Go to the Technical Section of the forum, scroll down to the 73-87 truck service manuals, click on the link for 1973 Chevy, it will be the very first link on the page. It will open a PDF of the service manual.
The Brake Service section starts on page 5-1. Everything you will need to understand is in this section.
First, read the paragraph on page 5-2 titled "Drum Brakes - Rear".
Second, read the two paragraphs on page 5-13 titled "Self Adjusting Action".
Third, read the section titled "Parking Brake - Rear Wheel" starting at the bottom right of page 5-22 and continuing on with the adjustment procedures on the left hand side of page 5-23.
It may be a good idea to also read the section titled "Theory of Operation" starting on page 5-4.
After reading and understanding this, you should be able to properly preform the preliminary adjustment procedure as VileZambonie mentioned, so that the self adjusting function operates as designed once the system is back together and tested for proper operation.
The parking brake preliminary adjustment must be done so that, when the parking brake is used, it works properly and when the brakes are used, they work properly and the self adjusting function operates properly when used as described in the manual.
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