Drum brake - initial adjustment

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Billy the average guy

Billy the average guy

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11” x 2” rear drum brake: how much gap or space should I initially have? New 11” drums being put on. Are there (near) exact measurements or just feel? I have a drum/brake measuring tool. Have’t done drums myself in 30 years. All advice welcome! Thanks and have a fun summer Saturday night!
 
Hand adjust the star wheel on the bottom til the drum will just slide on. After that I install two lugs to hold the drum tight to the axle. Then take a thin blade screwdriver thru the backing plate at the bottom. I then pry the star wheel forward and backwards and adjust the wheel to eliminate most all the play. Spin the drum to make sure it is not to tight, a slight drag is what you want. Apply the foot brake to center the shoes to the drum, recheck for a slight drag. You should be good to go!
 
What i have always done is adjust enough to just touch when rotated by hand. Typically it will have a scratch scratch sound as you rotate.

Ultimatly the automatic adjusters and some wear will fine tune the fit.

The auto adjusters work by backing up and applying the brakes
 
Put together loose, then throw a couple lugs nuts or three on to hold firmly. Tighten the adjuster until you can no longer spin the drum by hand. Then start by backing off about eight to ten clicks (notches) on the adjuster. Apply and release the brakes a few times to "set" the shoes in a resting place. It should now spin pretty freely. Follow the same 8-10 click procedure for the other side, and they should end up pretty well balanced when you hit the brakes. You should be able to tell that the braking feels decent with the brake pedal still pretty high. If you back them out farther, the pedal will end up lower before strong braking starts. HTH, Lefty71
 
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Make sure you put some anti seize on the star wheel adjuster (small amount). Adjust
the wheel and slide the drum on, keep tightening the wheel a little at a time and sliding the drum on and off until it is slightly difficult to put on . Hard reverse stops
will set it at proper adjustment point.
 
I adjust mine sorta tight. After I assemble everything, wheel tire and all, I do like Roy said and shift the star wheel around a little and then adjust it so when I spin the wheel, it will not go one full revolution around. Sounds a little tight and I smell brake shoe on initial test drive, but it assures you get every bit of slack out and gives you the highest possible pedal feel. It's never failed for me. Been doin it that way since about 1974.
 
I adjust fairly loose, so the drum slides on and spins without friction. Worst thing would be to over-adjust them. I then backup several times, jamming the brake pedal hard to let the self-adjusters do their thing. If working, you will feel the pedal motion decrease each time. Then just drive and don't worry.
 
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