Corsa e rear drum brake adjustment

[Sonic70]

Hi All,
I'm stripping down the rear brakes on my son's Corsa e due to the rear brakes making a noise when releasing the peddle. So I stripped one side out, cleaned it and put copper slip on the shoe contact points and put it all back together. I adjusted the shoes by backing them off until they just run freely. I took it for a test drive and thought the brakes were a bit juddery and thought could I have not backed them off enough. I have yet to strip the other side by the way. Any thoughts about this?

 

[Sonic70]

Just a thought could it be because I haven't done the other side yet and the side I've just done is closer to the drum.

 

[Old Salt]

I would do the other side and adjust them so they feel the same and then check

 

[Sonic70]

Ok will do. Thanks. Tomorrow job now

 

[Sonic70]

I just took it for another test drive and also noticed the drum I've just done feels warmer than the other side.

 

[Burnerman]

Did you check the wheel cylinder for movement?
The shoes should be self adjusting but........they often don't!
I turn the adjuster three clicks at a time, then bash the drum with a hammer whilst rotating it - this keeps the shoes central.
Post pics if you can!
John

 

[Sonic70]

 

[Sonic70]

This is before we took everything apart. I did use the star adjuster to set the shoe to drum clearance.

 

[Sonic70]

I pulled the handbrake up a couple of times to centralise the shoes

 

[Burnerman]

OK, but you still cant beat a gentle thwack with a hammer!
The right hand cylinder rubber seems slightly further out than the left.......can you tap the shoes both ways to see if the cylinder is free?
John

 

[Sonic70]

Will try that tomorrow thanks

 

[Sonic70]

I have now cleaned both rear brakes, grease the 3 contact points for each shoe and fine tuned the star adjuster. All works well but the rear brakes are still squealing. Any ideas what could be the cause?

 

[Burnerman]

Historically, brake squeal is due to a build up of dust. Not applicable here though!
What you can do is to gently rub over the shoe surface with some abrasive paper in case they are glazed, and so the same with the brake drum inside - you can be much rougher here!
In fact, what I do is to use a die grinder to remove the rust lip that forms inside the drum where the shoes don't contact.......this makes drum removal and replacement so much easier.
P.S are you certain the squeal is from the rear? The front brakes are much more prone to this.
Regards
John

 

[Sonic70]

Thanks John I will try that. I did remove the rust lip.