People with drum brakes.

[CB7_213]

If you just replaced, your pads, shoes, flushed, and/or bleed your system, make sure you adjust the star adjuster. I've been driving with my brake pedal sinking to the floor for the past 4 or 5 months, and i just got in a accident recently,cuz my brakes didnt grab hard enough so my tires kept sliding. I thought, i just needed to bleed my brakes, well i finally got in to a brake class, and got the chance to flush and bleed my system. I bleed my system about 3 or 4 times now, and flushed it about 2 times, and my pedal still feels the same, well its good anyways cuz i was doing something in class. Well today were learning about drum brakes and they mentioned that there an adjuster for drum brakes. So today i finally adjusted the star adjuster and my brakes are like new. It grabs really good, and now i can brake and not get into anymore accidents ....just sharing my experience out there, because i've seen all the other "my pedal sinks to the floor" threads here and no one mentioned anything about the star adjuster, so yea..if your pedal sinks and it doesnt grab just make sure that its properly adjust. If the drums comes off easily even with the ebrake is up, adjust the star adjuster properly.

[AD5OS]

ha yea that would be a good thing to adjust.... Isn't there a thread of drum brake procedure when replacing shoes.... I know I need to replace mine soon... Been holding out.

What kind of class is this? vocational school or high school or something?

[AbsurdNY]

You are always supposed to adjust the star adjuster. I normally adjust it so that the drum gets a little bit tight when you spin it, then a bleed the brakes a little more, then adjust the star more until the drum is a little tight again.

These are great tools:

[C91BLX7]

Thats why you should probably know how they work before you go tearing them apart.

[IAmTheNight]

Thats why you should probably know how they work before you go tearing them apart.

Yeah, honestly, adjusting the shoes is a fundamental step in drum brake service. I don't know why people mess with the thing that stops their car when they don't know what they're doing.

[cloudasc]

I recently had this done, because I had some fun with my e-brake, like doing a 180 spin on dry pavement, and using it to avoid speeding tickets by not flashing my break lights. That sort of thing, I would notice that the pedal would raise itself when I pulled the ebrake (and I would have to pull it almost all the way for it to lock the drums). So I took it to my mechanic and had them adjust it. There is less nose dive, and that it takes significantly less pedal pressure to accomplish the same thing before. I'm also guessing that it would cause excessive wear to the front brakes & suspension too the way it was acting before the adjustment.

[CB7_213]

ha yea that would be a good thing to adjust.... Isn't there a thread of drum brake procedure when replacing shoes.... I know I need to replace mine soon... Been holding out.

What kind of class is this? vocational school or high school or something?

its a brake class in my local community college...really fun thou

[DrSzSoLDIeR]

where is the star adjuster located?

[CB7_213]

right under the wheel cylinder behind the hub on the left side

[CB7_213]

Adjuster bolt

[NAiL05]

Flathead screwdriver works just as well...Just sayin.

[wed3k]

make sure you turn it the right way too and the self adjusting lever sits on the star otherwsie it will be pointless. i need to tighten mine up as well.

[CB7_213]

yea a flat head is what i used....

oh and it will only turn 1 way which is down....if u wanna turn it up, your gonna need onther flat head to push the self adjuting lever so you can turn it up...