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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Brakes, Frame, Steering & Suspension => Brakes and Braking Systems => Topic started by: claude on December 24, 2017, 08:33:45 am
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Tried to remove rear hubs to inspect brakes. Neither will come off. They are loose and will move about a 1/4 inch. I believe my brake pads are stopping the drums. I’ve got the special tool & used it to try toback off the brakes. Either I don’t know what I’m doing or it didn’t solve my problem. Any suggestions
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Been there, a pretty lonely feeling for sure. I have used two people, one pulling and the other gently tapping with a ball peen hammer (being careful to not shatter cast iron drum).
Some heat from an oxy-acetylene torch will help to get things moving if your drum is seized on the axle.
Hopefully you have been turning the adjuster wheel the correct direction. But if brake shoes contacting the drum is the issue, you can back off the 2 wheel cylinder retaining bolts a bit to get a little more wiggle room. Alternately drill/remove the 2 retaining pins from the the backside to get some more wiggle room.
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Did you push/pull the self-adjuster away from the star wheel while backing off? Are you adjusting from the wheel side or the backing plate side?
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Thanks jetman & bd. When I get back home after Christmas & New Years I again will try backing off the drum brakes. Then if not successful, will get my drill out as suggested.
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I would welcome some insight into how to make those star adjusters back off. It seems like they only go one direction. To get them to go in the other direction requires a lot of struggle.
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It is remarkably easy. The technique is to disengage the self-adjuster from the starwheel (red arrow in image) while backing the starwheel off. If adjusting through a window in the backing plate, use a thin, flat blade cabinet screwdriver inserted through the adjuster window to "push" the self-adjuster away from you and the starwheel while backing the starwheel off. If adjusting through a window in the face of the brake drum, use a small hook inserted through the adjuster window to catch the bottom edge of the self-adjuster (yellow line in image) and "pull" the self-adjuster toward you, away from the starwheel, while backing the starwheel off.
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OK Thx. I was hoping for something one-handed. I can't see diddly squat in those tiny holes and I'm never sure what direction I'm supposed to turn.
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Regarding self-adjusters, the "drum side" of the starwheel rotates downward (toward the maximum diameter of the drum) to tighten the shoes. Hence, when adjusting through the drum, rotate the starwheel "upward" to back the shoes away from the drum. When adjusting through the backing plate, rotate the starwheel "downward" to back the shoes away from the drum.
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Not enough info on your ride to give you accurate info. Early full floater have no window to adjust the star wheel. You would either need to cut a window into the backing plate or the drum or use a slide hammer to take mamma home.
Like BD said, if you have the window, a pocket screwdriver and mini brake spoon is your ticket to freedom.
If this is a full floater, the axle, the lock nut retainer and bearing need to be free before the drum will come off.
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What rear axle do you have?
This won’t help you get the drum off, but once you do...
I put a disc brake setup from a 78 Cadillac eldorado I. My k20 with a ff 14bolt. It shed a ton of weight and now a brake drum doesn’t project several inches from the inside of the wheel. It stops much better with a full bed now. Only takes an afternoon including bleeding.
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=4f5d207cf62c0dc00c47f9f7ef10e38f&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=14BSRW&Store_Code=ruffstuff
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Be sure the emergency brake isn't set.. Been known to hamper the removal of the rear drums....
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Just checking - Your year of K20 should not have a FF axle, but it may have been swapped.
Do the hubs stick out of the axle (like the front hubs), or are they flush with the wheel surface? If the hubs stick out of the rear axle, its a FF axle and you have to pull the axles first to get the drums off.
Bruce