drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

upon inspection of the drums on the back of a 01xj,

I noticed the pads were almost a 1/8 think at the bottom of the pad, However
at the top of the pad there was none left. its like only the top part of the
pads are pushing on the wheel and wearing and the bottom portion are brand
new, no wear...

does this make sense?

is there an adjustment so that the pads pressure is equal along the entire
pad, not just the top portion, cus I have some deaad brake pads now because
the tops are worn, but the bottoms are fresh.

Thanks.

Re: drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

Your brake adjusters are not working.

There was another thread going on with a bunch of BS happening in it
about just that.

If it isn't put together with tension on the adjuster cable, the cable
can slip out of the track as the drum gets wiggled over the shoes.

Or your star wheel adjuster has seized up not allowing it to adjust. I
use antiseize compound on the star wheel threads so they never seize up
and will adjust a brake all the way to metal evenly.

When you put it back together with new shoes, make sure the adjusting
arm for the star wheel is not 'cocked' on the wheel, pull it out to the
side and pull it down so the cable stays tight in it's track. Then when
you start to use it or adjust it from the back hole, the arm will pop
into place with the cable still in it's track.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

herman wrote:
>
> upon inspection of the drums on the back of a 01xj,
>
> I noticed the pads were almost a 1/8 think at the bottom of the pad, However
> at the top of the pad there was none left. its like only the top part of the
> pads are pushing on the wheel and wearing and the bottom portion are brand
> new, no wear...
>
> does this make sense?
>
> is there an adjustment so that the pads pressure is equal along the entire
> pad, not just the top portion, cus I have some deaad brake pads now because
> the tops are worn, but the bottoms are fresh.
>
> Thanks.

Re: drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

Your brake adjusters are not working.

There was another thread going on with a bunch of BS happening in it
about just that.

If it isn't put together with tension on the adjuster cable, the cable
can slip out of the track as the drum gets wiggled over the shoes.

Or your star wheel adjuster has seized up not allowing it to adjust. I
use antiseize compound on the star wheel threads so they never seize up
and will adjust a brake all the way to metal evenly.

When you put it back together with new shoes, make sure the adjusting
arm for the star wheel is not 'cocked' on the wheel, pull it out to the
side and pull it down so the cable stays tight in it's track. Then when
you start to use it or adjust it from the back hole, the arm will pop
into place with the cable still in it's track.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

herman wrote:
>
> upon inspection of the drums on the back of a 01xj,
>
> I noticed the pads were almost a 1/8 think at the bottom of the pad, However
> at the top of the pad there was none left. its like only the top part of the
> pads are pushing on the wheel and wearing and the bottom portion are brand
> new, no wear...
>
> does this make sense?
>
> is there an adjustment so that the pads pressure is equal along the entire
> pad, not just the top portion, cus I have some deaad brake pads now because
> the tops are worn, but the bottoms are fresh.
>
> Thanks.

Re: drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

Driving in reverse and hitting the brakes adjusts most Jeep ones I have
ever seen. They are the cable puller type.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

DougW wrote:
>
> herman wrote:
> > upon inspection of the drums on the back of a 01xj,
> >
> > I noticed the pads were almost a 1/8 think at the bottom of the pad, However
> > at the top of the pad there was none left. its like only the top part of the
> > pads are pushing on the wheel and wearing and the bottom portion are brand
> > new, no wear...
> >
> > does this make sense?
>
> Yep. The adjuster isn't working properly.
>
> > is there an adjustment so that the pads pressure is equal along the entire
> > pad, not just the top portion, cus I have some deaad brake pads now because
> > the tops are worn, but the bottoms are fresh.
>
> That's the star wheel that adjusts the bottom edges out as the
> pads wear. Anyone done work on your jeeps brakes? A common
> error is having them in backwards or on the wrong axle. The
> little metal pushrod should cause the adjuster to expand
> (not sure of the orientation for your year but usually they turn
> toward the hub to expand.
>
> The other thing is sometimes you have to use the emergency brake
> to aid the adjustment. Every now and then when you stop (with your foot
> on the brake) Pull the emergency brake a couple of times and it will tighten up.
>
> --
> DougW

Re: drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

Driving in reverse and hitting the brakes adjusts most Jeep ones I have
ever seen. They are the cable puller type.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

