How to adjust your rear brakes.

Some people ask “How do I adjust the rear brakes on my truck”

Adjusting the rear brakes on your truck is a simple task.

*Park on a level surface.

*Block your front wheels with a Chock.

*Raise both wheels and support the vehicle with a Jack Stands.

*Release the parking brake.

*Put the transmission in Neutral.

*Lying under the rear of the truck remove the rubber plug in the lower end of the backing plate to expose the adjuster.

*Using a tool as descried later on in the text or a bent piece of welding rod carefully feel for the adjusting lever and see that it moves. Remove it.

*Now using an adjusting tool rotate the star wheel in the direction that it will turn, this will be the way it tightens (Scribe an arrow on the back plate “T”) as you are rotating the back wheel slowly tighten it up until you feel resistance and it stops.

Notice that if you try to rotate the adjuster the opposite direction now it should not move. (Scribe an arrow and put an “L”)

*Now with one hand insert the welding rod preferable into the right side of the hole and hold the lever away from the star wheel and then using your other hand rotate the star wheel in the opposite direction counting the clicks as you go until the wheel just begins to turn freely again.

There might be some scraping as you turn the wheel but this is ok.
This might take a couple of tries but get it so it just turns easily.

Remember how many clicks it took because you want to do the same on the opposite wheel.

* Replace the rubber plug and then do the same for the other wheel.

You have just adjusted your brakes.


Now lets have a look at the inside of your brake drum.
This is looking at the Passenger or Right side of a properly installed brake adjuster.

If you look closely you can see how the teeth of the star wheel are directional being angled all off to one direction. In it’s operation every time the brakes are applied while going in a reverse direction and the brakes are applied firmly the movement of the expanding shoe causes the cable to pull the lever upward engaging in the teeth and rotating the adjuster several clicks at a time to keep the brakes adjusted.

When the brakes are adjusted sufficiently there is not enough movement to actuate the self-adjusters.

When they do not work properly the usual causes are:
1) Adjuster threads are binding. *Clean then and lubricate them.

2) The teeth on the star wheel are rounded off (they should be sharp) *Replace

BTW I did replace mine.

3) Adjusting lever edge is dull of rounded off. (It should have a knife-edge) *Replace

4) The adjusting lever is not installed properly; it must be below the centerline of the adjuster wheel. I purposely pulled mine upwards to show you what is wrong; it should be about 4 teeth lower.

The common cause for this is when you install the cable guide onto the new brake shoe you need to set it to the bottom of the shoe.

Sorry I did not take a picture but I will explain, If you look at the left shoe where the cable goes around the guide, take a large screwdriver and put it on the top edge of the guide with the cable installed and tap it with a hammer lightly to seat it to the bottom of the shoe, this will lower the cable and adjuster to where it belongs.



Now to adjust the adjuster manually you will have to retract the adjusting lever from the teeth because they act as a one-way clutch, you could tighten them but back them off.
So I made a tool to hold the lever off the wheel so it can be rotated in either direction easily.

This is what you need to do to retract the shoes from the drum when you want to remove them. There is usually No beating on the drum involved, simply back off the adjuster and loosen the shoes.

In this picture you would be pulling the adjusting tool Downward about 3 or 4 times while holding the lever off the star wheel. On the Drivers side it is the complete opposite so you would do it in reverse.



This is what it looks like from the rear of the drum; Get an adjusting tool that is short enough so you do not hit the springs.

I made the tool out of some 3/32” rod but you can use anything that is strong enough.
I have used Flux Coated Welding Rod (Arc) and 1/8” Gas Rod and all have worked fine.



Here are the tools you will need to service and adjust your brakes.
You can see the approximate angles you will need to bend the rod to make your own.

The Red handled tool #KD-3499 at the bottom is the most invaluable tool you can buy, it removes the torsional springs that retain your shoes to the backing plate.

This tool removes and reapplies this spring with amazing ease.

I got mine from Napa.

Without it you will say words you never knew were in your vocabulary when your pliers slip and the spring snaps your fingers over and over again.



Here is another view of the same tool at another angle.



I know for some of you working on your truck might be a learning experience and by showing you how it is done hopefully will soon make you more confident completing the task.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

I hope this will be of some help.
Jim

 

Another good job by Jim Lane !!!


I will add my two cents worth.


Properly installed star-adjusters will ALWAYS rotate from top-towards-bottom to tighten, working through the hole on the back-side; if one rotates upwards to tighten, then it is either installed backwards, or on the wrong side of the truck.


Over the years, I have saved myself untold dollars and grief by sharpening the star-wheel teeth with a three-cornered file.


EVERY TIME you have access to them, even if you are not actually working on the brakes, remove the star-wheels, unscrew them completely, and generously coat the threads, both inside and outside, with silver ANTI-SIEZE; plain old oil or grease will get hot and melt/burn away, whereas the anti-sieze will stay there.

WD-40 and the like are about useless for star-wheel lubrication for the above stated reason.


Pull outward on the installed brake-shoes and put a dab of Kendall Super-Blu grease on the bearing surfaces.



Replace ALL springs when replacing shoes.



When making brake adjustments, apply and release the brakes numerous times while adjusting; this keeps the shoes centered in the drums so you don't get a false "feeling"; also, a limited-slip/posi-trac rear-end is best adjusted with both sides off the ground.



Once the shoes are adjusted, take it up on a hill and see if the park-brakes will STOP and HOLD the rolling truck; if not, then the park-brake cable needs tightening.

 

BearKiller:

Okay; I insert the brake shoe spoon into the oblong hole where I have removed the rubber plug in the backing plate. The inserted end of the spoon catches the star wheel and the other (protruding) end of the spoon is exactly horizontal (i.e., parallel with the pavement on which the truck is parked), extending out of the oblong hole some six-odd inches. I assume the star wheel is installed on the correct side of the truck.

Now, to tighten the brakes do I move the protruding end of the spoon upward toward the frame of the truck or downward towards the pavement?

T.I.A.

 

If you have a dana 80, 70 or 60 posi rear axle you will need to raise both wheels off the ground at the same time to adjust. If you could manage to spin one wheel and you have posi then your clutches are shot.

 

To turn the wheel downward/tighten, you would push the end of the tool upward, towards the sky.


I actually have much better luck simply pushing the teeth downward, instead of levering the tool.

 

Thanks, I caught that in editing but forgot to change the final copy.
Jim