.com). From what I can tell, I have everything in it's rightful place. I'll just have to go back in and make sure all the parts are seated properly.

lesabre400 said:

Bought it off a dealer's lot about a year ago, so I've no idea who did the brakes last. They looked ok, other than the grunge, rust and the fact that one shoe had shed it's friction material.

Anyway, these were the only pics I've found so far showing my setup (from Jeepin.com). From what I can tell, I have everything in it's rightful place. I'll just have to go back in and make sure all the parts are seated properly.

Click to expand...

your missing the top left spring. there should be two springs on the top

now that i looked again, your missing the whole shoe. i guess that the shoe that was damaged

Those pics are from Jeepin.com. They're from a drum brake tech article. I just put them in here for reference. Sorry if I've confused the issue. The pictures of MY brakes are in the first post.

the diagram posted here and the one on Haynes are related to 10" rear brake, that has upside down leverage.
your problem can be also caused by a wrong hardware kit the one for 10" brake system has a bit longer adjuster cable.....
A trick to shorter a bit the cable is to twist it for some turns, before hang it to the adjuster

Ok, that clears that up, thanks Marco.
I reused all my adjuster pieces, no new hardware there. But I guess with all the other new parts, I'll need to compensate by adjusting the cable. Thanks for the tip!

mmm I'd guess you have replaced the cable 'cause from your picture seems having spring plate shiny and new...
Anyway, looking better @ picture I don't think you can reach the proper lenght just with twisting the cable, seem you have more than 1/4" to adjust.
Is very easy to make proper cable lenght, you have to open a bit, with a screwdriver and hammer, where is crimped the cable, slide to have the proper lenght than reclose in a bench.
Another thing is that, before adjust, you have to move the adjuster lever between the spring and spring plate, from your picture is visible that the lever isn't perpendicular to the floor....