DougW wrote:
>
> herman wrote:
> > upon inspection of the drums on the back of a 01xj,
> >
> > I noticed the pads were almost a 1/8 think at the bottom of the pad, However
> > at the top of the pad there was none left. its like only the top part of the
> > pads are pushing on the wheel and wearing and the bottom portion are brand
> > new, no wear...
> >
> > does this make sense?
>
> Yep. The adjuster isn't working properly.
>
> > is there an adjustment so that the pads pressure is equal along the entire
> > pad, not just the top portion, cus I have some deaad brake pads now because
> > the tops are worn, but the bottoms are fresh.
>
> That's the star wheel that adjusts the bottom edges out as the
> pads wear. Anyone done work on your jeeps brakes? A common
> error is having them in backwards or on the wrong axle. The
> little metal pushrod should cause the adjuster to expand
> (not sure of the orientation for your year but usually they turn
> toward the hub to expand.
>
> The other thing is sometimes you have to use the emergency brake
> to aid the adjustment. Every now and then when you stop (with your foot
> on the brake) Pull the emergency brake a couple of times and it will tighten up.
>
> --
> DougW

Re: drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

Mike Romain wrote:
> Driving in reverse and hitting the brakes adjusts most Jeep ones I have
> ever seen. They are the cable puller type.

That's what I thought too, but doing the ebrake seems to work also.
Had some problems with the ZJ not properly adjusting the rear drums,
not sure why as everything is correct and nothing is seized up. :/
The old Chevy adjusted fine with a few quick stops in reverse. It's odd.

Re: drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

Mike Romain wrote:
> Driving in reverse and hitting the brakes adjusts most Jeep ones I have
> ever seen. They are the cable puller type.

That's what I thought too, but doing the ebrake seems to work also.
Had some problems with the ZJ not properly adjusting the rear drums,
not sure why as everything is correct and nothing is seized up. :/
The old Chevy adjusted fine with a few quick stops in reverse. It's odd.

Re: drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

The E brakes worked well the other month, now the e brake does nothing at
all, pull it all the way to the top, not much resistance.

does that mean anything?



"DougW" <post.replies@invalid.address> wrote in message
news:GIc1b.50131$Ij4.42453@news2.central.cox.net.. .
> Mike Romain wrote:
> > Driving in reverse and hitting the brakes adjusts most Jeep ones I have
> > ever seen. They are the cable puller type.
>
> That's what I thought too, but doing the ebrake seems to work also.
> Had some problems with the ZJ not properly adjusting the rear drums,
> not sure why as everything is correct and nothing is seized up. :/
> The old Chevy adjusted fine with a few quick stops in reverse. It's odd.
>
>

Re: drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

The E brakes worked well the other month, now the e brake does nothing at
all, pull it all the way to the top, not much resistance.

does that mean anything?



"DougW" <post.replies@invalid.address> wrote in message
news:GIc1b.50131$Ij4.42453@news2.central.cox.net.. .
> Mike Romain wrote:
> > Driving in reverse and hitting the brakes adjusts most Jeep ones I have
> > ever seen. They are the cable puller type.
>
> That's what I thought too, but doing the ebrake seems to work also.
> Had some problems with the ZJ not properly adjusting the rear drums,
> not sure why as everything is correct and nothing is seized up. :/
> The old Chevy adjusted fine with a few quick stops in reverse. It's odd.
>
>

Re: drum brake adjustment, uneven pad wear!?
 

herman wrote:
> The E brakes worked well the other month, now the e brake does nothing at
> all, pull it all the way to the top, not much resistance.
>
> does that mean anything?

Yep.. your ebrake is not adjusted properly. :)

Put your foot on the brake and pull the ebrake all the way up several times.
It should tighten. If not then something the adjuster wheel is probably siezed.
The ebrake should start giving resistance about half way to full.

I don't work on brakes very often. You might be best to take the Jeep to Midas
(yes, I hate midas with a passion) but they do a free inspection. Get the free
inspection then fix it yourself. It's cheaper that way.

> "DougW" wrote ...
>> Mike Romain wrote:
>>> Driving in reverse and hitting the brakes adjusts most Jeep ones I have
>>> ever seen. They are the cable puller type.
>>
>> That's what I thought too, but doing the ebrake seems to work also.
>> Had some problems with the ZJ not properly adjusting the rear drums,
>> not sure why as everything is correct and nothing is seized up. :/
>> The old Chevy adjusted fine with a few quick stops in reverse. It's odd.