2011 emergency brake adjuster

[mister moose]

Wondering if anyone knows which way to spin the star adjuster to loosen the rear emergency brake shoes so I can remove the rotor easily. I'm sure I can try one way and if it tightens on the drum I should go the other way... but If I know which way to go the first time, my day goes a lot better. Especially if they are corroded and tough to move. Tried searching and got nada.

Thanks!

 

[Dirtman]

On a normal drum brake the adjuster will only spin one way freely as it's it's ratcheting mechanism. It'll make a smooth clicking sound as it tightens and won't want to move the opposite direction. So you find which way it spins freely (that's tightening) and to loosen it you need to use a pick or screwdriver to push the lever away from the star wheel to allow it to spin the opposite way to loosen.

However I don't think there's room to do this on the drum inside the disc on a 2010-2011.

 

[RonD]

Yes, no self adjuster on the 2010/11 Ranger E-brakes, so no bar to push back
Usually moving the star wheels teeth down loosens it, so its opposite on each side as far as the threads

 

[sgtsandman]

I don’t remember which is which but one side has right hand thread and the other left. It’s trial and error for me every time.

 

[mister moose]

Halfway through report:

On the drivers side, moving the star adjuster teeth aft tightens the emergency brake shoes. Fwd loosens them. There is no spring plate to move back. The small shoe tension spring lies on the star, and gives it a thump thump thump resilience, but it is easily moved in either direction.

A few other rear brake tips I discovered -

If the rotor is stuck, a 6 inch Harbor Freight puller worked great for me. I was getting nowhere with a 4 lb hammer on the hub of the rotor. Time to re-assess. I remembered I had the puller set on the shelf. The 6" jaws fit into the vent slots, and once the 120 degree split was roughly attained and the center screw tightened, it firmed up well. Each time I tightened the puller with a 3/8 drive ratchet, I hit the hub a few times with the 4 lb hammer. The first time not much, the second time a distinct slackening click, and the third time it was off. There is a youtube video out there of a guy using a 5 ton HF hydraulic puller, so I was a little intimidated that the little 6 inch would work. I probably paid $20 for the set of 3 pullers, 3, 4 and 5 inch. Now they give you 4 in a box. I'd try those before spending the coin on the hydraulic puller.

The long spring on the actuator side of the parking brake shoe is a nightmare. I found better luck putting it on first. Many tries to get it on. Then I found I had better luck pulling from the bottom rather from the top. Your mileage may vary. There just aren't enough hands to hold the grip pliers, the push pliers, the drop light and have a hand to push the shoes where needed. Many curse words were utilized. Another video mentioned it is near impossible to replicate the factory behind the actuator spring placement. I agree. I put it in front of the actuator.

The hinged/pivoting parking brake actuator was stiff. I considered replacing it, but some spray lithium grease and some exercise freed it up. It looked like another nightmare to get it off and replaced, plus no one had it in stock, 2 day order.


The parking brake works far better already with just one side done. And it was time for new pads and rotors too, 71,000 miles and 10 years on OEM. Pretty sure it's OEM as the factory clips were still on the lug studs. (I bought the truck with 53,000 miles)

I'm using coated rotors from Rock Auto and NAPA ceramic pads, they went on perfectly.

Tomorrow is the passenger side.

 

[sgtsandman]

I suggest spraying the hub surface on the axle shaft with some Fluid Film to prevent the hub and rotor from bonding to each other. The same with the front discs. It works great on making sure the wheels don't stick either. I learned that trick from people work on vehicles for a living.

A trick for breaking the rust bond is to use a propane or acetylene torch to heat the surface where the rotor meets the hub. Once it's heated well enough, you will hear a click or pop when the bond breaks. I had to do that once for a stuck wheel. Make sure you heat the rotor or wheel and not the axle shaft. You want the heat where the bond is.

 

[Dirtman]

Fluid film or antisieze all contact points especially the surface of the axle flange, lug studs, and where the shoes ride on the backing plate.

 

[mister moose]

I don't have fluid film, I used a high temp lithium grease on all contact surfaces.

The factory had placed the star adjuster up on the drivers side, and down on the passenger side. I thought when placed down it was harder to reach, so I put it back together facing up. Also, the upper nail had come loose somehow and the clip was laying on the bottom shoe.

The passenger rotor was much harder to remove, it took more tension on the puller.

The Passenger e-brake actuator was more frozen. Luckily it came out from the cable easily. Cleaning it up with wire wheels and rotating it through full travel freed it up well. The bearing surface had mushroomed just a bit so filing that smooth helped it also. I'll post a photo tomorrow as being able to see how the actuator fits onto the cable helps.

To check side to side adjustment, I had both rear wheels in the air and adjusted the star wheel to where both rears engaged the shoes equally, verified by setting the drag to be equal on each wheel as the e-brake was depressed slightly.

Hopefully it will be 5 years before I'm back inside those rear brakes.

As much as I complained about the brake shoes, the pads were a breeze.

 

[mister moose]

For some reason the star adjuster is just outside of the access hole on the passenger side. No matter if you place the star nut up or down, the hole placement is still awkward.

This is the end of the emergency brake cable that is normally unseen inside the actuator.

The actuator, cleaned up and swiveling freely

The cable connector engages the hook, and pivots inside the housing to install. Small fingers are a plus.

 

[sgtsandman]

Odd about the adjuster. Both of mine are right at the access slot.

The arms on the star part look different than mine.

 

[RonD]

Are the shoes reversible, because something ain't right

 

[sgtsandman]

Oh, and the stars were on the bottom, not the top when I adjusted mine yesterday.

 

[mister moose]

This kind of poor alignment of the star with the slot was the same as the factory had it. Dunno. Brakes work fine.

 

[sgtsandman]

I can only tell you what I see with mine. If you got it work, all is good.