run out of adjustment on brakes

[morris minor man]

hi i have replaced all the brakes on the car,which are 7 inch,i have brought brand new shoes.iv fitted them and on the bake adjustment cams they will not lock the drums up.iv taken them to the engine servicing shop that does skimming of brake drums and disks,they said their fine,my brake cam adjusters look ok and do adjust but will as i say do not lock the drums..could be the shoes?or some thing iv not done right..............

[bmcecosse]

Shoes on right way round? Do the adjusters turn ok when you try to move them with a screwdriver?

[morris minor man]

they adjust up fine they only just touch the drums.i took the car for a drive for a mile or so brought it back and tried it agan..so iv bought another set of shoes and their the same

[bmcecosse]

What exactly have you renewed/changed - and have the drums been 'skimmed' ?

[morris minor man]

yes thir on the right way with the half cirular piece cut out on the cam adjuster..and the engine shop told me the drums are fine..the drums did not need skimming.i took them in for them to look at to see if they was oval.or worn out,i have renewed back brake shoes as oil was on them from axle.front i renewed as linings was a bit low .not to the rivets

[bmcecosse]

And - is the brake pedal going to the floor - or is it 'solid' ?

[morris minor man]

brake pedal is also fine...last year i renewed all the wheel cylinders and master for test.when my helper aplys the brake pedal it locks the wheels.and when he removes is foot of the brake pedal the wheels spin fine but will not lock up to adjust

[bmcecosse]

Well - I'm guessing they just need to bed in. As long as they lock the wheels in use - that's what matters!

[mike.perry]

Do the cams reach full adjustment and then continue turning to the start position or do they stop turning but still not lock the brakes?

[Dean]

Are we talking, fronts, backs or both? Are you 100% sure you have assembled them correctly? Mine were actually too tight in the drum when adjusted right off, which is the opposite to your problem! Perhaps you may have to shim something to lift the shoe just that little bit more.

[kennatt]

I think you have miss read BMCs point,have the drums allready been skimmed,and as such are now too big,with new shoes the snail cams should lock up the brakes at least at the half way point,or when you need to adjust there will ne non available,one solution if you have a welder would be to put a dab of weld on the oposite side of the shoes(From the cam end),if you overdo it it can simple be ground down untill it fits ok ,as an aside I would have fitted 8" to the front much better braking, good luck

[rayofleamington]

Do the cams reach full adjustment and then continue turning to the start position or do they stop turning but still not lock the brakes?

Thats my suggestion/question also!
If the adjuster turns 360° and keeps going - this is a completely different problem to if it stops turning before shoes are tight on the drums.
without knowing that it's not possible to give the right solution as the solutions are different.

[bmcecosse]

I think with some shoes these days - the cams can 'catch' on the edge of the shoe long before they are anywhere near the limit of adjustment. But - the poster says the pedal is fine and the brakes work well....... so can't really see a serious problem here. And yes - i would never spend any money on the 7" brakes, upgrade to 8" - or even better 9" !! - rather than the hopeless 7 " drums.

[kennatt]

have you measured the drums have you allready got 8" and you are trying to fit 7" shoes

[bmcecosse]

^^^^
I suppose that would be possible - but the brakes are said to be working, and the pedal is not 'long'.....

[MarkyB]

Do the cams reach full adjustment and then continue turning to the start position or do they stop turning but still not lock the brakes?

This question still hasn't been answered by morris minor man, so further speculation is a bit futile.
Sometimes it needs some brute force to get another click out of the adjusters, it's rare that this doesn't need to be turned back again as the brakes drag too much, but it can happen.

[morris minor man]

iv taken all the brake components and dumped them.iv fitted new whell cylinders..again,new master cylinder,new front back brakes.the only thing that i have kept is the adjusters.so iv started from nearly new.the adjustment was still the same wheels dont lock up when fully adjusted by hand when turning .when on the jack...so iv shimed it out..now it locks up,giving it 1-2 click back and its fine..what is the difference between front and rear brake drums as they came to day..they are also brand new.. 2 days ago i took the car on a rolling road.for the brakes to be tested.the reading was 48%below minimum standerd ..so i will take it again

[bmcecosse]

Front and rear drums are the same on the older cars - both 7".

[morris minor man]

again thank you as i orded both from and back drums,they arrived this morning and all looked the same 7 inch so i fitted them as they came out of the box...iv changed all the fluid..its great when i can get help thank you lol..i just was too clued up with front/rear drums.i thought they may be different but they whent back on fine

[bmcecosse]

And the adjusters are working fine now??