Leigonaire762

ok this one prolly been done but i got a 94 that had a really bad wheel cylinder i replaced both and rebuilt the brakes however even after bleeding the crap outta the back brakes i still got a soft pedal and the brake fluid shoots up in the master cylinder like a geyser also is there anyway to bleed the master cylinder in the vehicle by just removing one or both lines from it? what do i do?

caged

sounds like you've got a kinked line, or one or both cylinders are still sticking.

check your fronts too. also both hard and soft lines.

rrich

You've adjusted the rear way too loose.

Get rear wheels off the ground. Go under, spin the star wheel till the wheel stops turning freely. Have a friend step on the pedal - wheel's loose again. That centered the shoes and stopped them from dragging.

Tighten again, step on the pedal again etc. Keep it up till it won't turn.
Now loosen 4 or 5 clicks - step on the pedal - suddenly it's free again. If still dragging, loosen 2 more clicks, step again. Repeat always stepping - centering until very little drag is felt.
Now do the other side.

CENTERING - STEPPING - IS VERY IMPORTANT!

hankthetank

Bingo!

TheJerm

If you get the drums close, a few reverse braking sessions will adjust the brakes accordingly. Also good idea to bleed the front brakes too, if the wheel cylinders fail then there probably is some nasty fluid in there.

rrich

Braking in reverse does tighten them. But if they are so loose now that it's spongy and low, it'll take a few hundred reverse stops - one small click at a time.

The reverse adjustment is only designed to take up minor slack as the linings wear.

Geyser in the MC is the tip-off. The rears have to move way too far now - using lots of fluid to reach the drums. When they retract they have to force lots of fluid back up.

FSM tells you to use a caliper to get the linings very close to the drum size - but who has brake calipers?

We used to get at least one customer a week (usually Mondays) that did their own brakes and had the same problem.

Be sure to bleed the fronts too if the system was open to replace the rear cylinders. Bleeding - NEVER PUMP THE BRAKES - it turns the fluid to foam and gets really difficult to get the air out. Try washing soap bubbles/foam down the kitchen sink - same idea.

Leigonaire762

Well i guess i got some work to do lemme get my jack and breaker bar i'll be back 2 let everyone know how bad i screwed it up this time...

rrich

Should be easy - the hardest part is jacking it up.
No need to remove the wheels.

Leigonaire762

ugh, i got the brakes too tight... i got them right now though! thanx guys i really appriciate the help i've been tryin to find out whats been goin on since i did the brakes.:-)

Leigonaire762

well i did take the wheels off i didn't see a way to get @ the star wheels without doing that... but i got 'er dun! all better thanx guys would it be safe 2 cut the backing plate so i could get 2 the star wheels?

TheJerm

There are access holes already in the backing plates, usually covered up with rubber plugs

rrich

Remove the rubber plug, you should see the star wheel right inside lined up with it.

If they don't line up - the star wheel is out of position, then you've swapped the star wheel assemblies side to side. Left is on the Right brake assembly etc.
You cannot mix them up. If you do, they will LOOSEN the brakes instead of tightening.

It's easy to turn the star wheel tighter, but the flag part of the adjuster keeps the star wheel from turning back. Don't force it! Push a thin screwdriver in the hole next to your brake spoon and push the flag away from the star wheel a little - then use the spoon to turn the star. Easy once you get the hang of it.

When adjusting, the shoes will move to one side or the other, dragging on the drum, making you THINK they are too tight. Centering them by stepping on the pedal gets them back in the center.

Most do-it yourself brake jobs the pedal is too far down, and stopping power is greatly reduced.