Yup I know.... Lots of videos and reading and im doing that also... It seems to be hung up right under the cylinder, I can pull the bottom of the drum out enough to actually get some light into the drum, but she is frozen on top..... Dana 60 Free Floater rear .......... Anything im missing hear ? The star wheel will only adjust UP for tightening and not down for loosing, its frozen in that direction.... This is why I put off this project for so long, I knew I was going to be without my truck once I started

 

Took a little sweet talking........ But I got'er off, is it supposed to look like this ? Just hope I can get the dam thing back together ! The only thing worse than this brake is the sticker on that jack....... was a gift I promise....

 

Looks to me like you're missing some springs. Should be a big spring at top, and another at bottom, to retract the shoes. Probably why you couldn't get the drum off.

Looks like the shoes are worn pretty thin...

Here's some help: http://www.boyandjeep.com/tech-artic...-60-rear-drums

 

Thanks PBY, yeah there was one big long spring laying in the drum and a piece of another that fell out .... Doing a total rebuild to include new drums, cylinders etc...... gonna be a learning experience, but that has been the story of this build and I do after all enjoy working on the truck although I was wishing the brake fairy would have broken into the shop and got this done in time for the holiday weekend... but it didn't happen

Hey that article rocks ! its a keeper, building my confidence up as I read it.

 

These brake jobs aren't nearly as hard as we make them out to be. The hardest part is bleeding the system by yourself...

But don't try this job without the proper 2-9/16R socket!

Yep, that's a great article-it helped me a lot.

 

Biggest piece of advice is to not get those star-wheel adjusters crossed up from side to side. One side is standard thread while the other is reverse. I forget which is which...

 

I read about the re-verse threaded star wheel, my kit came with color coded everything, for mechanically challenged folks like myself.... Hopefully I can pull this off this weekend, gotta get the bearings and seals tho... still pining down the part#s and kits for those, theres gotta be a complete seal and bearing kit right ? How many millions of Dana 60's were made.... Someone confirm Timken Set38 for both inner and outer bearings ? Also, the diff oil lubes the free floating bearings correct ? No need to pack bearings ?

 

Once ya get into it, will make sense. The star wheel always turns "down" to tighten the shoes, as you look at it from the outside, as in the pic. Not a lot of meat left on those shoes!

 

The self-adjusters are unfortunately designed, in that they fit left or right, forward or backward. Four directions, but just one correct...

 

Following for

 

Got the thing apart, didnt take much it fell apart in my hands, shoes came right off.... I got the backing plate cleaned up a bit, and the new cylinder installed, struggling with the star wheel.... Want to get it right the first time, and the adjusting levers in the bags are labeled L and R, but playing with the starwheels im still confused as to if you want up from the diff side to tighten or loosen the shoes ..... and its funny with every forum post ive read there are several contradictions in posts, got a feeling lots of folks driving around with the star wheels on backwards....

 

Seems to me, since they're self-adjusting, that you can emulate the self-adjustment by manipulating the bracket. In your picture above, the bracket would rotate the teeth "upward". Therefore, rotating upward should tighten the brake shoes against the drums.

Alternatively, using a screwdriver or brake spoon to lift the bracket, allows you to loosen the brakes.

 

Check your backing plates where the shoes rub on them. Over time they can wear grooves into the plates that prevent the brakes from operating smoothly.

 

Left picture is left side of vehicle....right picture is right side of vehicle

 

Maybe some trucks are different, but if you watch how the sef-adjusters are supposed to work it should make sense what direction they turn. Those look like the adjuster lever comes up from the bottom - they may be different! This is why using the manual is important with brakes I suppose. In the smaller trucks, when you back up and apply the brake, if there happens to be a little clearance (wear) in the brake lining the cable pulls the adjuster lever up and over the star wheel slightly, and upon release of the brake the spring tension on it pulls it back down, engaging one of the the star wheel ****, to turn the wheel one click.

So when you're looking at the innards on an F100 say, drum removed, the star wheel always turns "down" or towards the pavement to tighten the brakes. Those look different. That's probably why the confusion online.

It's confusing to describe because adjustment is normally done from the other side, through backing plate access hole. Threads are different on each axle, but not the direction they are turned, if you think about it. Note that the design is usually so they will ratchet only one way, so that they will never loosen on their own. A screwdriver can be used to tighten the star wheel, but the adjuster lever has to be pushed out of the way with another tool in order to loosen on the typical adjuster.