Mushy pedals means there is air in the system. It sounds like its also still out of adjustment, as that determines where te pedal starts. 

-craig

On Jan 31, 2012, at 11:15 AM, Rick Koller <rkoller@HELIX.NIH.GOV> wrote:

> Greetings all,
>       Here is the scenario:
> 1. replaced rear shoes in '91 carat, have done this successfully
> several times in the past
> 2. followed Bentley and numerous archive postings on adjustment
> afterwards including loosening the cable for the hand brake before
> adjusting the shoes
> 3. There is drag on the drums from the new shoes, no leaks at the
> wheel cylinders and they moved freely back and forth when I put the
> new shoes on,  new brake fluid after flushing all the lines using a
> vacuum pump.
> 4. Result: mushy pedal with poor braking, van didn't brake badly
> before the work  but no pulling sideways at sudden stops,
> 5. Pedal pushes to down a certain distance and then seems to hit a
> solid stop and then pumping the pedal seems to improve the braking performance.
> 6. So am I looking at failing wheel cylinders or master cylinder or a
> combination? Or still missing something in the adjustment?
> Thanks for your help
> 
> Rick