i have an 02 cavailer i recently had the drum brakes done about a week ago i know very little about them. im driveing today and i smell brake. so i go check the rotors there warm but not super hot but the driver side drum is scorching hot where should i start first? ebrake?? an imput will be great thanks
sounds like its over adjusted, or the e-brake cable is partially applied. Make sure the cable is released and wiggle the cable where it goes into the drum back & Forth. If the shoes are over adjusted remove the drum (should come off easy being lack of ridge) and turn the adjuster down a few clicks
you shouln’t even have to remove the drum. actually there should be a rubber grommet on the backside of the drum setup. by removing that grommet you can gain access to the star adjuster.
now i need a special tool for that right?
Yes there is a tool, but a flat head screwdriver works in some cases, usually it needs to be angled or bent near the tip to gain access. You can loosen it and re-adjust the brakes by backing up and stopping a few times.
this after all is the rust belt, your post speaks of hopes and dreams of adjusting with a brake spoon. no offense, but i bet that adjuster is froze solid, was never free’d up, and whoever did the brakes, swapped shoes and pounded the drums without adjusting them causing them to drag. if the place you had do the brake work is reputable, take it back, if not take it elsewhere and pay to have it done again/repaired correctly and then go after the previous shop.
the guy i had do it owns his own shop as far as i know he knows what he is doing he always did good work for me. i never did drum brakes i honestly have no idea how they work. how exactly do u adjust them
Cavy’s (J body’s) dont have this
The tensioner on the cavi drum brakes are indeed under the drum itself. You need to take off the drum and there should be about a two inch long “rod” heading in a diagonal path downward toward the back of the car and it has a sprocket-looking piece orthogonal to the rod; that’s the thing you turn to adjust the tension.
turn in wich direction to loosen the pads?
the opposite way that the lever moves it
I believe those go the traditional lefty loosey, righty tighty pattern. If that doesn’t work, simply reverse what you did. Count how many rotations you make as it will save you some time.
yea im gona try that now. i would love to know who invented drum brakes there worthless
they work on paper… and for two weeks after you replace everything, then you are correct, they are worthless, or close to it.
Mathematically, they are about 1/4 to 1/3 as good as disc brakes.
Mathematically thats about right since you wouldnt want them to over power the front brakes since they do about 70% of the braking and you wouldnt want them to lock up while braking.
Well, I do, but I’m also a psycho bastard.