Front brake adjustment

[Mad Mac]

G'Day,
If I crank the front brake adjustment up enough to get good braking action, it causes the drums to over-heat when driving without braking. I have tried many different settings but still cannot get good braking action without overheating the drums. All I can think of is that the footbrake return spring (at the stop light) is currently disconnected, but surely that wouldn't be causing it?