Shoes wont line up correctly

[CJzBlack93RNGR]

Hey,

2003 Ford Ranger 2WD
rear drum brakes on rr side wont line up with anchor guide.

Need some help with this stubborn side.
For the life of me I cant see that im doing anything wrong but at this point I hope I am. The secondary shoe on the RR of my fathers 2003 2wd Ford Ranger is way off from the anchor pin. I feel like its the ebrake cable causing this. But I cant tell for sure... The issue is when I took it all apart everything was lined up (I took a picture of both sides before I ripped them apart.)
The left side went together quite easliy.
I've re-taken apart and put together the RR side about 5 times all with the same result.
I'll put the shoes on, put the 2 top return springs on, at that point the secondary shoe will be slightly off from the anchor pin. When I go to put the adjuster hardware on with the bottom spring it goes haywire and lifts off more. The shoes are lopsided it seems and the drum obviously wont fit, even if it did the shoes wouldnt ride inside correctly. The adjuster hardware is just off as well. Ill upload pics to show.

Basically could I have messed up or streched the cable by removing everything?
How could that of been caused?
How do I test my ebrake cable?
Is there a way of disconnecting the cable so i can get the shoes lined up correctly?

Stuck on the dumbest thing. Thanks for all your help guys.
Any input will be great.

I need to get the truck on the road asap.

 

[CJzBlack93RNGR]

heres some pics.

 

[martin]

It's difficult to see where the parking brake lever is sitting but it looks like it might be causing the issue. The cables are sometimes sticky or frozen completely, try pulling the lever back where the cable attaches, a large screwdriver between the hub and lever sometimes works or perhaps grab the end of the cable with a pair of pliers near the p/brake lever an hit them with a hammer to pull the cable back. good luck. let us know what happens.

 

[Insanejughead]

Get new cables.

They rust out, seize up, and cause the cable to have unnecessary tension on the shoes.


Several others have had the exact same problem within the past few days.

 

[CJzBlack93RNGR]

Yea, thanks guys. I ended up just buying a new cable for the RR and installed it. Really wasnt hard at all once you relieve the tension from the pedal.
Just Weird. Ebrake worked before and the shoes and springs were all lined up before i digged in to it, lol. Oh well new cable did the trick and shes off and finally out of my garage.

 

[Insanejughead]

I'm glad you got it all taken care of.

Now this hopefully will be searched by people who have the same problem.