Brake Problems Still

[zppeacock]

I have been having brake problems with my 93 wagon for a while now. It has a very low pedal. Its not spongy.

So far:
New Drums
Pass Caliper
Rotors
Pads
Slides
Drums
Adj rear shoes
Master Cylinder

I am at a loss on what to do next, I have good clean fluid at all 4 corners along with good pressure.

[ganda1f]

The pushrod that goes from brake pedal to the master cylinder can also be adjusted. Someone mentioned a while back that the brake shoes could be out of round, as in there are high spots/patches on the lining surface. This could cause them to become misaligned in the drum.

I would verify two things:
1. Does the brake pedal pressurize the brake fluid immediately, or not until it travels a bit towards the floor.
2. If number 1 checks out OK, then where does the fluid go? Could it be your rubber hoses that have deteriorated so that they bulge/swell a bit under pressure?

[ganda1f]

Here it is
Fitting Rear Shoes

[Molerj]

I have the same thing going on. Changed rear shoes & drums. Front pads and rotors were replaced a year ago. Booster seems to be working ok, as pedal goes down once I start the car. Pedal is not mushy, so I don't suspect air in lines or bad master cylinder. Bled brakes. Car will stop but I can't get brakes to lock up and braking power is definitely not what it should be. It seems like not enough brake fluid pressure is being applied to the calipers & rear shoes.

[Bitter]

But have you adjusted the rear brake shoes out until they lightly drag against the drums while spinning the wheels?

[Molerj]

Didn't mention that I did adjust the rear shoes, but I figured it was a given when doing a replacement.

[speedy25]

Originally Posted by Molerj

. Car will stop but I can't get brakes to lock up and braking power is definitely not what it should be. It seems like not enough brake fluid pressure is being applied to the calipers & rear shoes.

It does take a while for the shoes and pads to mate with their drums/rotors.

There is also a LOT of difference between discount brake pads and some good ones. If you really want your brakes to stop you NOW a set of shoes in the $100 range isnt out of the question. The parts from the discount stores are only adequate. Old rubber hoses are also part of the problem you describe since when they start to degrade they will expand when braking is applied.

As my thread that gandalf quoted says I had a MAJOR difference in pedal travel after fitting the shoes to the drum.

-SP

[Bitter]

I agree, what brand/composition are the pads and how did you bed them?
What brand/composition are the shoes? How fine a finish did the drums and rotors have? Did you adjust the shoes until the wheel would make one revolution freely then drag to a stop? Are the rears spinning smoothly or catching and releasing? Are the wheel cylinders leaking? How did you bench bleed the new master cylinder? Did you bleed all wheels until ONLY new clean fluid came through? Do you have ABS?