Adjusting Self-Adjusters

Ghostultramarine

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What is the proper adjustment for the self-adjusters?

I’ve read 9 “turns” but is that 9 turns of 360 degrees (full turns)? Or?

But if you do not have new brakes, just replaced the adjusters, then how do you know they are in the proper position?
 
Adjust them until the brake shoes just lightly hit the drum while the wheel is spinning. Just go be the sound. Kind of a tic-tic noise.
 
What I normally do is adjust them up until I get the shoe just touching the drum, then I take a screwdriver and push the adjuster one way towards the drum and then the other way to feel how much play is between the drum and shoe. I then adjust until there is very little play. You just don't want them too tight. They should self adjust when you are backing up and step on the brakes
 
The earlier ones adjust when stopping going backward, but somewhere in the earlier '70s or so, they adjust when going forward and stop? Either way, you have to brake hard enough to get the shoes moving rather than just easing into them to slow down.

In theory, the adjusters should adjust regardless of the initial adjustment, but that "getting close" manual adjustment, to start with, gets things to where they need to be quicker, I suspect.

Rather than the time-honored spinning wheel/brake shoe just starting to drag, then back-off a notch or two, you can also get a brake shoe/drum caliper at many auto supply vendors. Use the caliper's side to check the ID of the brake drum, then take the caliper (and that "size") to the brake shoes and adjust them so they just fit into the brake shoe side of the caliper. Then install the brake drum to the wheel brake. That way, all of the brakes are adjusted "the same" with less general effort, it seems to me. A good investment, to me. Of course, once re-assembled, check for correct operation.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
 
What I normally do is adjust them up until I get the shoe just touching the drum, then I take a screwdriver and push the adjuster one way towards the drum and then the other way to feel how much play is between the drum and shoe. I then adjust until there is very little play. You just don't want them too tight. They should self adjust when you are backing up and step on the brakes
Nifty idea. Thanks!
 
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