Soft brake pedal?- try this.

Noticed my pedal was getting progressively softer, and losing power, specifically from the rear brakes. So much for self-adjusting, right?

So I first tried the "put it in reverse, get up to 15, and slam on the brakes". Still nothing. I thought I'd have to bleed, use brake spoons, pull the drums, etc., until I tried this:

Find a clear spot like a parking lot. Put it in reverse, then put on the parking brake enough to stop you from rolling back in reverse (about half way or so). Then give it enough gas to get it up to about 10-15, and quickly jab on the brakes in pulses until you bring it back down to zero.

Repeat x4-5 times. Try alternating by turning the wheel right/left while you do it to put more force on one side or the other.

Turns out the self adjusting mechanism only works well when one shoe is already snug on the drum (like with the parking brake applied), and the other moves opposite it (forcing the brakes on).

Problem solved.

If your mechanism is really old or crudded up, this may not work for you, but if everything's in pretty good repair, it's like magic.

Won't work for me, the rebuild kit had the wrong parts and the adjuster cable is little too long.

F-that. Disc brakes! Honestly though that is a good idea. I think my issue is more the cable being stretched. 180k on it...just pulls up to the roof and barely holds the vehicle in place. However, I will try that method to adjust it...may nurse it a bit more. THANKS!

Loose parking brake cables won't cause a low pedal, but they will cause the ebrake to engage much higher up than it should.

My adjusters seem to work when I back out of the driveway, but it's only good for a few miles. If I drive to the next town, the brakes are sloppy again by the time I get there. I'll try this method and see if it engages further. Thanks

I found that just replacing the adjusters in my D44 drums solved all my problems and I haven't had problems since (May this year)

If the self adjusters do not work correctly, it only take a floor jack, a screwdriver and five minutes to manually adjust them.

dennis461 said:

Won't work for me, the rebuild kit had the wrong parts and the adjuster cable is little too long.

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Same here, although I was changing rear shoes, greasing up the adjusters, etc. and found one of the little cables was too long to possible adjust the brake on that side.

lazyxj said:

If the self adjusters do not work correctly, it only take a floor jack, a screwdriver and five minutes to manually adjust them.

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i prefer adjusting them this way. easy to do and i know they are adjusted proporly.

89xj said:

i prefer adjusting them this way. easy to do and i know they are adjusted proporly.

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Same here, why would I go goofing around in a parking lot trying to force the self adjusters to work. I can do it in my garage in a few minutes with one wheel off the ground at a time.

Sometimes these things will work and sometimes not.

Just so you know, though, the factory recommended adjustment is not, as many think (and was often the case with some other models) to apply the brakes hard in reverse, but to apply the brakes firmly, alternately in both directions, to a complete stop each time. If you do this a few times and if the brake adjusters are functional, and if the constellations are lined up propitiously and you've offered the brake gods a particularly savory goat, this will sometimes work.

Definitely agree with the floor jack and screwdriver/brake spoon deal. I do know the "correct" way to do it. But this is definitely the easiest way of getting a decent brake feel for those of us who are feeling a bit lazy, and/or workspace challenged. And particularly good for those who are automotive hypochondriacs and tend to think that every small issue they have needs a complete teardown and rebuild.

Me? I've got enough projects at the moment taking up my time and energy, this vehicle's my daily driver. And it's getting cold out there.

Or maybe some people may realize that their brake pedal is low, and that their inspection ran out, say, somewhere around 5 months ago. . . *ahem*