Drum brake issues. Getting warm

[67-2door]

I sort of think I know the answer to this but would like opinions anyway
I've just replaced the front discs on my car with some standard drums, all adjusted correctly, the brakes are pretty poor and lack any real bite (and it's not just that I'm used to discs, they'd struggle to lock the wheels on a loose surface!), also if you brake hard it pulls to the left slightly.
The thing that is niggling me a bit is after a run of 15-20 miles the wheels are noticeably warm to the touch, is that normal?? If you jack the car up and spin the wheels each spins freely bar a slight binding where the drums are out of round so I dont think they're over adjusted, the only wheel that stays cold to the touch is the front drivers side so my theory is the cylinder(s) are lazy on that wheel & need replacing (hopefully hence the poor brakes & pull to the left).
But should the wheels be getting warm?
Sorry for the long winded question.
Neil.

[charlie_morris_minor]

the drums will get warm from use.. which is where discs are an improvement over drums they get rid of the heat quicker.. if they were stinking hot i would say one is binding on...

however your brakes should be able to pull you up without a problem.. please do not take this the wrong way but have you adjusted the brakes for a second time? I always adjust them up, go for a quick spin to centralise the shoes on the drum and then repeat the adjustment process...

you also say one of your drums is binding because it is not round.. i would replace the drums or you will always struggle to get your brakes set correctly and working properly

[mike.perry]

Back the adjuster off one click on whichever shoe is touching and push hard on the brake pedal to centralise the shoes.
Remove the drum on the suspect side and get someone to push the brake pedal gently to check both wheel cylinders are working. If OK replace drum, adjust shoes and try a few hard stops.
Have you checked and adjusted the back brakes?
I believe that there is a seal which has to be removed from the master cylinder when converting to discs. Presumably it has to be replaced when refitting drums.

[bmcecosse]

When your car had discs - the top-hat seal would have been removed from the master cylinder. Ideally - this should now be in place now you have drums - otherwise adjuster setting will be super-critical. What size are the drums ? If 8" they should easily lock up on dry tarmac - the older 7" are a bit feeble - but should still manage it. Pulling to one side can be down to suspension bushes - or sticking cylinders or contaminated shoes. If the cylinders seem ok - swap the brake shoes from one side to the other and see if the 'pull' follows the shoes. If it does - mix and match the shoes to even things out.

[67-2door]

Yes, they're the 8" drums. I'm not familiar with the top hat seal that should be there, is it an easy thing to check if it's there & re-fit if it's not?

[MarkyB]

is it an easy thing to check

Afraid not, it's inside the end of the master cylinder.

[bmcecosse]

But all it may do - is give you a long pedal if you don't keep on top of the brakes.

[67-2door]

The pedals ok, so I dont fancy stripping the master cylinder out to find out if the seals there or not. All 4 drum seem to bind slightly in one spot when you spin the wheels by hand but would that be enough to make the wheels warm when driving or is that normal?

[bmcecosse]

No! That's quite normal - in fact if they don't - they probably need adjusting up...........

[MarkyB]

As Charlie said earlier, brakes get hot in use.
They convert forward motion into heat.

All you need to be concerned with is if they still get hot with little on no use, and if one get hotter than its counterpart on the other side.

You may be able to detect binding brakes by letting the car coast to a halt.
If they are binding you can feel a very slight rebound just as the car stops.
A very faint echo of the one you get under hard braking.