Rear brakes.....

[Tonka]

Hi there. So, I've fixed 2 of the 3 things it failed the MOT on, the final thing is the rear near side brake isn't putting in the effort it should be. Almost no effort in fact the lazy blighter. I replaced the drums last year, there aren't any visible leaks, the mechanic said it might be something which could be adjusted out. The handbrake isn't good enough either.

If I remember correctly (and after searching here) the rear brakes are self adjusting? So what should I be looking for here?

Many thanks.

[RebelV8]

If the self adjusters are anything like the ones on the back of my other car, they can sometimes stick and not self adjust. You can adjust them yourself, there should be a small slit ( or opening ) in the back of the drum, might be covered by some kind of rubber bung, just slide the tip of a screwdriver in and use it to turn the cog type thing to adjust the brakes. ( assuming the adjusters are similar to my other car ).
Incase you don't know, doing this will push the brake shoes further out giving better contact with the drum and increasing efficiency.

Hope this helps

[tweak'e]

auto adjusters are fairly useless.
they do wear but you can file the teeth and lever so it connects better.

adjust it manually, don't rely on the auto adjust.

[Bogus]

and, if your truck is an auto, and you rarely, ( never) apply the handbrake, then of course it will never self adjust.

[Tonka]

Many thanks to you all. I do remember the hole at the back of the drum. Do I turn the screw until the brake shoes contract and then back off a bit? What's the technique?

[Bogus]

One click at a time until you feel a wee bit of contact, but can still turn the drum, thats what i would do, but first id try a few apply/ release of the handbrake to see if it does self adjust.

[J i m s t e r]

On my 3rd gen I've had one drum seize, which was rebuilt.

Then I had a diff seal leak, so the oil had got into the drums and onto the shoes, which kind of reduces the friction they create, what with oil being a lubricant and all that.

Got the seals replaced. Works much better now.

[budweiser]

you can adjust the LSV valve

[Tonka]

Is that the valve that balances front and rear? One of the rear brakes is fine so I was discounting that?

[budweiser]

LSV= Load Sensing Valve, means that you can adjust it to have more brakes on the back.
did you open and check for springs out of place on the drums?

[Tonka]

LSV= Load Sensing Valve, means that you can adjust it to have more brakes on the back.
did you open and check for springs out of place on the drums?

Hi, thanks for the advice. No I haven't opened up the drum - I was short of time and the rain didn't help....it's with the garage now for the re-MOT, I adjusted the parking brake cable and gave it some good yanks to hopefully adjust the auto adjusters....waiting to see whether that's done the job....

[tweak'e]

don't go playing around with the LSV.
there is no need. the only time is when lifting and there is easier ways to do it (ie space it).