Drivers adjusting brakes

So are you saying that if a brake was loose and you tightened it manually, the first time you hit the brake it would loosen back up?

 

I've never seen any auto slack adjusters that will operate like that. The will automatically tighten but not loosen.

 

I haven’t either, that’s why I questioned his response.

 

LMAO! That is the first thing I thought of when reading the headline to the original post. Manual slack adjusters and dead drivers. Most owner operators don't even know which motor they have under the hood, a company driver knows even less, like finding the dipstick. No way should this new breed of driver be near anything like brakes. When I started manual brakes were the norm, the auto slack adjusters were just coming out, I'll stick with the new autos, I don't miss crawling under the truck and trailer several times a month. I just replaced all of mine on the tractor, had a shop do it, along with new chambers and air lines. I bought all of the parts and they installed. These new trucks sit to low to the ground to get my beer belly under the darn thing.

 

That's for cars, there is a (I hate to repeat) a star wheel for adjustments on drums I believe. Ive done some brake work in vocational trade school long ago that was provided by the state. Brakes are ok, but it's not my strength. Engines were where I did best. Tear em down and rebuild them to spec. Thank god they were the old say 1948 Caddy where the tolerances were loose enough so that I the highschool kid could grind a little here and there and she'll fire and run pretty close. I would not even think to touch today's engines. Other people can do that. The tolerances are just too tight. My limit is the 1972 and earlier air breathing engines ignited by points rather than injection. Even today I can still remember how to replace a set or two of points and get them in line. Provided I have the manual for that engine.

In a big truck sitting still at a DOT scale stomping brakes gave a chance to get those brakes closer to adjusted so that when DOT man walks all the way to me (Wonder why I parked WAAAAY down there on the end. It's to make him walk all the way to me giving me time to stomp brakes) Im pretty sure he hears it and knows what's up.

 

Release park brakes, make 3 full service brake applications. If any are out of adjustment still, repeat. Still out of adjustment, they need to be repaired.

 

Once upon a time a person had know how their equipment worked and how to maintain and/or fix it.

And training was consistent with that objective as well.

 

Where we are located if you didn't know how to patch up a truck you might not make it back. 50+ km out in the bush with no one around and no cell service.

 

Funny you should mention that... I was going to add that a driver’s very survival depended on it. Some of the things we had to do to get there and back and keep working before repairs or parts were available would definitely be frowned upon these days; like driving around for a couple weeks with one side of the steer axle chained in place because the centre bolt got sheared off when we broke through the ice on a river crossing on the way to a remote rig site. And I wasn't even around in the "pioneer and survival" period!