i just put new brake shoes,springs, and cylinders on my rear drum brakes. i was wondering though now that im done, when i put the drums back on do i need to be really precise about adjusting the amount of drag on the drum and shoes when you turn it. Haynes book says to adjust it so theres a little drag then turn it again just a bit so there no drag. i cant really tell much of a difference when i adjust them but there seems to be just a little drag.

is it important to be very precise with this step? i dont really understand what im doing when i did that part. also if the new brake shoes got some old brake grime and some brake lube on em will they respond wierd or not break in right?

It isn't rocket science. :)

You would like them to be adjusted as evenly as possible, but I wouldn't break out the digital micrometer for it.

Spin the drum, and adjust until you get the "scrape scrape scrape" sound of the shoes on the drums. Then go do the other side til it sounds about the same. Then back them both off a little so the noise just goes away.

When you back out of the driveway they will self-adjust to where they want to be anyways.

I usually hose the shoes down with some brake cleaner to get the dirty fingerprints off as the last step before I put the drums on. Then spray a clean rag and wipe out the drum. The shoes and drum should be pretty clean.

K