My 72 Grabber with a 200 did not have them. What is strange is that the spring hardware is the same as the early Falcons that did not have adjusters. I do not know if someone removed the adjusting assembly and replaced it with the old style spring for nonadjusters. I have pulled apart and rebuilt many a brake system on Falcons, Mustangs. You would think this would be a standard and not an option.
Should have them. Keep in mind that the brakes only adjust when in reverse. Go to a parking lot and back up and hit the brakes. Do this several times.
Thats an old wives/mechanics tale. Properly working adjusters will continually adjust when the need arises and in any direction. They are adjusted by the brake shoes expanding out. Wheel direction has nothing to do with it.
I thought the same thing, Allan. Google to the rescue (not!) " Drum brakes consist of a backing plate, brake shoes, brake drum, wheel cylinder, return springs and an automatic or self-adjusting system. When you apply the brakes, brake fluid is forced, under pressure, into the wheel cylinder which, in turn, pushes the brake shoes into contact with the machined surface on the inside of the drum. When the pressure is released, return springs pull the shoes back to their rest position. As the brake linings wear, the shoes must travel a greater distance to reach the drum. When the distance reaches a certain point, a self-adjusting mechanism automatically reacts by adjusting the rest position of the shoes so that they are closer to the drum." source: http://www.familycar.com/brakes.htm _______________________________________ Conversely: "The self-adjusting brake mechanism operates only When the brakes are applied while the car is moving rearward and only when the secondary shoe moves a pre-determined distance toward the brake drum." source: http://www.autohobbydigest.com/oshop64/brakes/page02.html My own conclusion: Can't see where it'd hurt anything to try adjusting them in reverse - may as well.
I've gotta go on the "back up to adjust" bandwagon too. I was taught this in mechanics school. Action of the adjuster is from the torque placed onto the brake shoes while backing. It is the twisting motion of the shoes not the expansion motion that pulls the cable on the adjusters. Here is the text from a service manual. "Drum brakes on all Mavericks and Comets employ single-anchor, internal-expanding, self-adjusting brake assemblies. The automatic adjuster continuosly maintains correct operating clearance between the linings and the drums by adjusting the brakes in small increments in direct proportion to the lining wear. When applying the brakes while backing up, the linings tend to follow the rotating drum counterclockwise, thus forcing the upper end of the primary shoe against the anchor pin. Simultaneously, the wheel cylinder pushes the upper end of the secondary shoe and cable guide outward, away from the anchor pin. This movement of the secondary shoe causes the cable to pull the adjusting lever upward and against the end of the tooth on the adjusting screw starwheel. As lining wear increases, the upward travel of the adjusting lever also increases. When the linings have worn sufficiently to allow the lever to move upward far enough, it passes over the end of the tooth and engages it. Upon release of the brakes, the adjusting spring pulls the adjuster lever downward, turning the starwheel and expanding the brakes." Eric J .
The adjuster cable is actuated by the secondary shoe. The secondary shoe is the main friction surface used while in reverse. When the brakes are actuated the shoes want to rotate in the same direction as the drum. The stationary pin prevents the rotation. The adjuster relies on this rotation in order to tighten the cable and move the adjusting lever. I am sure the cable will tighten while going forward but it is designed to be more effective while in traveling in reverse. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/drum-brake2.htm
