Self-Adjusting ?? Rear Brakes

[Glenn-BJ74]

The rear brakes on the 74 are self-adjusting, but how do they self-adjust? The adjusting wheel is activated by the emergency brake. The guy at the brake shop said they are suppose to self-adjust - when backing up. So will backing up and using the emergency brake work to adjust them? What limits over-adjustment?

Who out there knows how this is suppose to work?

 

[FJ40Jim]

If they are drums, they adjust by using the parking brake. The truck does not have to be moving, forward or reverse.

 

[roscoFJ73]

The rear brakes on the 74 are self-adjusting, but how do they self-adjust? The adjusting wheel is activated by the emergency brake. The guy at the brake shop said they are suppose to self-adjust - when backing up. So will backing up and using the emergency brake work to adjust them? What limits over-adjustment?

Who out there knows how this is suppose to work?

They are self adjusting but dont work perfectly.Reversing and braking is supposed to help according to the manual but I have never had any luck doing it that way
But I think the self adjusting mechanism will also take up some slack as the brake lining wears through normal use.
It works best if its cleaned and oiled reguarly.
Im not sure what imits over adjustment,probably the inefficiency in the design.
There are rebuild kits available that replace all the springs,washers and small parts inside the drum.
Im going to run one of them through the rears on my 73.
Im having problems with the handbrake jamming on. The only way I can release it is to give the cable across the rear axle a kick.
I had them working perfectly a while back but they are due for an overhaul

 

[thePunter1]

Hi,

I had a problem with my rear brakes and this is how I fixed them.

Firstly I overhauled the brakes
a) Did one side at a time so that I had a reference.
b) Pulled everything apart and cleaned up with brake cleaner
c) Pulled the parking brake bell clamp off, applied penetrating fluid, put in vice and freed it up. One was completely ceased
d) Replaced both wheel cylinders - ~$30
e) Machined the drums - ~$20
f) Put everything back together
g) Adjusted brakes
h) Took for test drive, came back and readjusted – the first time I did not adjust them tight enough. There should be some drag
i) Drove to side of hill and pulled on parking brake – firstly didn’t work all that well
j) While rolling back on hill, applied some foot brake and then simultaneously heavily applied foot brake and parking brake. Did this a few times and the brakes adjusted up. Read how to do this on the forum somewhere
k) Park brake now holding on hill – not perfect though
l) Over the next few weeks the brakes settled in and they are working perfectly now
m) Still does not hold by itself on side of mountain, but I would always have it in gear as well anyway.

Give them some time to settle in. Not a lot of money to fix. $50 well spent.

Bell Clamp:
http://punterfamily.bigblog.com.au/data/6/31360/file/Brakes33230020080808115221.pdf

 

[Hulsty]

Ever since I bought my middy it never really stopped to well. When I put the 60 series rear under my car found out that my handbrake bell cranks were completely siezed!! No wonder the handbrake never worked.

I installed the 60 rear end and got the handbrake working and adjusted up my adjusting the shoes before fitting the drum, then I drove it for awhile an used the handbrake etc. Jacked car up checked for drag and wound up the handbrake adjustment till I was just getting drag and adjusted the stoppers too.

Now the rear brakes work well, good pedal and the handbrake holds on pretty damn steep hills!! though I always leave in gear just in case.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

On steep downhills in low-low, I was standing on the brake pedal with almost both feet to slow my descent. On the road my bakes were marginal at best.

Since then I have completely overhauled my rear brakes (new everything) and adjusted the Load Sensing Proportioning valve (see other thread). My brakes work great now

I want to know how they will now adjust to compensate for future brake shoe wear. In the past I have adjusted them through the access hole in the backing plate, but that does not work very well because the self-adjusting lever prevents the serrated wheel from turning and I have tended to strip the wheel a bit.

I have checked that with the drum off and using a screwdrivers behind the backing plate to replicate the emergency brake action -- the adjusting lever, does in fact turn the adjusting wheel. So if the emergency brake does not adjust my brakes as it should (probably insufficient movement of the mechanism) I will manually activate the emergency brake lever (use a screwdriver), which turns the serrated wheel, until I sense a slight drag. It does work. If the adjusting threads are gummed up, it will not work so good.

Thought I would pass that on.

 

[Eric Winkworth]

it is good to have your rear brake so they lock up just a little bit after the fronts.... on the way home from buying my truck I braked hard on an icy road and the ass end came around so quick my heart almost stopped.... now I have them so I can lock the front tires and a bit more pedal locks the back.... playing with the proportioning vavle helped alot

 

[Hulsty]

lock the brakes? didnt know stock 70 series brakes could lock! With 33''s on in the dry got no chance of them locking, maybe in the wet. They normally better than that? I've got new fluid, new pads, rebuilt rear brakes. Maybe I should look at the master and booster.

How you can you check the booster out? Sometimes my brakes feel really wooden, say if I brake firmly, then lift then re apply quickly they are all wooden and dont bite aswell as the initial application.