Recently I changed the shoes on my 84 Inline 4-powered van. I have been having a tough time getting the shoes adjusted, for various reasons. The shoes 'wanted' to be tightly adjusted in order to give me a decent brake pedal feel..Dragging slightly on the drums. I've been fiddling with them for a few days now. Last night I filled my gas tank, and , like I always do, I figured my fuel mileage. I do this usually to check the general well being of my vehicle.. Well, with the tight rear brakes, my miles per gallon dropped ~ 3mpg! I went from my normal ~25 to 21.9. with part of that drop being caused by a couple of sessions driving around with my foot on the pedal trying to 'seat' those new rear brake shoes. It's helpful to keep track of your fuel consumption. I know now that my rear brakes are too dang tight..(actually, I knew that from the heat I could feel at the rear wheels also, but..) Before I take off on my planned 3k mile road trip, I will certainly ease off the rear shoes some more...Save $65 on my fuel bill for the drive by doing so.. Don Hanson |
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