Adjusting drum brake?

[dpinion]

I have a problem on my 97 grand am GT (3.1L) where the driver side rear tends to lock up, even when applying gentle pressure to the brakes. I have had this problem fixed before where the mechanic said he made a "simple adjustment". Now the problem is happening again. If it is going to be something I have to keep doing, I would like to just adjust it myself. I assume he is meaning the piece that goes between the drum pads that has a "star" adjustment to spread and close the gap between the shoes. Are there any other adjustments I could be missing? Is there a way to tell when you have this adjustment set correctly?

Thanks

[GTP Dad]

That is the proper place to make the adjustment. The issue here is why does this keep happening. Check and make sure you don't have a kinked rubber hose going to the rear wheel on that side. It can act as a check valve and cause the brakes to hold pressure in the wheel cylinder and therefore cause brake lock-up. You may also want to check the opposite side to make sure it is properly adjusted. Finally, check the e-brake cable. Sometimes if they don't release fully they will cause the brake to over adjust.

[blabhern]

I had a similar problem on my 94 GA where the passenger rear would appear to lock up. It ended up being two different issues. 1) I had air in the brake line (bad brake bleed job) and 2) my shock was blown. The blown shock is what made be believe the brake was locking up. When I pressed the brakes, it appeared the tire would lock up and the ABS would try to correct. What was really happening was teh tire was bouncing. Good luck with your car.

[Rolm]

Working on brakes iss like working on a watch. The above suggestions were excellent, make sure that all the moving parts are lubed and insure everything is free moving. Make sure you check both sides.

I wish I had your problem vs mine. I have outlined my problem on one of the threads

[xeroinfinity]

seems like alot of rear drum cars do this.
Even my SE doest it from time to time when you back up after a long rain or sitting for an extended period of time.

Double check you rear wheel cylinders and make sure they arent leaking or hav a damaged boot.