Alright guys.....i think i found my problem......the brake pads/shoes for the rear drums are gone. Theres like a 1/8 inch of material but it looks like metal. Also the drum has like a groove like theres been metal on metal contact. Is this my problem?

 

Possibly if the shoes are out of adjustment, with the wheel on give it a spin... It should slow down with one revolution.

 

well im pretty sure they will be out of adjustment if theres no more of the material left on the shoe right?

 

No... That's what my old shoes looked like and brakes stopped with firm pedal. Then I put new brake shoes in and replaced a fluid line and had no pedal... Spent a day bleeding brakes all around before I took it in and found out I hadn't adjusted the shoes far enough apart!

 

ooooh. well i will replace the shoes since there is nothing left and i will adjust them. do you recommend the parts kit that replaces the springs and stuff?

 

Rear brakes I just go with whatever generic Napa kit, they last a long time and you will probably never have to do them again.

Yeah once you get that replaced and hub and wheel installed, reach in with a screwdriver from backing plate and turn star adjuster till you get a touch of friction happening.

When you're doing the brakes make sure the star adjuster is catching.. Sometimes you have to bend/ tweak it a bit to make sure it catches.

Have both hubs off and only do one side at a time so you can reference the other side if needed.

 

okay bud. will do. thanks alot for the advice

 

Hopefully with luck that is your problem... Maybe as the shoes wore away the self adjuster stayed where it was and pedal got lower and lower as brakes wore down. I wouldn't hold my breath on that though!

 

It's good practice to use a spring kit, new adjuster cable. Clean up the adjuster and use anti-sieze. Inspect wheel cylinders for excessive leakage. It's easy to get carried away, but replacing wheel cylinders and rubber hoses, shoes, and springs won't hurt anything and isn't high buck maintenance. Inspect drums carefully for cracks.

What CAN happen, not saying it will - when cylinders run all the way out for a long time, (worn drums, worn shoes) a ring layer of corrosion builds around the cups and pistons in a certain spot. New shoes and drums means the wheel cylinders start to leak soon after.

Front brakes provide maybe 70 per cent of the stopping power, but rear brakes hardly ever get serviced.