A couple questions about rear drum brake adjustment

[seacoats]

I replaced my shoes and rear wheel cylinders and all the associated hardware. Now i'm trying to adjust the rear brakes before bleeding the system. I've turned the start wheel to what feels like it's limit in both directions. One direction locks the wheel (as expected) the other direction loosens but never reaches a point where the rear wheel turns freely. When it's at it's loosest and i grab the wheel and spin it it'll turn perhaps a quarter turn before stopping. Also, i realized as i was trying to adjust it that the rear wheels are both turning when move one wheel. Should this be happening? Thanks in advance for any light that y'all can shed on the situation, i'm at my wits end.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

just bring 'em right up nice and snug and let 'em ware in brother.it wont take long.

 

[94f450sd]

Yes the other wheel should turn the opposite way of the way you turn the wheel.if it didnt,youd have bigger problems than the brakes.block your front wheels,jack up one side,put tranny in neutral,adjust the brakes till theres a little bit of drag.repeat for the other side.

If backing the adjusters way down doesnt allow the wheel to turn easily,rip it apart and make sure its together right.

 

[franklin2]

The opposite wheel is turning the other way because of the differential action in the rearend. The spider gears specifically. If the truck is in neutral, the differential action will "pick" whatever is easier to turn, either the opposite wheel or the driveshaft. If you sit the other tire on the ground, the driveshaft will have to turn, unless it's in gear and then you won't be able to turn it at all.

When I adjust the brakes, I turn the adjuster till the shoes are all the way out and you cannot turn the wheel. That whole setup floats inside the drum, so this centers the assembly. Then back off the adjust till you can turn it with a little bit of drag still there. They will always drag a little bit when you are done, don't worry about it. Only back the adjustment off a little bit till you can turn the tire by hand, this will leave the shoes near the drums and give you a nice high pedal.

 

[seacoats]

Huh, does it make a difference that i've been trying to do this whole process with both wheels off of the ground? as far as letting 'em wear in, how long would that take? seems like i'd want to check and see if they're actually broken in at some point...think i'd worry that i'd burn up my new shoes.

 

[madpogue]

OOOoops, didn't you follow the cardinal rule of doing one side at a time? That allow you to look at the other side as a "model" to make sure you have everything installed correctly. If the shoes are dragging with the adjuster turned in all the way, then something's not right. Yes, they'll drag a little when you adjust them, but they shouldn't when the adjuster is all the way back. Make sure the tops of the shoes are sitting against the little peg on the backing plate that they rest against.

 

[seacoats]

Also, i just went and poked at the truck...and my wheels are both turning the same direction. The way i would expect them to if the axle was solid. For what it's worth, the truck was running great before i decided to do the brakes and i've put 10 or 15 thousand miles on it without much issue.

 

[madpogue]

A limited-slip diff will make the other rear wheel turn in the same direction.

 

[seacoats]

Ok, that makes more sense. I've got 4wd and so it seems like i also have a limited slip diff. I was really worried for a moment that i had accidentally uncovered some major problem with my truck.

 

[franklin2]

A common mistake is to put the two long shoes on one side, and the two short ones on the other side. The short shoes go on the front side on each side, and the longer shoes go to the rear on both sides.

 

[94f450sd]

A common mistake is to put the two long shoes on one side, and the two short ones on the other side. The short shoes go on the front side on each side, and the longer shoes go to the rear on both sides.

Shoes ive been getting lately have the pins and guides for the self adjusters already installed so theres no way to mix up the shoes

 

[seacoats]

Whelp, it turns out that I do in fact have a limited slip rear diff. I learned that i can check to see what kind of rear diff these trucks have by looking at the tab attached to the diff...it'll have an L next to some numbers if it's limited. I also learned, thanks to u/punkmechanic, that i can remove the axle and then put the wheel back on. This frees the hub from the diff and makes brake adjustment a breeze. Also, i bought a pnumatic impact driver. Makes a world of difference...except now i need a bigger compressor.

 

[seacoats]

Oh, and my shoes came with the guides installed making it really hard to mix them up. Glad they did, i'd have likely mixed things up otherwise.

 

[IDIoit]

i have a stupid question.
how are the drums?
did you get them turned?

 

[seacoats]

However, the sad news is that while bleeding the brakes i discovered that my front caliper was leaking. Looks like i must have ****** up the threads when installing the speed bleeder screws. Looks like i'll be replacing my front caliper and pads next. Is it bad to just do one at a time? It appears that i have mismatched calipers in front. At least, one takes a 5/16th bleeder and the other takes a 3/8th bleeder.