Brakes out of adjustment?

All 4 pages and no one tells how to make them actually self adjust !!

The MAIN reason they don't self adjust is most drivers "coast" to a stop. It's true! Watch how you come to a stop and then look at how much air pressure you apply to your brakes. Now a lot or most O/O's use the trailer handle to stop or slow down and will get bent when I explain how you need to stop by saying you'll "wear out your brakes" by doing what the manufacturer's recommend you to do.You will NOT wear out your brakes at 1-3 MPH with the approved method. Then they wonder why the tractor is never in adjustment!

Self adjusting brakes adjust when 35 or more pounds are applied to the brakes. Not while driving at speed but when slowing to a stop and backing up. I always when I hook to a new trailer will do my PTI then when all the paper work is done I'll pull forward a few inches and apply the brakes over 35 pounds and repeat this several times then do it in reverse (different manufacturer's have different applications) You WILL feel the brakes come into adjustment. When done leave the trailer brakes off set the tractor and go back and look at the difference in distance from the drum to the shoe. You want to do this at least twice a day for OTR and more for local driving. This is also a good time to see if your emergency brakes and horn works as you'll get low on AP! (How many of you actually sit and do the emergency brake and horn check every day?)

There is a tool out there that you can use to check the travel of the rods. It is like a short tire billy with 2 pins in the side that goes over the slack adjuster and you can move the adjuster and measure the travel. More than 1.5 inches and I would go ahead and adjust the brake for a manual adjuster! Do not adjust a self adjusting brake unless you are authorized to do so. Many self adjusting slacks have been damaged by someone who "thought" they knew how! If it doesn't adjust with the method above it's shop time!

There is also a simple tool out there to use which a lot of DOT officers use which is a round set of plastic disks you slip on the rods and then get in the truck and hit your brakes then you just go back and measure. It's a lot cleaner and you can also leave them on if you keep the same trailer but it's great for the tractor!

I hope this helped!

Just remember you will not wear out your brakes! I should know as I went over 350,000 on the same shoes and drums before I got a new truck but they still had 1/4 inch to go and I did NYC driving on that truck once a week for 2 days a week!

Good Luck
Rollover

 

To adjust self-adjusting brakes... most trucks use a 7/16 wrench or socket .. first make sure that your service brakes are NOT APPLIED.... on the bottom of the slack adjusted arm . you will find the bolt/nut... you tighten it all the way up or lock it down..... the back off/lossen it back up 1/2 turn.... on trailers i have seen either 7/16 or 1/2 inch nuts/bolts... when you back off the adjusting nuts... listen and the self adjusting system will go click, click, click, click... ect..... this is normal.....
It takes about 10 minutes to adjust all the brakes on your truck....
PLEASE make sure that you are on LEVEL GROUND AND THE WHEELS ARE SCOTCHED...so that the truck can not roll while you are under it....

Good Luck,
Harold

 

From the manufacturer .

http://www.abc-companies.com/servicebulletins/SB1088 Auto Slack Adjusters.pdf

As other have said , the only time automatic slack adjusters will be out of adjustment is when they are defective and need to be replaced or another component in the system is defective . Automatic slack adjusters should NOT be manually adjusted .

 

That's real good info, Rick--Thanks

 

Hi, I hope someone can help me.
I was involved in accident here in Indiana, which was not my fault. Basically a car driving eastbound crossed over the median into my lane in the westbound side and I hit the car. The car went over the ditch and the driver died at the scene.
After the DOT inspection was done on the first and second day after the accident, the trooper gave me a ticket for having 2 brakes out of adjustment by 1/4 inch (one in the tractor and one in the trailer). Although this was not the cause of the accident, it doesn't look good.
My question is, could the brakes became out of adjustment due to the severity of the braking at the time of the accident? Just FYI, the tractor was totaled.
Also, the end cap of the glad hand in the trailer is gone, maybe due to the excessive air pressure at the accident.
I'd like to fight in court saying the inspection was done after the accident and is hard to know if the brakes were out of adjustment before the accident. Also. I wasn't present at the time of the inspection. One more thing, how do they build air pressure to check the tractor brakes if the engine is not running (tractor totaled) to build air pressure?
Do you guys think I have a case?

 

One thing use correct terminology. The car crossed the median and hit you. You did not hit the car. Brakes can get out of adjustment by locking them up. End cap? Are you talking about the rubber grommet in the glad hand? If so I doubt it. They may have used another air supply to charge your brakes. First thing you need to do is get a good lawyer. Anymore even if not at fault they go after the driver. With a fatality they really go after the driver. Expect a lawsuit and possibly criminal charges along with neglect. You better hope that your log book matches your cell phone and qual comm, fuel tickets or any other thing they can trace you to. I don't know if you have a case, but I can almost promise you that you will have a lawsuit.

 

very good point about both your language and getting an attorney. We know what you meant, but be very careful with who you talk to, what you say and how you say it. When you are speaking to those that you must speak to, answer their questions but do not volunteer other thoughts. Never hesitate to hesitate. Pause and think about the question and what you want to say and how to say it. Ask for clarification on questions. Depending on your situation your company may or may not have your best interest at heart. Even if they have an attorney to "represent you" don't be afraid to talk to someone on your own. Best of luck with all.

 

This is bad . 1/4 " or more is a defective brake . 20% defective brakes (2 brakes on a 5 axle rig) is an OOS violation .
There are extensive investigations after a fatal accident that take hours to gather volumes of data . There is no way any of us can determine how you stand .

 

Very easy. Get one of the heavy duty tow trucks that came to remove your rig, to air everything up prior to caging the brakes and before the truck is removed from the scene. Never had a problem with a wrecked truck doing this. The only problem is when the lines are ripped off the brake chambers.

 

Self adjusting brake adjusters should not be manually adjusted in an effort to correct excessive pushrod stroke. Excessive pushrod stroke indicates that a problem exists with the self adjusting brake adjuster, with the installation of the self adjusting brake adjuster or with related foundation brake components, which manual adjustment will not fix. Manual adjustment of self adjusting brake adjusters is a dangerous practice that could have serious consequences because it gives the operator a false sense of security about the effectiveness of the brakes which are likely to go out of adjustment again soon.​

TRY THIS SITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION​

http://www.cvsa.org/programs/documents/2006cmvbss/howse.pdf​