The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts '49 2-ton -- stuck rear brake adjusters?

I'm hoping that someone has a suggestion as to how I might be able to adjust the rear brake shoes in on a 1949 Chev 6400. The slotted bolt adjusters (that have springs under them) just spin and spin without any apparent movement of the shoes. I'm assuming that the mechanism is detached internally or, is there something I'm not doing right? Whatever the case, I sure wasn't able to get the drum to release after close to an hour of fiddling with it this afternoon.

Thanks,
John Larson

Did you jack it up so the tire are off the ground? I found it doesn't work if it isn't jacked up.

Hi John. It's quite possible that the star wheel on the inside of the backing plate has broken loose from the stud of the bolt adjusters. I've had that happen a couple of times, mostly caused by the adjusting stud on the wheel cylinder being frozen up.

Are they all doing that? Have you successfully adjusted the rear brakes on that truck before? As Virginafireturck says the rear wheel you are adjusting needs to be jacked up off the ground a little so you can turn the wheel. Your post says that the drum won't release, does this mean they won't turn or they won't pull off the axle? Also make sure the parking brake is released.

Hope that helps, Paul.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I did have the wheels off the ground when I tried adjusting them. The drum spins freely and what I mean by it being stuck is that I simply can't pull it away from the shoes. I'm thinking that you might be right about the star wheel being broken since I can turn those spring loaded bolts all day long with nothing happening.

I haven't ever adjusted brakes on this truck before since it was a new acquisition this past year. I simply wanted to get into the rear brakes since they make some awful noise when applied lightly coming to a stop. The truck sat for several years so I'm thinking there's quite a glaze on the drums and the shoes.

I did get the front drums off and the shoes had lots of wear left on them so I'm hoping the same is true for the backs. The truck stops great, it just scares the hell out of whoever is sitting at a stop light in front of you.

So if the star wheel is broken, is there any hope for getting the drum off?

Thanks,
John

On the larger trucks you have to pull the axle to get the rear brakes drums off . Take care not to bugger up the axle nut ( if you do not have a axle nut socket ) those nuts cost around $40 . I found out the hard way .

OTC socket #1930 ( they call it a "tubular spanner wrench ) for the 6 lug 11,000 lb to 13,500 lb axles ( OD 2 7/8" ) cost aroud $65
Dorman axle nut # 615-138 ( 6 lug 2 1/8"-16 thread / 2 7/8 OD ) cost around $40 .
They can be ordered in at most any auto parts stores . Good luck . The sockets are expensive but make the job just that Not a Chore . ED H

Hi John. Well the good news is that the rear drums will rotate. The bad news is that if both star wheels are broken, getting enough slack in the shoes to slip past the ridge on the drum isn't so easy. Will the drum move outwards at all as you turn the drum at the same time? Sometimes you can get the drum to move away from the backing plate just enough (might try a couple of small pry bars) that you can slip a screw driver or brake adjusting spoon inside the drum to back the shoes off that way.

If that doesn't work and assuming that the star wheels are broken off the adjusting bolts, grab the the hex part of the bolt with some vise grips and try pulling the adjusting bolt away from the backing plate. The broken part of the adjusting bolt should pull through the backing plate giving you an access hole. Then try reaching in through the access hole to back off the brake shoe.

There are a few more options if the above doesn't work, but they are a bit destructive.

When get to the point of putting the star wheel back on the adjusting bolt I can help you through that part too. But make sure you do that before you put the shoes back on.

Good luck, Paul.

Just curious PaulyBuilt, how do you attach the star wheel back on the bolt. Just a little spot weld on the wheel and bolt? Or do you peen it?

On those spring loaded "bolt" style adjusters, you have to push them toward the backing plate to engage the wheel cylinder cups. That's why they have springs on them. More than likely, they are froze to the cylinders though,
Scott

Thanks again all, I wish I had something new to report on this effort but I needed to use the truck so I just put everything back together for now and got it back on the road. I am aware that you need to have the axle out and I did have it removed when I'd tried adjusting the shoes. I also tried pushing the bolts into the springs to adjust things but didn't seem to get them to budge. I didn't try pulling on the bolts though so may give that a whirl the next time I feel ambitious.

I was able to get the drum to pull away slightly from the backing plate and tried to slip a brake spoon and a small prying tool in there. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to get things moved far enough to manually push the shoes back. The lip on these drums really does a good job keeping one from getting in there that way.

Thanks again for all the advice and I'm sure I'll be consulting again the next time I know the truck will have some down time. I don't know how I ever got along without a big truck like this before?

John