Hey. Does anyone know how 4 wheel drums and manual brakes are supposed to feel when stopping? I have to pump the pedal twice before i start to feel it working well, but after that it stops fine. I've never driven a car with 4 wheel drums or manual breaks and just wanting to see if this was normal for them or if somethings wrong.

 

If you have to pump it, something's wrong. Likely there's air inthe lines. If you're unsure about the condition of the brakes, pull them all off and check them. Once you've determined the're ok mechanically, put everything back together and bleed the brakes out. The Factory Service Manual should detail out the proper procedure.

I drove for 7 years on 4 wheel manual drums. The pedal should be very firm and require fair amount of effort, assuming everything's adjusted and the brakes are bled properly.

 

I have to agree with that....somewhat. If you have to "pump" your brakes, you have something off. It could be the adjustment or you have air in the system. As far as feel....you should push the pedal and get a good solid, "feel" after about an inch or two. It should also bring your car to a stop in a straight line (provided everything is correct) Make sure you have enough pad, make sure they are adjusted right and then even bleed them and they should work the way they were intended. (I've been driving with them for 25 years with no problem)

 

I thought so but wasnt sure. I did a complete break job on it and adjusted them all. I also changed the master cylinder. I bled the master cylinder and all the brakes. But since they werent better i bled them again 2 times in a row and they were alll still getting air from somewhere. I dont know if I didnt bleed the master cylinder well enough or if there is air coming in from a pinhole in the lines or somewhere else.

 

How did you bleed the master? Also, after you change all the shoes, you should adjust them again after putting a few miles on them. (10 -15)

 

We set up the master cylinder in a vise and placed the lines in a seperate container instead of placing them directly in the reservoir like in some of the articles i read, and bled each port seperatly until the air bubbles stopped.
And i'll try readjusting the shoes to see if that will help.