Rear Brake Adjuster Arm not Tickling Little Star

[RangerJoey]

I did it!!!!!!

If anyone else runs into this same issue and all the hardware is identical, it's definitely user error. I noticed something when trying the original (?) adjuster place: That nipple or whatever indent that mounts into the shoe wasn't as pronounced. With no success, I was putting the new plate back on. And that's what I noticed I was holding it in place, (as in seated in the hole), so it would remain flush when I put the top springs on. Both sides are now engaging!!!

Thank you all so much for all the advice. I knew it had to be me. I figured if others ran into this issue with as many people doing their own drums on this site, there'd have to be a know issue with brand X or something.

Now for the drums. Maaaan are they tough to get on. Whole axle is tough to turn without the drums so I can't figure out if they're dragging. I adjusted the star all the way in the close position just to get the drums on. Am I save relying on the adjuster to do its job as the new shoes begin to wear out? I'm almost more concerned about potential drag but with the adjuster completely closed, there's not much else I can really do.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

The "whole axle is tough to turn without the drums" thing would have me concerned..

 

[pjtoledo]

on more than one occasion I've had to grind the slots in the adjusters to bring the shoes in.
I've also had to "contour" the shoes some.
also had some drums that were simply too small, a different brand drums fixed that.

start by making sure the tops of the shoes are fully contacting the pin. adjuster is as narrow as possible.
smack the shoes with a hammer a few times to work them back and forth, make sure they move.
run your fingers past the shoes into the backing plate ridge to check for centering.
put the drum half way on, is it too tight already?

on one occasion the shoes, while out, seemed to fit perfectly into the drums but when mounted they made too much contact. I grabbed a marker and marked the shoes, then spun the drum to see the contact area. had to shave the top 2" in a slight taper to get a perfect fit.

I have a tendency to optimize parts during installation, suffer from "ORD",, ( obsessive Ranger disorder )

 

[pjtoledo]

parking brake cable completely released?

 

[RangerJoey]

on more than one occasion I've had to grind the slots in the adjusters to bring the shoes in.
I've also had to "contour" the shoes some.
also had some drums that were simply too small, a different brand drums fixed that.

start by making sure the tops of the shoes are fully contacting the pin. adjuster is as narrow as possible.
smack the shoes with a hammer a few times to work them back and forth, make sure they move.
run your fingers past the shoes into the backing plate ridge to check for centering.
put the drum half way on, is it too tight already?

on one occasion the shoes, while out, seemed to fit perfectly into the drums but when mounted they made too much contact. I grabbed a marker and marked the shoes, then spun the drum to see the contact area. had to shave the top 2" in a slight taper to get a perfect fit.

I have a tendency to optimize parts during installation, suffer from "ORD",, ( obsessive Ranger disorder )

lol now that's a sickness! I'm sharing the same thing though. Working on the restoring the rear bumper and even though no one will see the inside, I can't stand knowing there's rust. Wire wheel and some rust reformer followed by some undercoating. Next is the spraying the step pad!

As for the axle, does it make a difference if it's limited slip? I can't move in reverse at all but when I move forward, the U joints are moving. Slight noise coming from them. And all clear on the parking brake. Unless I installed something incorrectly anyway.

 

[Tsestak45]

Dude after all of that and you didn't even put up any pictures to show us what your poorly worded description was? Because now I have the same problem and I've read this entire thread and your last post about how you solved it is useless

 

[Uncle Gump]

Dude after all of that and you didn't even put up any pictures to show us what your poorly worded description was? Because now I have the same problem and I've read this entire thread and your last post about how you solved it is useless

He said that the cable guide was not fully seated in the brake shoe... making the cable seem to long.

 

[pjtoledo]

correct. you can see in the pics it isn't close enough to the shoe.
when the 1/2 round cable guide is installed properly it is so close to the shoe that getting the cable over it is very difficult.
you have to put the cable on first, then mount the guide/spring.


if the cable is still just a bit too long then resort to your archery training and twist the cable a couple turns to shorten it
don't get carried away, that cable does not like to get twisted.

 

[JoshT]

Dude after all of that and you didn't even put up any pictures to show us what your poorly worded description was? Because now I have the same problem and I've read this entire thread and your last post about how you solved it is useless

One thing you apparently didn't read was the date. The thread is from 2019. You aren't likely to get the help/reply you seek here in this thread from that poster, especially not going at it with that attitude. Thank you for searching, but when an existing thread is this old, it is ok to start a new thread for your problems.