Help with brakes (lots of pics)

[kilabeez0]

Ok, so I'm pretty sure i need new pads, so i ordered them through ebay. I didn't order new springs and I think i might have needed them. Also my brake lever pushes down about 4 inches or so BEFORE it even starts to engage the brakes. Check out my pics to see what I mean.

Here is the brake pedal when not in use.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid50/p2877b91a8cca1425abf298d9935f7e67/fcada622.jpg

Here is where it starts to engage

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid50/p21ae68b38650e3676974fded881b2aec/fcada620.jpg

And here is where it ends up!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid50/p5ab7a89dd7043fbef81dbf3914ca1e4f/fcada61b.jpg

I have no idea what the pads are supposed to look like, they're awfully glazed, but here are some pics, and check the spring on the right i think it's a bit stretched out. And lastly is the brake cam only supposed to move a fraction of an inch? It doesn't seem like it would apply enough pressure to the drum.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid50/p2d78f8d215ee0a864325dd99530dd6aa/fcada61a.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid50/paa866cfd84ed05d0311a19adad5efe5f/fcada614.jpg
[/img]
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid50/p21f93d598512e53b81d0ce3baabdfa3c/fcada611.jpg

[Honda300ex]

It is adjustable right there on the back by the drum. My m does the same thing but i am missing half of a pad so thats its problem, I got to get mine runing again :D

[TimSr]

Your brake shoes look fine in the picture. If they are glazed you can sand it off in a few secongs, but glazing doesnt affect adjustment. The adjustment is the nut on the end of the cable to make them engage sooner. If you dont have enough adjustment with the nut, then you simply take the nut off, and take the arm off, and rotate it by one or two splines and hook the cable back up and adjust the nut.

[Mobular]

Yup. Everything looks fine. Just a simple adjustment!

[kilabeez0]

They look fine? Then why dont they work for CRAP??? I mean they dont work at all unless i'm in neutral and even then i can't be going fast. When I adjust the nut on the back to make it tighter, it gets so tight that i cant push the trike around in neutral. Am i missing something???

[HondaRider]

You don't want to tighten them so tight that the wheeler is hard to roll. You should be able to freely roll it, and have a little play in the brake lever. Did you try the sanding to rough the shoes up? You might try bead blasting..? I've never done this on brake shoes, but have done it on clutch plates. Get some other comments on the bead blasting before you try it because I'm not for sure on that. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Derek

[kilabeez0]

I adjusted the nut on the VERY rear of the trike, the one that is connected to the brake cam lever, was I supposed to adjust the one that is a few inches behind the brake pedal in FRONT of the brake drum...i think that's the one that needs adjusting? ???