how do you adjust rear drum brakes??

[bws]

i have a 2001 dodge 2500 and found a frozen adjuster on one side.after pulling the drum i was able to free the adjuster.now i have rotated it till i hear a slight brush when i turn the tire but am thinking it should have a little more friction.so my question is how much rubbing/friction do i want to have between the drum and the pads???

[Bird]

There are better mechanics than I on the forum, but the way I learned to adjust them was to adjust until they were tight enough the wheel couldn't be turned by hand, then back them off until the wheel could be turned freely, but as you said, still hear them barely touching. To my way of thinking, the more important thing is to have both sides adjusted the same.

[GaryM]

Some vehicles adjust the drum brakes automatically when you back up and hit the brakes. Don't know if yours are like that though.

[Autotech]

Your brakes are of the "automatic" adjusting type. However the automatic function will not work at all unless a good initial adjustment is made. And in reality, the automatic adjusters rarely work 100% anyway.
Also, most modern adjusters won't allow you to easilly "back-off" an adjustment.
Unfortunately experience is the best scale for adjusting brakes, much like wheelbearings. What you want is a moderate amount of drag, but it's much better to err on the side of too loose. Also, since you are re-adjusting old brakes (as opposed to new, unbedded brakes) you want the adjustment to be a bit on the loose side also.

Chances are you have it right where it should be, judging from what your post said.

Gregg

[bws]

good.after adjusting them it changed the brake pedal "feel" and now the parking brake pedal it at the top[very little movement downward].guess this is normal.thanks.bws

[Stoneheartfarm]

I guess I cheat. I take mine to the brake shop. [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]

Steve

[Chillimau]

Actually, I would say the brake shop is the one cheating. Amazing what they charge just to put pads on.