Hey guys. I just had a question that I wanted to get everyones opinion on. In the past when working on drum brakes, I have always set the adjustment screw tight against the brake shoes then put the drum back on forgoing the final adjustment to tighten the shoes against the drum. Now, Some people tell me that you HAVE to adjust the shoes against the drum, but thats the purpose of the SELF adjusting mechanism isnt it? Otherwise, you could adjust it too tight and cause problems later. Additionally, I have never have any issues with drum brakes wearing down unevenly in that past. What do you do in this situation?

 

If the way you've done it has worked, I wouldn't change a thing. I let the self-adjusters do the work and they haven't failed me

 

I would agree, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. However, some people are correct in what they are telling you. The way I was taught to properly adjust drum brakes was to adjust them all the way out then back them off one or two clicks so the drum spins without hanging up. The only other thing I would suggest, is since nobody fits the shoes to the cut drums anymore, would be to take a file to the new shoes and knock off the edges a little so they form better to the fresh cut drum.