Brake shoes keep unadjusting

[CJM]

IDK. I drove it around the block a bit, feels good now. I put a higher LSPV bracket I had made for when I ran some helper leaf springs. Maybe its just me, maybe I had been driving with that bracket for god only knows how long and I inadvertently changed to the lower one by mistake when i did the axle..

Lets see if they loosen up.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Keep us updated on this Marc, I am interested.

[CJM]

Ok so I had adjusted them so they were super good, very little slack on them. Could turn the tires maybe 1.5 turns wqith a good shove.

I go to a work friday morning and everything seems fine, got a great pedal (travel to stop was maybe 1 inch). On the way home I notice they are dragging. I de-adjust them some. That night I go to a wake, holy hell the damn shoes are now adjusting the opposite way and literally dragging BADLY. I stop, de-adjust them some and its ok. Wtf it does it again like 10 miles later. I finally de-adjust them so I barely have pedal.

3 hours later Im back on the road to PA pulling my trailer with some piping we had to install at my cabin. If I hit the brakes it pulsates bad from the back. Im thinking wtf is going on here. Stop and wtf they are adjusted more again.

Then I think: I adjusted the e-brake cable some to tighten up some slack that there was. I also adjusted the e-brake levers on the one drum a good bit b/c there was slack there. I had recalled when reading the FSM that there should be no more than 1/4 of an inch of that bolt on these things sticking out. I realize theres a good inch on the one.

Came back from the trip mostly using the O/D to slow down and coasting as much as I could. There was no time for parts stores or to play around with this. Get home, check everything-damn drums spin freely. So I throw the old drums on and check the fronts as well for warpage with a run out tool. Fronts seem fine. I also sanded the old drums a bit and the shoes thinking they got glazed.

Take it for a ride, pedals low but no pulsating at all. Im thinking the self adjusters/self adjuster lever in the drums was getting thrown outta wack perhaps by a too tight e-brake cable and that adjuster. But IDK.. I dont F'n get it, makes little sense. At least the brand new rotors seem fine, I dont want to do that job again.

So ugh that was my weekend..

[Obi..]

If you adjust them too close it's the same as if they were adjusted too far out. The anti-lock will kick in. There's a fine line you'll need to use doing them and if possible do it 1-3 clicks as necessary every 3000-5000 miles with your oil changes. I had it happen this past week, adjusted them 1 click too far each side and it would pulsate the ABS, drove 500 miles and now they're fine.

[CJM]

Maybe that was it, scared the hell out of me.

I got them adjusted pretty good but it could be more. pedals just a tad low and fronts are working just a tad too hard. One side appears to be touching almost touching the drum and the other is a bit less.

Funny thing is even when I had a leaking axle shaft seal and one of the wheel cylinders was leaking I never needed to adjust them it seemed.

Gonna play with it some more tomorrow and see what happens.

[04 Rocko Taco]

One of those weird situations, Definitely keep us updated ion what is going on.

[CJM]

I played with it again today and they seem to be adjusted good now. But I didnt take it for very long of a drive (just around the block). Id like to bleed them again to ensure I dont have air in the lines but I lack a helper atm.

Indeed one of those odd situations. I have all the luck huh?

[Obi..]

I have all the luck huh?

Hold a BBQ and call it "Sacrificing a chicken" to the Toyota Gods?

Voodoo beats bad juju any day.

[CJM]

haha..

[CJM]

So its been a bit and no real change. Ive adjusted, de-adjusted, etc the brakes. I might try to put the new drums back on and see wtf is up but Im not hopefull.

Im not sure but Im thinking Im going to bleed the rear brakes again. All signs point to some possible air trapped in the lines as the shoes are adjusted properly but the pedal is low and pumping it helps a bit. Funny there might be air in there, there was no air coming out the lines when I bled each spot like 6x to be sure.

I think Im only going to bleed the rears, procedure is RL, RR, LSPV or should I so LSPV first then bleed the wheel cylinders?