Self adjusting brakes

[esalman]

Hi, I'm about to do a brake job on my 2004 ranger and I'm wondering if the rear brakes are self adjusting or not. It is 2WD, 5 Speed manual, ABS brakes front and rear.

Thank you

 

[srteach]

Disc or drum on the rear? The front should be disc, and "self adjust" without help. If the rear are drum, there is a slack adjuster inside. It will have to be backed off for the drum to come off easily. You will have to adjust the slack adjuster after you complete the brake job to get the correct braking action.

Quite often, the slack adjuster (which is supposed to be automatic) needs to be manually adjusted as the brakes wear down.

 

[esalman]

Thank you srteach. The rear brakes are drum brakes. I did adjust the rear brakes few months ago. When I put my snow tires on I noticed that the brake pads and shoes need to be replaced. Do I need to buy one of those self adjusting kits that adjusts the rear brakes when backing up so I don't have to manually adjust the rear brake? Did I have to manually adjust them beacuse the brake shoes were too low for the self adjusting mechanisim (If already there) to compensate for the wear? I do not want to buy something I do not need.

 

[Destroyer000]

it would prolly be a wise ideal to get new shoes, a left,right self adjuster kit an a spring kit.. might as well rebuild it all.. so this way you know all the parts are good.

 

[martin]

If you live in the rust belt the chances of the auto adjusters working for any length of time is pretty remote. Adjusting them manually two or three times a year is the way to go.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

yeah, my self adjusters never seem to work for long after replacing them. its not too big of a deal to crawl under there and manually adjust them once every few months, plus you can always get them snugger and get a better pedal feel than the auto adjuster can. just be sure to do it with the wheels off the ground so you can tell how tight they are cause you dont want them too tight to turn.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Drum brakes are self-adjusting on RBV's. I had someone tell me that the adjuster would only work if you used the e-brake... After looking at how it's set up, I'm not sure that that is entirely true, but I suppose it's possible...

When I replace the adjuster (or when I do my brakes), I usually take the adjuster apart, clean it (they tend to get covered in crusty brake dust), then coat it good with either synthetic slide caliper lube or never-seize. If nothing else is available I'll use grease. I've found that seems to work well for keeping everything lubed up and moving the way it's supposed to. Or at least until my adjuster cable gets "eaten" by my Ranger... I've replaced the drivers side adjuster cable about 6 times since I've gotten the truck...

Backing off the adjuster (by pulling the rubber plug on the back side of the brake assembly on the bottom and playing around spinning the lil adjuster around) can help, but is not always needed. About the only time I've needed to use that method is if there was a big lip built up on the inside of the brake drum or something broke inside the drum.

 

[esalman]

I'll be replacing everything front and rear except for the front brake calipers, they are in great shape. I live i Massachusetes and I've been driving my truck for 5 years 79000 miles and the only money I spent on it is for oil changes and a $40 K&N air filter. I figured if I'm going to replace the air filter every year for about $10 I'll just install a washable air filter and this way I'll save money if keep it for over 4 years. I also use synthetic oil and do my oil changes every 10000 miles. My next project is ti install a power trax locker.