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Old 09-22-2023, 05:11 PM   #6
RustyPile
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Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Elkhart, Texas
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Re: adjusting rear drum brakes

Quote:
Originally Posted by forestb View Post
I installed a mew Emergency brake cable and tried to adjust it but after doing so it would not pull tight enough to engage. Later on I had the truck at my transmission mechanic for a completely different reason. While it was up in the air I asked him to take a look at my emergency brake cable. He told me that it was not working because the rear brakes needed to be adjusted but he didn't want to do that. Later on I took it to a different mechanic for another completely different reason and they told me that they opened up the drums and they were covered in rear end fluid. A couple of years ago I had my rear end rebuilt and a couple of months later I noticed that the seals were leaking onto the brakes so I returned it to the rear end shop and they replaced them but told me that if they start leaking again I probably have worn axles and that they would need to be replaced. I was about to go back to the rear end shop and see about getting new axles but then I thought to my self. I don't really trust the second mechanic anymore so I want to make sure that they really looked inside the brakes instead of just saw residue from the previous leak and assumed that they were leaking.

So my plan is to look inside the drums this weekend and see if they are really leaking and if they are not I want to adjust them.
Well surely the shop that did the axle seals both times would have cleaned up the area.. In any event, if gear lube, or brake fluid, gets on the brake shoe linings, they are ruined and need to be replaced. About the emergency brake cable.. If you can't get it tight enough without bottoming the adjustment nuts, you either have the wrong cable or cable guides are missing or positioned wrong. Get your hands on a service manual for the year of your truck.. It's all covered in the brake section, including diagrams and procedures. There are several sites that offer these manuals.. Many sites offer them as free downloads..
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