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Its my understanding that the brake drum on the rear of my 1995 F-150 is supposed to slide right off after i take off the tire.
this aint happening. There's a lot of play in it, and it'll wobble back and forth a bit, but its not coming off. the other side is on there too. The E-brake is off, truck is on stilts.
What's the proper procedure to get this sucker off?
You need to retract the brake shoes enough to allow the drum to slide off. You need two tools to do this. A flat bladed screwdriver and a brake adjuster tool. You can use two screwdrivers, but it is harder.
Look for a rubber plug (1/4" by 1 1/2" oval shaped) at the bottom of the brake backing plate. Remove the plug for access to the brake adjusting screw.
Push the first screwdriver into the hole and use it to lift the brake shoe adjusting lever from the star screw. You want to lift this lever up a bit to disengage it from the star screw.
Use the adjusting tool (or second screwdriver) to rotate the star screw downward. This relaxes the brake shoes. If you turn the screw the wrong way, it will tighten the brake shoes - this will be obvious since the brake will be applied and the drum will be tight.
Once the brake shoes are relaxed, the drum comes right off.