Brake master won't adjust?

[Artificer]

Put in a new brake master cylinder and now I can't seem to adjust the darn thing properly. Either the pushrod is too far in and the brakes are constantly engaged or it's too far out and I have to pump the brakes 15 times to get them to bite. Did I not bleed the system properly, or is there a sweet spot I just haven't found yet? Please help!

[meatblanket]

What you are experiencing can be caused by incorrect installation of the springs on the brake shoes. Was everything working fine before the master cylinder failed?

[Artificer]

Fine-ish. The brakes were at best spongey, which is what precipitated replacing the master.

I installed the brakes so that each end of the springs is hooked into one of the holes in the brake shoes. Is this incorrect?

[slowmo]

That is incorrect and it will not work! The bottom springs do attach to holes in the shoes.

The top spring connects to a hole in the shoe (located on the on the same side as the brake adjuster) but the other end attaches to the post on the other side! Don't ask how I know this.

[Artificer]

Well, hell. Guess I get to take the wheels off. Again. Thanks for the quick response.