83

I need to do this to my rear drum brakes on my '83 4x4. I've never done brakes before. I have the FSM section on brakes which goes through dissembling and reassembling the brakes, but I just want to know what to look for as far as cleaning and adjusting. I don't have any of the special brake tools, and I'm not planning to do much other than take off the drum and hopefully know what to check in there. So...what do I check in there? I know I still have about 50% left, so that's fine, I just don't want things out of whack or sticking.

I think I can figure out from the FSM what to do as far as the e-brake, but I'm a little foggy on what needs to be done to the actual brakes. Anybody? I'm getting ready for a long road trip (the first in this truck since buying it and replacing the engine, tranny, clutch, master & release cylinders, fuel pump, distributer, ignitor, coil, shocks, wheels tires and most of the interior ), so I want to make sure they aren't dragging, and will work well. I flushed the fluid a few weeks ago and bled them and they seem firm enough.

Anyways on the checklist of what the truck needed when I first bought it, the shop said "clean & adjust rear brakes", so..

22mr2

you can spray the brakes down with regular old brake cleaner from an auto parts store. Before you do, look for wet areas around the wheel cylinder boots(leaking) or around the axle seals. Im not sure about on an 83 but it should have a rubber plug in the back of the drum that you take out so that you can turn a star wheel inside to adjust the shoe to drum clearance. I turn it till i can just start to hear a light drag on the drum.

kinzer

exactly ^^^ just make sure not to over adjust it cause the pads might not have been used much and when they all of a sudden get usage they tend to swell causing the rear to lock then heat up to about 300 degrees. which fries the pads and warps the drums. its not fun

83

What do you mean by the pads might not have been used much?

Ok so mostly just clean everything with brake cleaner (got a bunch of that already), make sure my cylinders & axle aren't leaking (pretty sure I'm good there but I'll check), and there is an adjuster I can get to without actually taking off the drum? Or is the access to it only through the other side, so it doesn't matter if I take the drum off or not? And I spin the axle to know when there's a light drag? Would I then back it off just a bit? Seems like I don't want any drag. That helps, thank you !