Drum brakes over-adjusting and getting hot after rebuild (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

CruiserTrash

CruiserTrash

Supporting Vendor
GOLD Star
Joined
Jul 15, 2020
Threads
60
Messages
2,365
Location
Denver
Website
cruisertrashparts.com
So this has me stumped. I rebuilt the drum brakes on my 60 about three weeks ago. I did one side at a time so that I could use the other side as a cheat sheet and not misplace stuff. I took the drums off at Solid Axle Summit and had a bunch of knowledgeable cruiser heads verify that I did the installation correctly, including people who run Land Cruiser specific shops ... but they are over adjusting themselves. The drums and backing plate get pretty darn hot, right on the verge of not being able to keep your hand on them. Every few days I back the star wheels off again, so I'm dealing with it, but that's less than ideal.

Details:
Reused 140k mile drums as they looked great
New shoes - cruiser outfitters
New springs & hardware kit - cruiser outfitters
New Advics wheel cylinders - cruiser outfitters
New bell crank bracket and boot - OEM
New bolts for bell crank bracket and wheel cylinder - OEM
Napa Sil-glyde silicone-based brake grease on moving parts and contact points of backing plate, per FSM
Copper hi-temp anti-seize on bell crank moving parts and pins

All reused parts - mainly the linkages and adjuster/star wheel assembly were cleaned 100% and lubed where the parts slide against each other or otherwise make contact. So the way these brakes work is that pulling the hand brake adjusts the shoe tightness to compensate for wear. At a certain point the hand brake should not adjust the star wheel any more, but apparently it still is. Despite some people saying so, I do not see a way these brakes could adjust themselves by going in reverse - there's no mechanism for that to happen. Maybe that's a 62 thing. I've adjusted and lubed the hand brake linkages as well as the end slack of the cable at the hand brake itself.

The brakes are still getting hot, and in the past 3-4 days they've started squeaking when I'm coming to a stop. Anybody seen this after a drum brake job? I'm at a loss...
 
I have the same and it drives me crazy when you fix something the overthink way and this happens.
But first I replaced the cable as it was sticking and no way to fix that (need to buy new)
It is the left rear side and I also adjusted the brake a few times, not really hot but more than right side.
When I brought it for the road check with new pads it was hot and not happy to use new brake pads that way. They also adjusted it.

Just for anyone doing this later, read a bit in fsm about the adjuster adjustment, just do a few test drive and handbrake use, annoying to let anyone else drive it this way when you think all is good.

not my video! but 60 brakes

 
Last edited:
@hj 60 Good video. That is how I did it (despite your FF axle brakes being slightly different).

What I cannot figure out is this: the hand brake adjusts the star wheel/adjuster, which adjusts the shoe tightness. At some point the shoes are "fully adjusted" ... at that point what stops the hand brake from moving the adjuster wheel one more click. You should reach a point where the hand brake works, yet it's no longer adjusting the brakes. (and yes as the shoes wear it will eventually adjust the brakes again.)
 
meant to swing by your camp and check this out but didn't get a chance to - sounds like you are starting out with them a few clicks too tight?
The point at which they stop adjusting is when the pad surface is snug to the drums... the adjuster arm shouldn't move at that point, star wheel shouldn't adjust, etc
 
cruisermatt said:
meant to swing by your camp and check this out but didn't get a chance to - sounds like you are starting out with them a few clicks too tight?
The point at which they stop adjusting is when the pad surface is snug to the drums... the adjuster arm shouldn't move at that point, star wheel shouldn't adjust, etc
Click to expand...
I’ve always done it this way and then throw it in reverse and hit the brakes pretty hard just to make sure everything is seated. I’ve never had issues doing it this way with any rear drum brakes I’ve ever worked on.
 
Last edited:
I was just wondering how the cruiser guru's balance the front and rear brakes this morning.

I have yet to test mine on the road since servicing them but I think I didn't "coat non-melt [high temp] type grease on the backing plate at surfaces contacting the shoes" (chassis & body 1980 fig 9-276) on the left side.

