Did you check the cylinders to see if they are frozen I never suspected they were either my drums were shinny like yours are they do just barely drag to keep them clean, pull off and look at the cylinders pull the boots back and off then you can tell if they are frozen or just replace them they are only $10 a piece very cheap and a way to make sure they are working at their best.

My parking brake still worked also don’t mean a thing.

I bet yours are frozen.

If you are happy that they are ok then forget about it.

 

98,

Thanks for the advice. The brakes do work however. I'm pretty proactive at maintenance, including the brakes. You have to be living near the coast.

I do agree with you on ceramic pads. Don't like them.

 

By frozen I mean one of the cylinders were frozen the other side were all gooped up and just barely offering a tad of breaking thus still shinny looking brakes that seem to be working but NOT.

Each wheel cylinder per wheel has two pistons one for each brake shoe so one was frozen and the other was so gooped up as to offer a tad of braking making you think they are working.

Looking at the boots showed no trace of leakage to the eye also making you think there is no problem.

 

Alright all, I wanted to follow up and mark this topic as SOLVED!

First, I tried the reverse thing. Tried slamming on the brakes, slowly stopping, and everything in between. Brakes were still mushy. (although I am sure I gave my neighbors a show.)

SO, I decided to adjust the rear drums manually as suggested. (And they needed it, I could easily spin the tire 2.5 rotations with one hand, whereas they say 1 is optimal.) Well, I got excited about the possibilities and went for a test drive. No change. At all. I was pissed.

SO, I left it for a day, and considered bleeding the stupid brakes.

Well, I drove it again the next day and BAM, brakes were PERFECT. Firmed back up exactly where they should be. So what happened?

Well, I went for the test drive, and pulled forward out of my driveway and then BACKED UP back INTO my driveway.

So obviously, after you adjust your rear drums manually, you do still have to reverse to "set" them. (Or.... I have a truck with a serious flaw in it. I'll let you guys debate that. haha)

 

Adjusting manually and backing up to adjust them will give you the same outcome all the self-adjuster dose is pull the adjuster wheel in and adjust it exactly as what you are doing manually those shoes are free floating so to say backing them up was the finishing touch is well let’s leave it at that.

It’s more likely the slamming on the brakes trying to adjust them broke the shoes in or cleaned the drums just enough to feel the change.

 

Ok, I've got a question along these same lines. I drive a 97 Dakota (v6) 9" drum brakes in the back. They worked great till I replaced the shoes and turned the drums. I can adjust them so they work, I do the hard breaking to score them up a little (although I've only done it in drive, not reverse). My problem is that after a month or two I notice they loosen up and I don't have any stopping power from my back brakes. When I go to pull the drums the adjusters are in far enough I can pull them off the shoes without even loosening the adjuster.

After inspecting the breaks, I noticed that the lever arm that turns the ratchet is not even touching it. This lets the ratchet screw in and the breaks loosen up over time. The problem seems to be that the adjuster cable (the one that wraps from the center post on the top, around the back, and down to the lever arm that hits the sprocket/adjuster wheel) seems to be to long. I bought new cables. They are the same length and they did not solve the problem.

The other thing I noticed is that the eye of the cable hooks to the top/center post but it is so much larger in diameter that the holes are not concentric. Has anyone ran into this problem of the lever arm not resting on the sprocket/adjuster? I assume it is supposed to in order to keep the breaks from loosening up...


Thanks,
Tim

 

Great info. I guess Tokey's brakes are (still) working by now. I am having a soft brake problem too. The truck has been not been driven much in the last few months, and last week I replaced the left front hub and axle u joint, and I'm guessing somehow air got in the line. I'm going to look for leaks, then bleed, and then pick up a brake spoon and try Silver's rear brake adjustment tomorrow (if the weather holds).

 

Ouch, don't you love it one problem creates another problem? lol

Anyway, I was able to adjust the brakes with a stubby flat head screwdriver without ANY problems. It was actually MUCH MUCH MUCH easier than I thought it would be.. The spoon is good too though. It will make it a bit easier. If you use a screwdriver though, don't use one longer than say 3 inches or it wont fit. You'll see....

 

@ SilverCC - I just finished my back brakes on my '99 Ram. I wouldn't have purchased the spoon if you hadn't suggested. It does make it a lot easier to adjust. Also don't do the rear breaks without a spring wrench/tool. Will save a lot of time and a few choice descriptive words... Thanks!

 

YW, Glad to be able to help out.

Jimmy