brakes & oil

[les]

Went for a brief run today in the van, first time for a while, and felt the brake pedal had more travel than I recall. Pumping made no difference, so eliminating air in the system. I checked the shoe adjustment and found the adjusters could tighten roughly 3 clicks, so this brought the shoes closer to the drums and problem solved. The question is---is it possible for the adjusters to wear and allow the adjustment to loosen, giving the symptoms just described? I'm hoping it's just the shoes bedding down. Another issue while I'm here. I notice that there is ep90 gear oil and ep80/90 diff oil. I want to fill the rear axle. the book says ep90 gear oil, so that's what I bought. What the difference between the two oils?

[mike.perry]

Just the shoes bedding in
EP90 for the diff but a top up of EP 80 will not do any harm
ENGINE OIL in the engine and gearbox

[les]

Thanks Mike, it makes sense, just thought 3 or so clicks to bring back into adjustment was excessive.

[bmcecosse]

If they were new shoes - they were probably only touching partially until they wear down to the diameter of the drum. So initial apparent wear rate can be high.

[les]

I was slightly concerned as I don't remember the pedal being low last time I drove it. Mind you it was a while ago and probably happened gradually during the run. Thanks for replies.