Brake adjustment

[vic]

Over heated brake drums. 1930 Town Sedan. 1.Cast iron brake drums 2.All brake parts renewed where necessary .
3. Brakes shoes arched to fit drums. 4. Brakes adjusted as per Paul Shin and Les Andrew's 5.All wheels spin freely when jacked up. 6.The stepped wood tool was used to ensure correct balance.
PROBLEM. Drive car along flat road about 1/4 mile then stop, absolute minimal touch on the brakes, all drums are far too hot to touch ! Jack up while hot, all wheels turn freely ! brakes work as in 4 above. Repeat drive, brake pedal not used,drums still too hot ! Drive normal suburban/motorway for 10 miles,drums way too hot !

I have kept this description to the minimum but something is obviously not right for all four drums to be so hot !. What am I overlooking ? Or what should I try ? Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated,I'm really frustrated.! Thanks in advance. Vic in NZ
P.S. A few weeks ago I asked for advice on supporting the exhaust pipe and received some excelĺent suggestions....problem now solved...thank you for sharing.

 

[SAJ]

Hello Vic Stuart Jordan here from Chemical Specialties.
You may not have too much of a problem. As the drums heat they expand until they just clear the shoes, if all is set up well. Running at 100 or even 120 deg C is OK but far too hot to touch. Smokingly hot is not OK. If you can bring the car round to my factory, we will see exactly how hot they are getting with an infra red gun and see what needs to be done.
If all are roughly an even temperature they will run in until they reach an equilibrium between temperature and drum expansion that yields a lower and lower temperature as high spots wear off and lining contact reduces.
If you are really too worried to drive to my workshop, just relieve each adjuster one click and then come and see me.
If you have Flat Head Ted brakes, then undo each square adjuster 1 flat to relieve pressure on the linings.
One more thing. If rear axle inner bearing journals are worn flat underneath where the load is carried, and the brakes are adjusted with the car on jacks and the suspension unloaded, then when the jack is removed the bearing clearance is taken up in the other direction on the worn journal and this will apply the brakes somewhat. So they might be free when suspended in the air on the jacks but binding in the running condition.
Some owners use a pair of rollers under the wheel to take up this slack while setting rear brakes where there can be 20 thou or so wear in the axle journal.
SAJ in NZ up the road from you

 

[Big hammer]

When your car is jacked up under the car’s frame the axles will sag and the length of the brake rods will change, when the car is back on the ground the brakes are tighter. When adjusting my brakes, on the ground, I roll the car back and forth until it stops then back off one to two clicks.

 

[CWPASADENA]

When your car is jacked up under the car’s frame the axles will sag and the length of the brake rods will change, when the car is back on the ground the brakes are tighter.

Place the jack stands under the axles and it will alleviate this problem.

Chris W.

 

[nkaminar]

IR heat guns are inexpensive and will give you an accurate assessment.

It is likely that the shoes are not centered. Did you check the concentricity? There are a number of causes for the shoes to not be centered but mostly it is the roller tracks.

New shoes will have to wear in so it is not unusual for them to run hot for a while. Try backing out the adjustments one click. Try pushing the car in neutral to see if the brakes are dragging while the wheels are on the ground.

As SAJ stated it may be that the rear axle has flat spots where the bearings ride.

Adjusting with the stick is a start but the real test is how the brakes work with a panic stop. They should not pull to one side and the rear wheels should both lock up on dry pavement. Also, the brake pedal should not feel spongy which indicates that the brakes are not equal. On dry pavement you should be able to stop in 25 feet at 20 mph.