I'm working on the front end now but will probably go back and check the rear before bleeding in the new brake fluid.

Edit: I should also add that the reason I am working on the front is because the left front caliper was failing and leaking brake fluid. Someone mentioned in Spike Strip's older thread that if the fronts aren't doing their job the back drums have to do more work. I found that the muck underneath the driver/left knuckle was wet - it wasn't diff oil or grease but brake fluid.
 
Last edited:
@CruiserTrash

If you haven't fiddled with it yet, maybe you can try changing out the 'E' Clip on the adjuster (if that's what you have) with a 'C' clip and see if that fixes it and we can finally get a definitive cause.

FWIW, the parts diagram calls for an 'E' clip, 90080-52087 that has been superceeded from, 96160-00500 . Maybe the problem is with the super'd part? Also, as you can see in the pic, there's supposed to be a 'washer' between the adjusting arms/levers - I've seen that missing a couple of times.

​

1692379011655.png
 
cruisermatt said:
meant to swing by your camp and check this out but didn't get a chance to - sounds like you are starting out with them a few clicks too tight?
The point at which they stop adjusting is when the pad surface is snug to the drums... the adjuster arm shouldn't move at that point, star wheel shouldn't adjust, etc
Click to expand...
After staring at how the mechanism works for hours across four separate times having the drums removed, this is exactly where I'm at too. The shoes should reach a point in their adjustment where the lever won't grab the next pawl on the wheel. But it is ... repeatedly haha.

Thought rattling around in the back of my brain:
The old shoes were worn almost completely through in the middle, but almost not at all on the top edge. The pins with capture springs that hold the shoe assembly to the backing plate is obviously pretty low-tech, they can move around quite a bit. Maybe I installed the new shoes in a similar way and since they aren't centered, they're taking a long time to bed in (the curvature of the shoe not matching the curvature of the drum in other words. This might lead to additional play that allows the lever to keep grabbing the next pawl.

Thoughts?
 
ff347 said:
Here is the pictures I was referring to, need to do it myself.
Click to expand...
That's essentially a shim under the adjustment lever. That lever has a ton of play so that it can get around the pawls to adjust. It has to move in all 3 dimensions in other words. The washer would stiffen it up some, but still allow for movement. Maybe too much movement is causing it to grab a pawl in the adjustment wheel when it's not supposed to. That might be the trick.
 
Spike Strip said:
@CruiserTrash

If you haven't fiddled with it yet, maybe you can try changing out the 'E' Clip on the adjuster (if that's what you have) with a 'C' clip and see if that fixes it and we can finally get a definitive cause.

FWIW, the parts diagram calls for an 'E' clip, 90080-52087 that has been superceeded from, 96160-00500 . Maybe the problem is with the super'd part? Also, as you can see in the pic, there's supposed to be a 'washer' between the adjusting arms/levers - I've seen that missing a couple of times.

​

View attachment 3404280
Click to expand...
Is the washer the same as what @ff347 posted? This is my new leading theory. Too much axial play lets the lever grab too many pawls.

FWIW I saw no washer in there when I did the work. Neither side. It's also not on the parts diagram, though...
 
Nobody arcs in brake shoes anymore like the old days. The only thing you changed was the shoes. Looks like you cleaned up and reused everything else.

I had to arc my brake shoes in on my truck by using adhesive backed coarse grit sand paper stuck inside the drum and sanded my shoes against it to fit. Not a Land Cruiser but same concept. You might be surprised at the contact patch of new shoes that aren't arced in. Worth a shot to check.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

relaxedcruiser
Brakes and water
Replies
9
Views
862
relaxedcruiser
relaxedcruiser
slingblade16
New carb, still stalling when hot. FJ60 rebuild fun!
2 3
Replies
45
Views
4K
Seth S
Seth S
TRFarmers
60/62 Series Parking Brake Handle Rebuild Kit
Replies
15
Views
2K
djawahir
djawahir
atlshaun
‘89 FJ62 Idle issue after transfer case rebuild
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
atlshaun
atlshaun

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom