Pretty sure the braided hoses I installed had teflon inside. I pinched one when flipping the sub frame and decided to replace it.

The SS braided hoses I am familiar with are lined with Teflon (PTFE) tubing, not rubber.  The Teflon will be impervious to brake fluid and will not swell closed.  Like any plastic, Teflon will have a finite life but it will be longer than the traditional rubber tubing used for brake hoses.

All brake hoses have a safe life of 10 to 15 years depending on use. (that goes for all brake rubbers)
You might get 40 years but you might have a sudden failure at 20 years. 

What is the cost of a brake hose?
What is the cost of a brake failure?

I thought the whole purpose of the braided SS around the hose was not to make it pretty, but to provide support (and heat blocking) so that if the rubber hose inside begins to swell, it is limited. Same feature as on the water supply to your sink  (or toilet) .

As you say, it will eventually fail anyway

Don't forget that braided hoses may be super-pretty, but they still have a rubber hose inside - it's just way more difficult to see if the hose is perished or swelling.

A lot of folks don't realise that that is what the yellow band round the hose is for.
You ought to slide the band from end to end every so often to prove that the hose is still in good condition (it should be done during a State Inspection, if you're lucky enough to be in a State that requires it) and not bulging.  If the band won't slide, change the hose.

I was trying to visualize the reasoning for unadjusting.

Yes at first it does not make sense as the adjustment would seem to push the shoe out further(which it does), but it is acting as a lever on the cylinder and compressing the piston back into the cylinder which means less movement.

Continuning to learn...

terry

I think my problem was operator assembly error.

I had assembled these on the work bench as I had the arms rebuilt when we redid the car.

Some how I got the leading edges mixed up. Some how I did not know which way was up, both sides were wrong.

I will know in a few days as I have a firm pedal for the moment.

Terry

You said rear brakes...so you have a different adjuster back there.  But same advice.  

Also watch your rubber hoses while your assistant pumps.  Mine were visibly inflating like a balloon.  I replaced w/ braided. 

I think you are refering to my long post about my brakes!  So the problem I was having was the adjuster screws were not seater correctly on my new backing plates.  Every time i would press the brake pedal they would wiggle a bit out of adustment.

Here is a video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Quyu8BIy344

Can you have some press the brakes after you adjust them and you can watch what the adjuster is doing?

I always easy bleed my brakes and I'm happy so far

Most people don't understand this but it really is the best way to bleed brakes.

I always "un-adjust" before bleeding... ie make them as loose as possible to give the greatest piston movement to move the fluid (and contained air) out of the system.  Once the air is gone (mostly gone then do the adjustment.

Also. I wouldn't think pushing on the brake pedal would do much if the shoes are already locked up.  I adjust the shoes then spin the wheel and yank on the handbrake cable (grab it just behind the wheel and pull sideways).  This will pull the shoes out against the drum - stopping the wheel and centreing the shoes... I do it several times adjusting as necessary to get the right degree of "scrape".

Did you check the adjuster flats??  With it correctly positioned you should feel a (veeerryy) slight amount of slack (back and forth movement) in the adjuster nut.

Cheers, Ian

When I bleed, I adjust first.

They do need adjustment as they will turn freely with little drag after a day of use.

I typically adjust until fully immovable, press on the brake pedal to distibute the shoes, then back off to constant drag when moved by hand.

I am wondering, if I reassembled something wrong. I need to find my copy of the brake diagram that somebody made awhile back.

Another remote possibility is that the rubber boots on the wheel cylinders act as springs and pull the pistons back in away from the shoes. Make sure the boots aren't sticking to the shafts coming out of the cylinders. If they are, slide them in along the shaft.

Also remember that "properly adjusted" does not mean that the wheel can spin freely.  When properly adjusted, an elevated rear wheel should be able to turn for only about 1 turn, then stop when spun by hand.  There should also be a slight dragging sound from the shoes on the inside of the drum.  If you can spin the wheel and it turns more than one rev when you release it, the brakes are still loose.

Check that the pistons in the front calipers are free of crud and are able to move in and out easily.  Check this very carefully with the caliper off and a trusted assistant on the pedal.

I've had it before on a friends car where the caliper seals were sticking to rusty crud on the pistons and pulling them too far off the pad when the pedal was released.

Have you actually checked that the rears are going out of adjustment??? (I'm assuming you have because you keep adjusting them??)

When you do the adjustment, do you turn the adjuster onto a "flat"??  The nose of the adjuster (well, all the ones I've seen has four flats.  So, as you turn it, the brakes go tight, tighter, tighter,, loose.  You can feel the bumps as you turn it.  If you're leaving the adjuster on a high point it will vibrate  itself onto a flat and be looser than you left it.

When you do the readjust, do you try a bleed as well?  Do you get any air??

Cheers, Ian

Fluid bypassing in the master cylinder??

I seem to remember someone else had a similar issue. This is a redone car with maybe 300 miles on it so far. Many parts are newIt seems the rear brakes come out of adjustment quickly.

I have rebled with a bleeder and with out. The pedal is firm but takes a pump to get solid. It remains solid after that.

I adjust the rears and it will be be hard with out a pump, but after a few stops, it requires one quick pump again. I seem to remember replacing the adjusters before we took the car off the road to redo it, but I will check them today.

Was a cause ever found for this?

Terry