92 Tercel.

I have new shoes and turned drums. No leaks, relatively low fluid. Two
(or three) questions:

The parking brake lever works, and spreads the shoes, but doesn't hold
until about 7 clicks. I think that's too far. The pedal travel is also
what I believe is too much. I think I need to adjust the star adjuster
on my brakes, but I'm just not sure how spread out I should go. Should
I go until the drum can't move with light force, and the slightly back
off???

In other vehicles, I just adjust until very slight drag, and the
auto-adjuster seat the brakes in reverse. The auto-adjusting doesn't
seem to be happening in the Tercel. Is there a different method of
self-adjustment?

TIA,

Fred

Cornerman wrote:

I think I need to adjust the star adjuster

That's what I always do. It should take care of your problem. You
should be able to turn the drum by hand without the wheel on the hub
but feel a slight resistance from the shoes.

Nirav
97 Corolla DX - Sold

"Cornerman" <ohagnir (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

I adjust rear brakes so that with the wheel and tire mounted, it rotates
about 1 to 1 and a half times when you give it a spin by hand.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Ray O wrote:

Thanks Ray. I definitely wasn't that far.

Fred

"Cornerman" <ohagnir (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

"Cornerman" <ohagnir (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote in news:1158935999.926531.312000
@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:




You "think" thatt's too far? What is the basis for your "think"?

According to the Tercel factory workshop manual, the brake lever should be
fully engaged between 5 and 8 clicks.

Adjustment is done by working the parking brake handle up and down
repeatedly until it won't adjust any more.

Keep in mind that new shoes will take a while to wear to the exact diameter
of the drum, so you may find the lever and pedal to be a tad loose for a
few months until they wear in.


--
TeGGeR®

Jack coments,

Have you tried removing and cleaning the adjusters? They sometimes get
sticky. The threads can be cleaned extremely well by gently holding them up
to a wire-brush in a drill. I clamp my drill in a work-bench, or just step
on it. You might want to use vice-grips to hold the adjuster (don't clamp
the threads), safety glasses and perhaps leather gloves. This saves wear
and tear on you.

There is a special grease that can be applied to the threads for
re-installation. If you use regular grease, it may become too stiff in the
winter, or contaminate the brake shoes, lubricating them and making them
useless. If you don't have brake-safe grease, you could consider lightly
oiling the threads with a motor oil, then wiping them off carefully, so no
oil can get on anything else.

An old paint brush and a bucket of water can be used to rinse & brush away
the dirt, dust and asbestos from the brake assembly. Dump lots of water
over the area before whisking. Avoid inhaling!

I set my shoes initially (with the parking brake 'off') to a light drag. In
theory, they are automatically adjusted by braking and by parking brake
application. This does not always work.

If you don't use the parking brake, cables can rust and seize. There is an
adjustment for the parking brake lever travel. I believe the specifications
call for it to lock the back wheels in about 6 notches' travel. You can
tell how the rear brakes are working by driving at low speed, on some loose
sand, when no other people/cars are around, and pulling up on the parking
brake lever. Keep the thumb-release depressed, because you'll want to let
the brakes off at once to stop the skid.

Good luck with this veteran Tercel, a fine car.

- Jack

TeGGeR® wrote:

To conclude, the brakes did indeed settle in and self-adjust after
about a week (or at least, that's when I noticed how good everything
felt). Parking brake engage and hold at about 5 or 6 clicks.

Thanks everyone,

Fred