Drum Brake Adjustment on Canter
- Thread starter gait
- Start date
engineer
Adventurer
I jack the wheel off the ground, spin the wheel while adjusting (you have to jack both sides off the ground when doing the rears, LSD...) and the wheel stops upon contact.
dont just rock it back and forth, spin the wheel... do one wheel at a time, do both cylinders before moving to next wheel. Back off two clicks after each contact, then check pedal travel after each axle.
Good luck.
dont just rock it back and forth, spin the wheel... do one wheel at a time, do both cylinders before moving to next wheel. Back off two clicks after each contact, then check pedal travel after each axle.
Good luck.
canter tourer
Adventurer
When it comes to working on my truck I am a 'truck novice'. So I went to adjust my brakes today, 1996 4x4 dual cab fg637, and followed the advice and also from a manual I have (its for a 90 model, but I figure fairly much the same thing). I turned the adjuster in the opposite direction to the arrow on the backing plate as the book directs, no problem there, BUT, after a number of turns, it got really hard to turn it any more and I could not feel any brake contact with the drums, ie; no resistance from the shoes (there was none to start with). So, I had started with the front and stopped after getting the same result on both sides, the rears were left alone in confusion. There appears to be a fair bit of meat left on the shoes.
The truck brakes no better after my fiddling, and importantly, no worse.
Q. So have I done it wrong? or are my drums to far worn? are the wheel cylinders faulty? how long is a piece of string? maybe to hard to web diagnose.
Any thoughts from some gurus appreciated.
Lastly, if it does need new drums and shoes, what's involved in doing this?
Thanks, Dave.
The truck brakes no better after my fiddling, and importantly, no worse.
Q. So have I done it wrong? or are my drums to far worn? are the wheel cylinders faulty? how long is a piece of string? maybe to hard to web diagnose.
Any thoughts from some gurus appreciated.
Lastly, if it does need new drums and shoes, what's involved in doing this?
Thanks, Dave.
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canter tourer
Adventurer
I did think that, but the book says to turn it in the opposite direction from the arrow to adjust them up.
As a test, I did turn one the other way as it seemed so wrong and all it did was get very easy to turn, to the point of being very loose.
Was thinking, do I need to put a bit of lube on the adjuster to see if that helps? Problem is, I don't know what 'normal' is for these brakes.
gait
Explorer
I recall having the same confusion and experimented with both ways.
Long time ago but I recall having to turn lots for little movement. It was a long way before I got the first pad to bind.
Something about becoming easier rings a bell - the thread that's protected inside the head of the piston may be easier than the exposed thread. I live in an area where things don't rust much.
I'm not a fan of lube into brakes in case it ends up on the pads. If necessary I'd risk a little squirt of WD40 or penetrating oil.
Technically its not possible to unwind things so far that bits fall out. If that happens then the pads should probably have been replaced long ago or there is a bigger problem. Turning one way you will be stopped by the pads binding. Turning the other way you've reached the end of the thread.
A torch shone through the hole can show enough of the thread. If not an endoscope may be useful.
Removing drums is as easy as an older car (at least a European one). Just heavier. Replacing pads is as easy. Easier as the springs are longer and bigger - just hands rather than fingers when things slip.
Long time ago but I recall having to turn lots for little movement. It was a long way before I got the first pad to bind.
Something about becoming easier rings a bell - the thread that's protected inside the head of the piston may be easier than the exposed thread. I live in an area where things don't rust much.
I'm not a fan of lube into brakes in case it ends up on the pads. If necessary I'd risk a little squirt of WD40 or penetrating oil.
Technically its not possible to unwind things so far that bits fall out. If that happens then the pads should probably have been replaced long ago or there is a bigger problem. Turning one way you will be stopped by the pads binding. Turning the other way you've reached the end of the thread.
A torch shone through the hole can show enough of the thread. If not an endoscope may be useful.
Removing drums is as easy as an older car (at least a European one). Just heavier. Replacing pads is as easy. Easier as the springs are longer and bigger - just hands rather than fingers when things slip.
canter tourer
Adventurer
I recall having the same confusion and experimented with both ways.
Long time ago but I recall having to turn lots for little movement. It was a long way before I got the first pad to bind.
Something about becoming easier rings a bell - the thread that's protected inside the head of the piston may be easier than the exposed thread. I live in an area where things don't rust much.
I'm not a fan of lube into brakes in case it ends up on the pads. If necessary I'd risk a little squirt of WD40 or penetrating oil.
Technically its not possible to unwind things so far that bits fall out. If that happens then the pads should probably have been replaced long ago or there is a bigger problem. Turning one way you will be stopped by the pads binding. Turning the other way you've reached the end of the thread.
A torch shone through the hole can show enough of the thread. If not an endoscope may be useful.
Removing drums is as easy as an older car (at least a European one). Just heavier. Replacing pads is as easy. Easier as the springs are longer and bigger - just hands rather than fingers when things slip.
Thanks heaps for the advice, I too was a bit concerned re: lube into brakes, but if necessary I will be super careful if I have to do this, the gut feeling is that the exposed thread is a bit gunked up, making it very stiff/hard to move.
Great to know that if it goes too far one way, that nothing will fall off, I might borrow my mates little camera thing (prob the endoscope you refer too) to have a look inside just to be safe and have another crack next week.
Thanks again
Dave
SkiFreak
Crazy Person
If your future plans include doing your own maintenance on your truck, pulling the drums off might be a beneficial learning experience.
As Gait has said, the drums on these trucks are quite simple to remove, and in doing so you can easily assess the wear of the shoes and you can also confirm the operation of the adjuster mechanism.
canter tourer
Adventurer
I am generally as hands on as possible, have already done a bunch of little stuff on it, just didn't expect what seemed a simple job to not feel right in practice.
I'll put more time aside and pull the drums then and get a better view of the beast.
thanks again.here's the thread. May not be helpful now that I've read it.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...w-truck-conversion/page3?highlight=brake+drum
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...w-truck-conversion/page3?highlight=brake+drum
canter tourer
Adventurer
OK, had another squiz at the manual, seems to be a bit more to it than simply pulling the drums, looks like hubs and bearings are involved. so that will have wait for another day, as I do need to replace some seals and wheel bearings, so I will tackle that all at once.
But, dyslexia can be a pain in the rear, a combination of me misinterpreting the manual and not trusting the old gut instinct lead me up the garden path in the first place.
I had another crack at it today and went with the arrow today and now all is good. It just seemed so wrong before, as they were so far out of adjustment it didn't seem possible that it could be right.
So, a bit more persistence today and I now have the brakes I always should have, still can't believe it passed a RWC like they were.
Must say though, that the front was easier than the rear, mainly because of the LSD causing both rear wheels to spin, making it a bit heavy going and somewhat difficult to get the right feel for when it was right. Anyhow it all seems ok and doesn't pull in one direction so worked out ok.
Thanks again for the advice, Dave.
But, dyslexia can be a pain in the rear, a combination of me misinterpreting the manual and not trusting the old gut instinct lead me up the garden path in the first place.
I had another crack at it today and went with the arrow today and now all is good. It just seemed so wrong before, as they were so far out of adjustment it didn't seem possible that it could be right.
So, a bit more persistence today and I now have the brakes I always should have, still can't believe it passed a RWC like they were.
Must say though, that the front was easier than the rear, mainly because of the LSD causing both rear wheels to spin, making it a bit heavy going and somewhat difficult to get the right feel for when it was right. Anyhow it all seems ok and doesn't pull in one direction so worked out ok.
Thanks again for the advice, Dave.