I'm sure most are aware that the brakes on the little Fiats aren't great...

The auto-adjusters don't really seem to be doing much on my new brake shoes so I was wondering if anyone has come across those manual adjusters that slot near the top of the shoes? (the ones you poke with a screwdriver to adjust every so often - image attached)

All the ones I can find online seem to be quite large and was just wondering what everyone else here does when it comes to this problem?
Is it hit and miss when it comes to the auto-adjusters?

My 500 (69F) has a different setup (and 4 wheel bolts not 5 studs.)

Am I missing something here?

Joe R

Mine are like yours Joe (attached) only 126 hubs and the auto-adjustment seems to work OK.
Maybe the photo is for illustrative purposes only.
Chris

Hi Nico;
As Chris mentioned, the picture for the 'click' adjusters is for illustrative purposes only. ALL the 500s and 126s had 4 bolt wheel fixings---190pcd for the 500s and early (594cc) 126s and then 98pcd on the 652cc 126 variants, to bring them in line with the standard Fiat wheel-bolt pattern The Giardiniera (which had 600 brakes), 600s and 850s as far as I am aware, also had the 98pcd wheel bolt layout. I have a 500 with late 126 hubs and brakes and the brakes are perfectly adequate for general driving around, including town work. The self-adjusters operation is often improved and 'better adjusted' by driving the car in reverse and then really standing on the brake pedal (yes, really!). The system works by the fact that the wheel cylinders have enough pressure to overcome the resistance of the friction-washers on the shoes, but the return springs have only enough strength to pull the shoes back so that they are just clear of the inside of the drum--simples!

Ah, yes I should have mentioned that the image attached was just an example and not actually of my Fiat.

I've actually had welds on the bits where the adjusters are, just to stop the shoes for sliding back but is only a temporary solution.

the hobbler - Thanks for the tip, I shall give it a go (once I grind off that weld!)

So tried the reverse method of getting the adjusters to do their thing and when I take my foot off the brake pedal, the shoes fall back towards the center again.

Does it vary on which brand I bought my brake shoes from?
Where do you guys get yours from?

In the old days the adjusters were removable so maybe you could have changed the friction material or the spring. I think someone once mentioned maybe fit the old pull-off springs ifyou have any, at least the top one.
At some risk of failure maybe you could find a way to slightly over stretch the springs to remove some tension.

I shall have a look, it does seem to be a sandpaper like material. The springs on mine are a little new, so that also may be why. Thanks for the tips fiat500

When I first started working on the 500s (and that was far too many years ago) the brake shoes came WITHOUT adjusters. The top and bottom sections of the adjusters had a slot in them into which a Fiat special tool fitted. It was therefore possible to either replace the friction discs on the shoes or, in the case of new shoes, fit new adjusters complete with new friction discs and spring. These days the shoes come with adjusters already fitted; check that the adjuster is fully tight as even a little bit of slackness will result in a large loss of 'self adjusting' friction. If you continue to have problems, my suggestion is to get a new set of shoes AND SPRINGS from a reputable supplier--I usually use Middle Barton Garage. Also, check that you have no brake fluid loss--even a slight loss (from a brake cylinder which is only 'weeping') will cause a soft pedal, and a subsequent loss of retardation!