Adjusting brakes by heat

[jcheshire31]

I've heard of people adjusting their brakes according to how hot they get after a drive. How hot should a set of cast irons drums get after a good 5 mile drive?

[CarlG]

It's not the driving that get's them hot, it's the stopping.

[Vic in E-TN]

It is not the drive, it is the stop that generates the heat. A good stop should result in a temperature of approximately 180 degrees F. As long as the side to side is within 10 degrees F you should be good. Look at some threads to get more information.
Vic

[V4F]

use a heat gun for accuracy .

[VWJoe]

Well, I've heard it all now

[Tom Wesenberg]

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Originally Posted by VWJoe

Well, I've heard it all now

LOL I'm not sure how to take that, buut it's true that if the brakes are adjusted AND working evenly they should heat about the same from side to side. I used a heat gun to check my brakes one time, but I use the brakes pretty lightly, and they didn't heat up much.

I've also gone down a dirt road and brake hard to see if the skid marks are the same length.

[Gary/IA]

After a complete brake rebuild, including new cast iron drums, I did the prescribed brake adjustments.

The brake set up seemed excellent. I did panic stops on asphalt at various speeds. The car tracked well and the skid marks appeared even.

I checked hub temperatures with a gun, the front two were almost equal in temperature but he driver side rear was much hotter than the passenger side. I loosened the the adjustment one notch on the driver side rear, and then repeated the above road tests.

I did not notice any difference in tracking or skid marks. I feel the heat gun allowed me to fine tune the adjustments a little better.

Perhaps those with more adjusting experience would not have had a hot hub in the first place. For me, I felt the heat gun was a useful tool in getting the adjustment closer.

[azmodela]

Why not just adjustment the conventional way?

[1931 flamingo]

DITTO! Everybody seems to want to re-invent the wheel. JMO

Paul in CT

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by azmodela

Why not just adjustment the conventional way?

az,
Oh! that's TOO EASY! Why do some want to over complicate everything, what happend to REALITY & COMMON SENSE REASONING?
I stick to the important things, like pumping up my RUBBER CHICKEN and trying trying to spray the GHOST with a Ford green rattle can so I can see him. (He sneaks up and scares the crap out of me at times!) Bill W.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I think most guys adjust the brakes the conventional way, but just use the heat gun to confirm that each side matches the other. It's just an added tool to confirm that the brakes are adjusted right.

[theHIGHLANDER]

This reminds me of a dear friend who was on a mission at the drag strip one night. Tire pressure on racing slicks is a premium thing to keep an eye on. He went out and borrowed 1/2 dozen gauges trying to find EXACTLY what the tire pressure was in those tires at that particular time. I mean he was all in trying to sypher true pressure. Worried about how taken up he was I asked him, "Dude, if the car runs it's best at 10PSI on my gauge, WTF do I care what everyone else's gauge says about my tires?" Stumbling for an answer, he gave up the quest for true pressure and we went all season set at 10PSI cold which gave us a bit over 11 after the burnout. Right where that car and those tires needed to be. You can over-think anything. Maybe a temp gun on drums ain't so bad, but it's on the edge IMO.

[Doug in NJ]

Here's one time when measuring the temperature is a good idea: Drive a couple miles, using the brakes as little as possible. Feel each drum. If one is a lot warmer than the others, you have a problem that needs to be dealt with!

Doug

[HDowse]

There's a good, long hill right above my house that I use to test the final adjustment on the brakes. First, I do the conventional adjustment in the shop. Then out on the dirt road in front and check for even braking side to side, then even skid marks. Then I take the car up the hill and drive down applying the brakes pretty continuously. When I get in the driveway I lick my finger and touch the brake drums and feel how much the finger sizzles. Sometimes I think a heat gun would be easier on my finger. Sometimes have to switch fingers. Really.