Low brake Pedal- 1998 2500

[TheLostGoat]

Hi All-
Long time lurker first time poster. I'm coming at you with a pretty rookie question but hopefully you can help me out. I have searched but didnt find anything directly related.

Long story short a shop 1/2 a state away replaced both rear wheel cylinders and a right rear brake line. Ever since then, i have to press the brake pedal 1/2 way to the floor before I feel the brakes kick in. I've also noticed that I need to push my emergency brake down all the way to get it to hold now.

I've bled the brakes over and over, replaced the master cylinder and had the ABS unit bled by a dealership- still no change.

Is it possible that my rear drums are not adjusted properly? My plan is to raise the rear end and adjust the star wheel until I feel resistance when spinning the wheel, then back the adjuster off just a little bit.

Am I going in the right direction? Thanks all.

 

[poncho62]

It does sound like they need to be adjusted out....The self adjusters should do that, but if they are seized up, they wont...I would pull the drums and check them out

 

[TheLostGoat]

It does sound like they need to be adjusted out....The self adjusters should do that, but if they are seized up, they wont...I would pull the drums and check them out

Thanks for your reply. I wasn't familiar with the concept- so I read up on auto adjusters in drum brakes and got an understanding for how they work. I set the e-brake (which barely held anyways), held the release and drove in reverse- easing off the e-brake pedal then putting pressure back on it.

I did this a couple of times on my street, then tried the brakes again...I noticed an immediate improvement.
My parking brake now holds much better, and my regular brake pedal is definitely more responsive than it has been since the recent brake line work. It may just be time for new shoes and drums to make the braking "perfect"- but wow what an easy solution to get those drums back in line Thanks again!

 

[TheLostGoat]

It does sound like they need to be adjusted out....The self adjusters should do that, but if they are seized up, they wont...I would pull the drums and check them out

I think my post from last night is awaiting moderation- but I made some progress on this by reading up on auto adjusters in drum brakes and then working the e-brake pedal (while holding the release) using that to stop my truck while rolling backwards- forcing the adjusters to activate.

I still want to pull the drums off when I can to take a look- but I did notice an immediate improvement in brake-ing- not perfect but noticeably better. Thanks for setting me in the right direction!