Today’s vehicles use a variety of braking systems to bring your vehicle to a safe stop. Most passenger vehicles on the road use either disc brakes or drum brakes. If you have an older vehicle, you are probably working with a set of drum brakes on all four of your wheels.
Over time drum brakes need to be adjusted to ensure top performance and maintain even wear. So how is it done? We’ll walk you through the process of how to adjust drum brakes and why it’s best left in the hands of the experts.
WHAT ARE DRUM BRAKES?
With disc brakes, brake pads apply pressure to rotors and stop your vehicle. Drum brakes work similarly, but with a few different parts. Drum brakes three main parts are: the drums, brake shoes, and wheel cylinders:
- Drum: Cylindrical piece of metal attached to the wheel of the car
- Brake Shoe: Curved piece of metal that holds the brake lining
- Wheel Cylinder: Hydraulic mechanism that presses the brake shoes against the drum
These three parts are put into action when you hit the brake pedal. The pistons in the wheel cylinder are pushed outward against the brake shoes that then press against the rotating drum. The friction between the drum and the brake shoes is what causes your car to drop speed and come to a stop.
HOW ADJUSTING DRUM BRAKES WORKS
Most drum brakes can adjust themselves but sometimes that is not enough. Have you noticed you have to press harder on the brake pedal for your vehicle to come to a stop? Over time, brake shoes can take longer to reach the drum as their lining wears down. Delayed breaking responsiveness or deeper foot pedal travel is a sign your drum brakes may need adjusting. When drum brakes need fine tuning, here’s how an auto expert would adjust them.
HOW TO ADJUST DRUM BRAKES PROPERLY
1. REMOVE THE WHEELS
A technician will jack and remove each wheel equipped with drum braking. A technician will do this so they have a better feel of when each drum brake is properly adjusted.
2. RECALIBRATE ADJUSTERS
Drum brakes can be altered using drum brake adjusters, also called star wheel adjusters. Drum brake adjusters are accessible behind a back panel on the drum brake. The “star” on the drum brake adjuster can be rotated to tighten or reduce the distance between the brake shoe and each drum. A technician will manually adjust the star until each brake shoe sits at a proper distance from the drum. This will be repeated for each wheel with drum brakes.
3. TESTING THE BRAKE SHOE SEATING
Next the technician will rotate each wheel by hand until the correct amount of drag is felt from the shoes lightly contacting the drum. After each drum brake is adjusted, it is a good idea to check the parking brake adjustment as well.
LEAVE BRAKE SERVICE TO THE EXPERTS
Fixing brake issues is not something you want to leave up to guesswork. Adjusting drum brakes takes a trained feel, so if you have no experience working with drum brakes it is best to leave this work in professional hands. At Tires Plus you can trust our experienced technicians to fix your brakes quickly and correctly the first time around. Whether you need brake service or other repairs, visit your nearest Tires Plus for all your tire and auto care needs.
