My truck seems to be doing all the braking on the front and when it snows it just slides the front tires and i can't stop. I've been told the rears need adjusted. Does anyone know what i need to do for this. Thanks Mike

 

I think you have more of a problem than just adjustment of the rear brakes. You may have seized wheel cylinders. Jack the rear of the truck up and while someone presses the brake pedal try to rotate each rear wheel by hand. If with the pedal pressed you can rotate the wheels then your wheel cylinders are not working. Establish this first. If you do need them wheel cylinders are not that difficult to replace. If all you need is adjustment then you should be able to spoke the star wheel round thru the slot at the bottom of the back plate. You will need to jack the wheel up for this and adjust untill the wheel just starts to drag as you rotate it. Hang in there I`m sure some other guys will post advice soon.

 

I just did my rear brakes last summer. One wheel cylinder was bad. Replaced them both. $6.00 each new at NAPA. The adjustment is pretty easy. This assumes you have drums and not disk brakes on the rear.

Put the rear end on jack stands. There should be an oval slot at the bottom of the backing plate with a rubber plug in it. This is the hole for the adjuster. Get yourself a brake adjuster (brake spoon) at any parts house (about $2.00 to $5.00) and use it to move the star wheel inside until the wheel gets some resistance. With a flash light, you should be able to see the star wheel in there moving. It will only rotate one way and you should hear clicking as the spring loaded keeper moves over the teeth.

If it does not move, then it may be rusted. You will need to pull the axle shaft and drum to fix that.

These are supposed to be self adjusting. When using the brakes in reverse, the keeper/adjuster will force the star wheel around to keep the adjustment. These usually work quite well unless a part is bad. Rust is the usual problem. Sometimes you can break the rust free with the brake spoon but most times, you have to pull the drum. Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

before you go through all that make sure its your brakes, b/c more braking pressure is applied to the front (73-30) the front wheels will lock on ice/snow before the back..generally when your idle is elevated when cold, so next time your on slippery surface just pop it into neutral if its automatic