Help! Drum will only go about 80% off of the hub

[troutman561]

So after much research I decided to tackle my drum brakes on my 01. I made the mistake of letting them get down to the metal grinding sound point. I am assuming the shoe is probably stuck to the drum or something like this. The truck moved fine before this issue. What am I missing. It is stuck where its at and wont go back on or off. Whats the next step? Can I access the adjuster from the back? if so, where is the hole to access? I looked but didn't see anything promising.

[navytoy82]

I know on my 06 theres 2 threaded holes just screw the right size bolt in there a little at a time and it should pull the drums off.

[Remmy700P]

The problem is that the shoes have probably ground a groove in the drum surface and the groove is deep enough to prevent the drums from sliding off absent the shoes being retracted.

The solution is to back off the star adjuster. See attached.

[Highwaylizard]

May sound stupid but do you have the parking brake set? First time I went to replace mine I had mistakenly set the parking brake.

[troutman561]

The problem is that the shoes have probably ground a groove in the drum surface and the groove is deep enough to prevent the drums from sliding off absent the shoes being retracted.

The solution is to back off the star adjuster. See attached.

Which leads me to my next question: Where is this access? Is it one of those 2 round bolt looking deals at the bottom of the backing plate?

Navy, The bolt thing got me to this point

And yes, the parking brake is off

[kanaduh]

Bolt thread size is M8-1.25. have you checked to make sure that your bell cranks are not stuck? E-Brake may be off, but if the cranks are stuck, it is still engaged.

[bfrench116]

If you are unable to locate the adjuster and are replacing the drums anyway I would break the drum. What I do when replacing drums if they won't come off I take my Snap On hammer and hit the drum with the ball peen side and it will usually brake them into pieces. Give it a few good swings and it should break or at least split which will relieve the tension.

[troutman561]

Bolt thread size is M8-1.25. have you checked to make sure that your bell cranks are not stuck? E-Brake may be off, but if the cranks are stuck, it is still engaged.

I removed the springs from the E brake assembly on the back and was able to move it by hand. I assume that means it isn't stuck?

[troutman561]

I was just able to get back out to the truck before it for too dark. I found the rounded rectangular rubber deal right below where the brake cable goes into the top of the backing plate. If that where I can find the adjuster? Not enough light to see it but its the only thing that would make sense..

[Stone_Blue]

Yes, that long oval hole with the rubber plug, above the axle, is the adjuster hole. Now the fun begins!...

Its quite a tedious thing to stick the screwdriver in there blindly, to push on the locking lever...Once you do push the lever off the star, you need to stick another THIN, WIDE bladed screwdriver, or better, a brake adjusting tool to catch and turn the adjuster wheel...May take quite a few full turns to back off the shoes enough to get them past the edge of the drum.

And yes, if you can move the e-brake adjusting levers, it SHOULD be disengaged.

[Remmy700P]

I was just able to get back out to the truck before it for too dark. I found the rounded rectangular rubber deal right below where the brake cable goes into the top of the backing plate. Is that where I can find the adjuster? Not enough light to see it but its the only thing that would make sense..

The star adjuster is behind the topmost center access hole, located over the axle, and usually protected by an oval rubber plug.

[troutman561]

Thanks guys. At least I have a direction to go in tomorrow morning. I think I was so frustrated earlier that I didn't even notice the rubber plug when I was looking for something like that. I was ready to cut the drum in half, but that wouldn't be wise. Hopefully it all goes a smoothly as possible, but its definitely not as easy as a front pad change which takes all of 20 minutes. I get to finish this and then tackle the alternator on Tuesday.. Cant wait.

[kerryman71]

Yeah, it sucks. What Remmy mentioned is exactly what I would bet is happening. Isn't it nice how you get them to the point where you think they're about to come off...but nope!! Good luck.

John

[neumannbruce]

I was doing my rear brakes today. One of my drums wouldn't come off, but what I noticed was that there was a ton of rust on the hub. I cleaned it, and sprayed some pb blaster on it and it slid right off. Don't know if that will help you. Also if you buy those 8mm 1.25 bolts, make sure you get them as long as possible.

I had to call it quits tonight as well. The second NEW wheel cyclinder I installed started squirting fluid from the plunger. The first was from Toyota, the second was from Checker. Toyota's failure shocked me, Checkers didn't (i've had that happen before), but was additional frustration. Tomorrow, I will try the made in china part lottery at Checker - and hopefully I win.

[pxsp]

May sound stupid but do you have the parking brake set? First time I went to replace mine I had mistakenly set the parking brake.

LOL... been there.. done that.