Hi all. Sorry for the long post but this is very frustrating.

I've replaced nearly every part in my rear brakes. The shoes are so
close to the drums,
I have to leave the adjuster bar **slightly** slack. I've adjusted the
shoes and e-brake at
least several times now. This last time, with the new adjuster bars
installed, I left my garage,
drove a short distance, felt drums. They were cool. Drove more, parked
on a *steep* hill, set e-brake really tight, released it, then drove
away up hills for a while, parked in my driveway, the drums were hot.
This did not make sense. This happened before. At that time my
infrared gun showed drums being 100º F but they felt hotter.

Theory: setting e-brake pushes shoes closer to drum than foot pressure
on pedal during
normal driving, which in turn allows the adjuster to adjust shoes too
close to drums
which causes the drums to heat up even when brakes aren't being used.
With my foot on
the brake pedal while setting the e-brake, I feel the pedal drop very
very slightly. I know this means the shoes aren't adjusted properly
but the pedal  height is ok and if I adjust the shoes
any closer, they drag, causing the drums to heat up when brakes not in use.

New parts:
- backing plates
- e-brake cables
- shoes, drums, hardware
- adjuster bar and wheel

Do I

- not use e-brake until shoes have worn down
- back off e-brake adjustment (there is a ~ 1/16" gap between e-brake
lever and adjuster
bar)
- remove material from shoes
- turn drums
- not worry, leave things as-is

If I leave things as-is, I feel like I'm ruining the drums and shoes
but there seems to be
no recourse!

Thanks,

Neil.

-- 
Neil n

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