went to school after work...forgot it was the week of spring break haha. so, i drove to the old ware houses and did some experiencing with my truck, i have a serious brake problem, the rears are hardly working AT ALL. just rebuilt them dam things too. fluids full and all that...any ideas??? anyways, unitl i figured out i could hardly keep my truck from moving, this is as far as i got

 

Did you adjust the rears correctly? IIRC the correct procedure is to run the star wheel out until the wheels lock (on jacks) then back off until they drag just a bit.

 

heres what was a little weird when i did them. with the star wheel adjusted "fully closed" the drum just barely fit, and i know 100% they were put together correctly. all new shoes and hardware, just not new drums bc there was nothing wrong with "old" drums, except maybe size??

 

Hmmm, not to insult you, just thinking here, you sure wheel was closed and not run all the way out? Does your E brake hold the truck at all?

 

Was the e-brake lever kinda gritty on the anchor pin? It could be frozen in the applied position and preventing your brakes from self adjusting.

Also, did you do both rears at the same time? If you did, is there a possibility that you mixed up the star wheels?

 

well...truck didnt have the park brake cables from the crossmember back, so i didn't buy the new ones to replace it....my other 4 vehicles have park brakes but never use them, so i guess that was my reasoning for that...the star wheel "has a threaded rod into it" and when you "tighten" the brakes(or applying more shoe to drum" the threads become exposed. MY drums would only fit over the shoes with those threads fully threaded into the star wheel. on the road it seems to stop/slow down fine, but i know rolling back down that incline, the rear brakes were not working, and getting the rear tire off, bc with it in drive, applying brakes, looking in my pass. mirror, my right rear drive tire was still spinning....possible wheel cylinder hung up maybe????

 

I think you should jack the rear up, run the star wheels out until the wheels are locked and you cant turn the tire, then back off until they drag just barely and see what you have then. Wouldnt hurt to have the drums turned and expose some new metal while you are at it. They glaze over and dont grab as well.

 

I have to agree with what EVERYONE is saying.

When I rebuilt the rear brakes on my truck, with new Drums/shoes/everything, I had to put it all together with the adjustment set full "in" - JUST like you did!

However, like you, I experienced very poor braking. The pedal seemed to move a lot, and nothing happened...then, I'd get a little braking WELL after the pedal got stiff.

So, I got out my trusty screwdriver and adjusted the brakes through the access slot on the backing plate (like you're supposed to do) - it turns out I had to adjust them A TON before they worked properly - I would estimate 4-5 complete turns of the adjusting wheel before the brakes started to drag. (slip the blade against the star adjuster, then pull the handle DOWN to adjust the brakes outward. If you have to spin it upwards to get it to adjust, you've got the adjuster installed backwards - which will cause the brakes to un-adjust each time you stop!)

I think the quickest and easiest way to tell what's going on is to chock the front wheels...jack up the back with the car in neutral, and spin the tires. If there's not a slight drag on each side, then the brakes aren't adjusted properly.

-Brad

 

Piratius is right, I now recall my adjusters had to be run all they way in also, I had new drums as well as shoes, thats the way its supposed to be. Everything is new so there isnt much room. The correct procedure is to run the shoes out until the wheels LOCK, then back off until they just drag, NOT just adjust the shoes out until they drag.

 

well maybe they the drums should be turned a bit, or cut. bc what you guys have mentioned i've done. but, thanks all the input! i'll tear them down at work today and get bk to you guys if it works