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Originally Posted by LockDoc
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I agree with Randy....
On the drum brakes, one thing I found on mine is when you put everything back together and adjust the brake shoes you can’t just adjust them out until they start rubbing and quit. You have to adjust them out as far as they will go and you cannot turn the wheel or drum at all. This centers the whole assembly in the drum. (I even tap around the drum as I tighten them to help them center themselves) Then you back them off until the wheel/drum just turns, and stop. If you only adjust them out until they start rubbing and quit, the first time you press on the brake pedal the brake shoe assemblies will center themselves and you will have too much clearance between the shoes and the brake drum. I also put three lug nuts on backwards to hold the drum tight against the axle on the rear when adjusting them.
I know it is a pain in the butt to try and hold the self adjusters off of the adjuster wheel while you back them off, but this is the only way I could get my drum brake shoes adjusted correctly.
LockDoc
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With drum brakes I just adjust them so I can just slip on the drums and just do some firm stops while backing up and let them adjust themselves. You don't have to back up at 80 miles an hour and stomp the pedal, just a few moderately firm stops from 5-10 miles an hour will do it. This will also tell you pretty quick if you installed the adjusters correctly. If they don't adjust, you did something wrong. But then, that's why I only ever do one wheel at a time and either reuse my adjuster or compare the new one to the one I'm taking off to make sure I'm using the correct one. Also, by doing only one wheel at a time, you can still use the other side as a reference if you temporarily forget which spring goes where or how things are supposed to fit together. Taking a picture before you start is also helpful sometimes, assuming the previous brake job wasn't done wrong!
Biggest mistake I've seen time and time again is the wrong shoe in the wrong position. They ARE different front to rear.