Rear brakes

[Pandora]

Help please!

Needed to fix handbrake for MOT so as brake shoes worn one side replaced both shoes & got new cylinders. Drove 27 miles for MOT retest (garage recommended) by which time brakes red hot & smelling (not smoking) & brake pedal had to push to floor or pump to get brakes to work. Hand brake just failed again. So got garage to take a look they said brakes too tight & slackened handbrake completely & retightened & passed it.

Drove 27 miles back & brakes red hot again & brake pedal needed pumping again to brake. Have left it 2 days & just driven round block & now loud ticking noise from driver side rear brake area & had brake pedal again flat to floor or needed pumping. Brakes not hot infact cold to touch but just might be because only went round block.

So before my poor boyfriend (worked on loads of vdubs) who did all the work takes it all appart again at the weekend, wondered if you guys had any suggestions as the garage didnt fix it & will be the 3rd go at trying to find out whats wrong?

[T25Convert]

Hi,

If the brakes are hot and smelly then they are binding - either because they are set too tight to the drum (and hence constantly rub), or for some reasosn they are not releasing fully (maybe due to incorrect installation, or poor quality cyliners or handbrake cable too tight).

The pumping of the brakes is likley to be due to air in the system - how were they bled after the new cylinders were installed? Basically air is compressible, and brake fluid isn't. If you have air in the system then when you press the pedal the air just compresses, rather than applying your brakes.

It would be worth jacking the van up (on axle stands) and checking if the wheels go round or if they are binding. If they won't go round, trry slackening off the hand brake cable and see if this cures the problem. If not, its time to take the whoel lot apart and check its all been installed properly, and that the new cylinders retract properly.

If you are not sure what you are doing I would reccommend professional assistance, only because the brakes are one area you can't afford to get wrong! Also, don't drive it until this is sorted, as a pedal that goes to the floor is potentially lethal.

Good luck,

Alex.

[CovKid]

The mistake many make is even adjusting the handbrake cable. I find you only have to do that with new cables and any adjustment should just be setting the shoes close to drums or fully on then back off till drum turns freely. Adjusting the cable underneath tends to make matters worse.

[Oldiebut goodie]

^^^^^ WHS.
Heard of people doing that all the time. Bring back brake rods then people wouldn't think that they have been stretched!

[Pandora]

Thanks for the advise, am not driving it till the weekend, as know it is dangerous, but having had the garage that did the MOT take the rear wheels, drums, brakes shoes off & reset & test for MOT am at a loss why this has happened just 27 miles after. All parts were bought new from GSF (brake shoes & drums) & everything turns as it should do, tight but not rubbing. Handbrake now holds van (which it didnt do before hence the fail of the MOT & start of this game)

So two professionals have worked on it, boyfriend who used to own his own vdub garage, & the garage that did MOT who wanted me to drive the 27 miles back for them to have a look (hmm don't think so with dodgy brakes)

So I have a brand new MOT & dodgy brakes aaaagh!

[Pandora]

A conclusion to the brake saga.

Took everything appart & put back again, everything is working great now & have just come back from Stanford so a 300 round trip. Brakes feeling good & positive, hand brake works, but sometimes when reversing still lose brake efficiency & the pedal hits the floor..............so maybe the shoes still need a little tweaking.

[CovKid]

Yep, when adjusting at wheels you have to apply brake pedal in between to equalise shoes. Way I do it is (hub off) get shoes out as far as I can but just enough to slip hub back on, then adjust each shoe equally until hub is impossible to turn by hand then slowly back them off till hub moves ok - again reapplying foot brake as you go to make sure they're centered. I then test them properly, drive back and maybe adjust some more. 3 notches on the handbrake should lock rear wheels on solid when parked - that will creep to five or more over time but as a first setup, 3 is about right. New pads and shoes take time to settle in so a readjust is the norm anyway.

Any garage worth its salt will generally recommend to go back in a week for readjustment so expect same if its DIY. I do mine twice a year as part of servicing as its nice to know you can pull up sharp with little effort or any whale-tailing. Auto-adjusters are ok but they don't always work so a manual adjustment no bad thing. Can be a lot of weight to stop in an emergency so keep 'em tip-top if you can.