Every time I get in the car to drive it, I have to make one push on the brake pedal to firm the brakes. Not a pump, just one push, as if the shoes are too far from the drum surface. (I've adjusted the brake shoes properly). Is this a symptom of oval drums?
I doubt it, and if you've adjusted the shoes, any drum ovality should have been obvious. Are you sure you adjusted them correctly? Mike.
Absolutely. You can't really not adjust them correctly. Turn the adjuster (two on each front drum, one on the rear) click by click until the drums lock, then undo one click. That's all there is to it.....
In that case, if they still revolve freely, they can't have any significant ovality. Any ovality would also be very obvious through the brake pedal under braking. I think you'll have to look for the answer around the master cylinder. Either with the cylinder seals or the linkage from the pedal to it, which can get very sloppy on MM's Mike.
significant
I would also check for too much play in the front wheel bearings. If the inner surface of the linings are not exactly parallel with the inside face of the drum because of bearing slack, then the "too tight and loosen a set amount" type of adjustment may not leave the right clearance. It is a long shot, but easier to get to than the MM master cylinder!
Also, have you tested to see if there is any difference if you leave the car overnight without the handbrake on? If you only have to pump the brakes if you have used the handbrake, something isn't right in the rear drums.
Jim
Wheel bearings are OK - they were checked as part of another fault diagnosis!
I'll try that one.......
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Gordon" saying something like:
Relatedly; if you press the brake pedal and pull the handbrake up just enough to take up the slake in the rears then leave it on that notch without the rears dragging - if you then find you don't have to press the pedal twice as you were doing, the problem's in the rear.
Try clamping off all three flexible hoses, then see if the effect is still there (if you're leaving the car to "settle" with all hoses clamped, put a big note on the steering wheel or pocket the rotor arm). If not, release each clamp in turn, to see if you can narrow down where the problem lies.
If the problem's there with clamped hoses, it's time to hope that the person who last did the master cylinder put the bolts in the right way round, because it's probably time for master cylinder fun.
No.
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