<VV> Brakes-- Automatic Adjustment

[John Miller]

  John,

   Yes you may have the adjuster turned around, just pull the drum off and
look to see if the star wheel is against the adjuster spade.Of course the
reverse side to side.  It may be the adjusters need a little cleaning...the
star wheel should turn freely so it doesnt hurt to clean up the corrosion in
this area. Oh, and make sure you have good condition and operating  wheel
cylinders!
  There are no adjuster holes on a late model to manually adjust the brakes.
If you  punch the drum knockouts on the outside of the drums (bad idea) you
can adjust the brakes manually but you will never be able to plug the holes.
Plastic plugs melt away after a few hard stops and metal plugs leak water...no
plugs and have fun stopping on a wet road! If you have punched holes in the
drums on your daily driver find new ones.
   The best adjusting method I have found is adjust manually to a snug fit of
the drum. Press on fit only. No hammers please! You should be able to spin the
drum over with very slight drag  only...this too may be a  bit too tight but
it's a starting place. Then in an area with some room...a parking lot or long
driveway, back the car up at casual speed and press the brake pedal firmly to
a complete stop. You are letting the adjusters do their job. You may have to
do this several times a complete stop is necessary to bind the brake shoes to
move the adjuster...one stop...one notch adjustment and it is not likely you
can overtighten this way.
   Drive the car to test stopping...does it stop straight?...does it pull left
or right? A few harder reverse stops may break it loose ( I call it the
"Cleatus" method.) This shouldnt hurt anything if the brake system is in
reasonable condition...it may just look funny to your neighbors or any
onlookers...
    There may be some that disagree with me a bit on this but I have had good
sucess this way and no "on the road" brake problems doing this.

                                          John Miller
                                          Iowa