99 Escort bake travel - rear brake adj?

ARACZEK

MEMBER
1999 FORD ESCORT

My daughter has a 99 Ford Escort with aboy 44K mikes. DOHC engine. A year and a half ago I did the front brakes, new pads and cut the rotors. Noticed recently the brake travel is too much, 2-3 inches. I then tried doing the rear brakes (car has pads in front, shoes in back). One thing I noticed it was not real hard to remove the drums, meaning the shoe has not worn into the drum too much. Also bled the front and rear. Still too much travel.

I don't really see how I can adjust the rear shoes. My guess is that the shoes are not adjusted correctly. There is no star wheel like in other cars, seems to have a cam like bar inside but I can't figure how I can make adjustments.

OR
Needs a professional bleed
OR
Master cylinder is NG

Thoughts?

. Alan

1 Reply

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,959 POSTS

That is correct, the rear shoes are out of adjustment.

Here is a video to show you how to adjust the shoes:

https://youtu.be/1j7qDoi1LP0

and this guide can help as well:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-rear-brake-shoes-and-drums

Please go over these guides and report back.