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OK, I had my mechanic give my pinz the once over. I am taking her on my annual trip to the coast of North Carolina to go surf fishing along Cape Lookout. He took off my rims and cleaned my drums out. Said I have plenty left on my brake pads. He said he adjusted "nothing" on them. I picked up my truck and it ran and stopped fine. Suddenly I come to a stop and it pulled hard to the right. I took it back to him and he adjusted the brakes and now they seem soft when I hit the brakes but stops straight. If I hit the brakes a second time the brakes firm up.

My mechanic is a little baffled on this one. Any thoughts??

Bob

Is it a 710 or a 712?

Sorry, should have specified. I have a 1974 710M.

Bob

The reason it pulled right after he cleaned them, was he didn't adjust them after putting the drums back on.He just cleaned off all that floating surface area in the drum. Soft breaking sounds like they are loosely adjusted, and the second pump is extending the pads to make more of a connection with the drum. I'd say don't back the pad off the drum as far when adjusting the brakes. But Bob thats just a guess as I don't work on my own pinz. But soft braking has happened to me after I had my pinz brakes serviced.

Mine always pulls to one side badly if one of the drums is wet, here in the UK driving on the left, the left front bears the brunt of roadside puddles, when trying to stop quick after this it will pull right as the right drum is dry and brakes better. In Iceland after several river crossings we were left with pretty useless brakes until they dried out!

I think Erik712m is correct that the brakes aren't adjusted correctly. The drums must be on and bolted tight. Then adjust the shoes tighter til they stop the rotation of the drum. Then back them off 2 clicks (I'm pretty sure about 2 - but going off memory here). Also, IIRC, the FR adjuster is counter rotating of the other three wheel assys.

I also agree w/ ScottishPinz that wet brakes means no brakes until they dry out. Test drive it until they dry out - don't trust them until they're completely dry.

Good brake adjustment is critical on all Pinny's (and Haffy's)

On a 712 for example, you have to "back off" the adjustment of the centre axle brakes compared to the rear to give even/consistant braking across the whole vehicle.
In these days of electronic adjustments based on sensor input and data etc, it seems crude, but it works, and works well if done properly!

Profpinz wrote:Good brake adjustment is critical on all Pinny's (and Haffy's)

On a 712 for example, you have to "back off" the adjustment of the centre axle brakes compared to the rear to give even/consistant braking across the whole vehicle.
In these days of electronic adjustments based on sensor input and data etc, it seems crude, but it works, and works well if done properly!

Peter, I can guarantee my brakes have never been adjusted that way, how would one know when they are properly adjusted? Thanks I can imagine the center pad if not adjusted properly will wear faster.

PS, the one thing that baffles a lot of first time mechanics adjusting the Pinz brakes is the fronts brakes have 2 adjusters one for each shoe. Most everybody is used to making one adjustment per brake.

Slowly rotate the drum and observe how far the shoe is from the drum by looking through the adjusting hole. Make sure the distance remains constant for 360 degrees, make adjustments based on what you see before making the final adjustment. This way you are starting with a uniform setting on all 4 shoes, all clicks will then maintain equality. I did this when I installed all new shoes in June, and have had no problems or pulling ever since. Owning several Volkswagens in the past was good training.

how would one know when they are properly adjusted?

G'Day Erik
The Pinzgauer Repair Manual states:
"with properly adjusted brake shoes of the second rear axle, the clearance on the first rear axle must be increased by one tooth of the adjusting nut"

I personally go a little bit more than that, but as to how far .... hmm, it's probably closer to a third or even half a turn, but it's one of those things that you just do after a number of years.... "suck it and see" is the best way!
Also, always take it for a spin afterwards to check all is OK!