Club 80-90 Forums

Hi Ladies and Gents hoping you can help.

A while back i started getting a grinding noise when driving off in the van from cold. It went away after 5 minutes of driving. A month after this first happened i then started getting mild brake judder which got worse.
A mobile mechanic found the back wheels wouldn't rotate freely and would stop part of the way round. He diagnosed that the 32 year old drums were warped and the shoes catching so he replaced the drums last week. I stupidly didn't go for a test drive after the fitting as i had to go to work and was off on holiday camping in the van the next day.
As soon as i braked on the open road the brake peddle was going up and down worse than before. it was only a short journey from my home in Southampton to the campsite on the IOW so i we carried on. The van still stops but its a right pain. We have used the bus rather than drive it this last few days.
The mobile mechanic will look at it again when we get home this week but one thing struck me. Shouldn't the brake shoes been replaced as well? Wouldn't they be out of shape as well as the old drums?
If not any other ideas please.
Many thanks Dave.

The shoes wouldn't be "out of shape" as you describe, but if the old drum was worn then the diameter would be different, so the old shoes would no longer make contact properly. So, yes, the shoes probably should have been replaced.

Have the front brake discs been given the ok.

Hi many thanks for your replies. I will get the shoes replaced for sure. My mechanic did also find the front nearside piston was stuck so sorted that and has double checked since. Just hope new shoes will sort the judder.

Hi
Not discounting what others have said but I had terrible pulsing in my van. I jacked it up and took each of the rear wheels and drums off and checked the adjusters by clicking the wheel round until the drum wouldn't slide on then backing off and replacing wheel to make sure it wasn't binding. It turned out one side was 8 clicks different. Once I'd got them about the same I gave it a trip round the block and no more pulsing! Possibly the mechanic didn't ensure both were adjusted the same amount?