Rear Brakes: Drum vs. Disc

[73azbronco]

For rear drum, Yep, but one and done. Adjust the star to just minute drag, back off, then test drive and reverse braking to self adjust.

 

[ntsqd]

I'm probably doing it wrong, but I've never had much luck with the self-adjusters. Even when I deliberately try to make them work.

 

[DirtDonk]

Probably not your fault.
In all my years of drum brake vehicles, I only had one self adjuster setup that actually self adjusted!
That was a '67 Buick Wildcat with huge drums that never seemed to need adjusting or tweaking. My Bronco, not so much!
Chevys, Fords, Buicks, Pontiacs, finally got away from manually adjusting them often when they got disc brakes!
I take that back. I think my Toyotas worked pretty well too. I drove them a lot and don't remember ever having to mess with the brakes until they needed replacing.
The '78 Datsun brakes needed adjusting or replacing about every 10k miles. They sucked all around!

Paul

 

[Steve83]

I've never had a problem with autoadjusters since I learned to 1) clean everything, and 2) grease everything that needs grease (or apply graphite paint, which stays clean). I've even broken rust-seized ones apart, sandblasted them to bare steel, and they went back to working perfectly. This diagram shows exactly where the grease (or graphite paint) goes, and the text below it explains how to dis- & re-assemble the entire thing by hand (except the crimp ring for the e-brake lever).

(click this text)


Yes, that's for a later truck, but I did it to a '74 Bronco whose brakes worked perfectly for years afterward.

(click this text)


I used to sell them used, but I can't find & restore them fast enough. (I only added a 0 to the price to prevent anyone from buying while I'm sold out.)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/297272605114?mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&customid=link&campid=5335857059&toolid=20001&mkevt=1