Thread: Drum brakes

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

can you see shoe thickness without removing the wheel/drum?

You need to take the drum off which if the brakes are worn should not be too difficult, the drum is quite heavy. It will also give you the chance to check the actuator magnet.
Might be worthwhile trying to adjust them first, use a flat blade screw driver in the adjusting slot. I am pretty sure moving the handle end up on the left hand side tightens the lhs and down on the rhs to tighten the right hand brakes.

Good luck

Apart from servicing the van's brakes, you could also check the brake controller setting in your vehicle.
It should be set to bring the van's brakes on slightly harder than the vehicle's brakes, so the van doesn't push the tow vehicle, but can actually slow the vehicle on downhill runs, easing the load on the vehicle's brakes.
It should be possible to get the van's brakes to apply progressively. If the van's brakes go instantly to lock up, they may need adjusting.