Originally by BigK

here we have the rear brake shoe set up, this particular pic is of a felicia but the whole range uses the same principal, the rear brakes are suppose to be self-adjusting but they don't work,the idea being is as the brake shoes wear the wedge (as indicated by the red arrow) should move downwards (but it doesn't) so to combat this problem you need to insert a screwdriver in the supporting bar (as indicated by the blue arrow) and prise open allowing the wedge to fall down, do this a little at a time or else you will not get the drum back on, adjust untill the drum can be put back on just before the brakes sart to bind, this will reduce both the handbrake and footpedal travel.

Thats the wrong way to do it.They should be adjusted with the drum on and using a special tool prise wedge down until slight resistance can be felt. This way no grinding of the drums required and you can accurately gauge how much wear on the drums is present. come on guys this is basics.

Its not the wrong way to do it (I do it this way on service all the time) its just a different way. Neither is wrong, they both end up at the same goal.

Grinding the lip off the drum doesnt mean you cant measure the max diameter of the drum.

The system si auto-adjustable. Just be sure to clean off the brake dust and grease the joints and the adjustment feder.

Do not grease the brake shoes!!

It is supposed to auto adjust but generally they dont. I dint think i've ever seen an auto adjust mech that does work properly. But its a good idea to open them up every once in a while to check them over and clean them up. A drum brake is a very efficient brake as long as its in adjustment.

just a question, why do some cars have drums and some have discs at the back...is it just a fast car thing? lol drums do look odd with alloys on why not just have discs all round on all cars?

Price and requirements.

Discs are only just about justified on the back of a Fabia vRS.

Drums last longer, don't rust up when underused (like on most cars).

Even on the Fab vRS you have to use the brakes pretty hard on a regular basis to avoid rusting up etc.

I find that they do not auto adjust. Skoda customer service ( an oxymoron if ever there was one )actually told me that they do NOT auto adjust. I use a piece of 10 mm round bar with a pip on the end to engage the hole in the wedge and lever up or down as needed through one of the bolt holes in the brake drum. My FABIA is prone to building up a distinct rim of crud, etc, which stops the drum from coming off easily. as they are too big to spin in my lathe, I bolt them one at a time to the front hub and use the engine at tickover to spin them whilst carefully using an angle grinder, BUT THIS IS ONLY FOR THE VERY EXPERIENCED, WEARING EYE PROTECTION, etc.

I know this is an old thread But I am guessing that the best way to do it using this method is to use vernier calipers. Measure internal diameter of brake drum (perhaps sampling a handful of points and taking a mean measurement), and then reduce the gap slightly and adjust to the size on the calipers.

just a question, why do some cars have drums and some have discs at the back...is it just a fast car thing? lol drums do look odd with alloys on why not just have discs all round on all cars?

The handbrake mechanism on discs is difficult to make work efficiently [on my Alfa withall new parts only just good enough to get a pass:thumbdwn:]