make your own rear drum adjuster tool

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Feb 21, 2016 8:04 am

been staring at me for some time

all you need is a cheapy 1/4" drive socket or two, either some welding skills to weld two sockets together ending up with a double ended 1?4" square at each end or able to drill a hole through said socket at 120 degrees for a cross bar - would beat struggling with a shifter when wheels , wide or otherwise are fitted

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Feb 21, 2016 6:01 pm

nutted one out of a 1/4" female to 3/8" male socket adaptor,
add a 12 point 11mm socket to drive the 3/8" end of the adaptor

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Sun Feb 21, 2016 6:40 pm

Can't remember how I used to do it, I think it was something like a 4 or 6mm spanner using the open end, or a very small shifter. Used to do it so infrequently, never gave it much thought. Brake drums are a thing of the past for me now though

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Feb 22, 2016 7:05 am

I always resorted to a shifter due to the angle not really working witha 6mm open end (box) spanner - would slip off

I think the drums are supposed to be adjusted each oil change interval and that is how I have been doing it for years. After doing new shoes, machined drums and adjust every 10,000 km when I went discs after 100,000km there was minimal wear on the linings ( so must be the drums wearing?) figured the rear drum brakes do stuff all. The rear discs made all the difference in the braking performance dept. My replacement Brumby has drums and a dealer service sticker, 70 km since the dealer seen it and drums needed a good adjust

Maybe they did not actually service the vehicle due to its condition.

Silverbullet wrote: Brake drums are a thing of the past for me now though

got drums on your daily driver ?

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Mon Feb 22, 2016 7:36 pm

steptoe wrote:
got drums on your daily driver ?

Nope

Yep the discs are great, but ask any brake expert and they'll tell you rear disc conversion won't make much difference, and that drums are actually more efficient...the new found braking confidence after the conversion tells you otherwise. Just hope new/replacement discs aren't as hard to find as the rest of the set up

I'm sure they were meant to be adjusted at each oil change, like a lot of things. Have you ever read the factory new car service schedule? Found I think in the original owners manual which comes with the car (which I still have for my wagon in the red plastic pouch

) and in the Haynes version service manual. Interesting to read.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 7:52 am

yeah, those brake experts need some education eh ? Reading posts over the years, I think some car enthusiast are surprised any component on a car is a serviceable/replaceable item - plugs , leads , cap and rotor

If we had a buck for every PCV valve been changed on any car - even at the dealer - wouldn't be so rich

coxy · Post by **coxy** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 9:13 pm

Used to own datsuns and guess where Subaru borrowed that idea from (Along with a few other bits and bobs)