i check mine every time i rotate the tires, and blow the extra dust out of them, but they SHOULD auto adjust when you back up so adjustments should be a minimum as long as you back up with the truck regularly

 

I also cleaned and sprayed black on the drum housing and cleaned all the interior components.

It looks allot better now.

 

They adjust with the spread of the shoes not just cause you back up. If the shoes open far enough for the adjuster to flip onto the next star then the spring arm pulls the adjuster down 1 notch keeping the adjustment perfect. But cleaning them out here and there is alright and keeping them lubricated on moving parts.

Now as long as the shoes are brushin the drum when you put them back in then they are good. The main problem occurs when people put the drums back on and don't manually adjust the shoes to just brush the drum. Then the first time they press the brake petal and the shoes over expand the spring arm drops on the other side to the star adjuster hanging it up and it doesn't pop back over to slowly adjust them to spec's. This can cause MANY huge issues including an accident!

 

idk about adjusting under normal conditions, i know that if i go for a while without backing up (happens since i live in the suburbs, and have a pull thru driveway ) that they wont adjust on their own and i have to do it manually, but as long as i back up a every now and then they stay adjusted fine, my dad had a book on brakes somewhere which explains the way auto-adjusters work and it states backing up to adjust them properly, ill see if he still has it (i hope he does lol)

EDIT:

actually, i dont need my dads books, this link explains it http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-p...rum-brake2.htm

 

It's not just in reverse. Back in the day this was correct but not the new style brakes of today. In fact back in those days you had to adjust the emergency brake but again not in today's. Your truck adjusters might be having issues or something. But hey, if it works for you then keep doing it but be aware that the parts might need changing out and NAPA sells a entire replacement kit for cheap. I think you have to by the adjusting star bolt and cups separate tho?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRqEPU9SHZY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NCjNpFlopU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36DL1yH5iAs

 

hydra, not trying to start an argument here, but in the last 15 years, we have owned 5 dodge trucks between me and my dad (i have done alot of the work on them in the last 10 years or so) and 4 of them had drum brakes on the rear, and even when brand new they needed to be adjusted either manually or by backing up with the truck (my dads brand new[8 months old] 09 dakota gets out of adjustment if he doesnt back up with it once in a while) so im not trying to start an argument, but my experience (and my dads) says that you are wrong about the adjusters working going forward.

and i have adjusted the rears on my truck manually before, and i can tell when they need to be adjusted(usually not manually) by the feel of the brakes

 

Brake shoes operate the self adjusters by a rocking motion. Only way it will adjust is by going backwards. Going forwards and hitting the brakes will just rock the lever up onto the next notch in the star to get it ready for another adjustment by going backwards. The reason so many people think that their self adjusters are not working properly is because they do not back up enough times, then one has to climb under the vehicle to manually adjust them. The first video I do not recommend tightening the brake shoes against the drum and then backing it back up like he says. The lever will get chewed up from trying to back it up backwards against it and then the lever will not have an edge to bite back onto the star to adjust it automatically. I always used another tool to push the lever away from the star if I have to back the adjuster up.

 

exactly, very well put pete, but the important part that most people miss is the backing up because that is what actually tightens the pads, so i make a point, every week or 2 (yes probably more often than absolutely necessary, but better safe than sorry) i back up and hit the brakes hard to make sure it is adjusted (well back up then pull forward again, there is that 'rocking motion' that pete is talking about)

 

Thanks Sharp. I was thinking about how to word this to make it easy for someone to picture in their minds on how drum brakes work. A lot of people think that the shoes do not move up and down or rock back and forth on the backing plate but just move outward from the wheel cylinders applying pressure. Hydra is also correct in saying that they should adjust going forward down the road because of the cable that is attached to the lever but they do adjust better backing up versus just driving forward. Why they do is another long story but it is usually because the cable that attaches to the lever is stretched out and can no longer do it's job.

 

I'm gunna start an argument........


There is no "rocking motion" clearly because of reverse.

Drum brakes consist of a backing plate, brake shoes, brake drum, wheel cylinder, return springs and an automatic or self-adjusting system. When you apply the brakes, brake fluid is forced under pressure into the wheel cylinder, which in turn pushes the brake shoes into contact with the machined surface on the inside of the drum. When the pressure is released, return springs pull the shoes back to their rest position. As the brake linings wear, the shoes must travel a greater distance to reach the drum. When the distance reaches a certain point, a self-adjusting mechanism automatically reacts by adjusting the rest position of the shoes so that they are closer to the drum.


Think about it for a minute.



Here is a diagram. Now you encase this spring loaded hydraulic caliper device right. Now remember it is encased? Now we all know the bottom of the shoes doesn't expand because of the adjuster is solid right? The expansion happens at the top where the hydraulic cylinder is. Now as the cylinder expands it presses both sides simultaneously. It is not partial in any way. Both pistons are on the same cylinder with equal PSI on both shafts pressing out. So now the top only is pressing out and we all can agree (I hope)? The bottom stays put mostly because if not it would also have to have a rivet and spring loaded assembly like the top and so there wouldn't be a hard adjuster in there making a solid surface to press against right?

Now there couldn't be and "rocking motion" in the shoe between contacts because the adjuster is part of the shoe in essence. Now if the adjuster was mounted in place off the shoe like on the dust cover then I would totally agree. The shoe would move differently than the shoe thus creating the "rocking motion" as it slides over the adjuster. Now remember the entire adjuster moves with the shoe as it is part of the shoe in essence. The spring arm is a secondary piece that is attached via metal rope over pulleys but entirely separate. So as the top of the shoes expands the metal wire doesn't move because it is anchored by a rivet on one side, but in fact the metal rope moves over the pulley because it is being forced out thus energy must move or break the metal cable.

Now the metal cable now pulls to the next object because the energy must go some ware and you did ask the top to move. Now there is a second pulley that further bends this metal rope to yet a further angle but it does not move as it is attached to the same shoe. However there is a small amount of movement by about 1/64's of amount by angle of the shoe. The other end of the metal rope is attached to a pivoting arm with a solid rivet in the center. This arm pivots up and down as it sits right angle to the incoming metal rope that is pulling on it. Remember the energy must go some ware right?

Now the basis is right there. The cylinder doesn't know what way the vehicle is moving nor does it care. The cylider pushes both sides at the same time so it wouldn't matter either way of direction because the axle where the entire apparatus spreads against a enclosed surface (drum) doesn't move! It is attached to the axle housing with a bearing directly in the center and that bearing has absolutely no play! The only rocking movement that could happen is the movement of the shoes by torque to rivet points.

Now buy sure torque could the brake shoe apparatus move inside while being in the drum? Surely as it sets to the opposite side of the rivet because of the space provided with he cylinders open and the pressure equalizes. Therefore the bake shoes pressing at the outside as a whole can move to the rivet on the opposite side away from the torque. But the outside dimensions to that apparatus stays the same because it it encased! There is no rocking because the adjuster is part of the shoe in essence.

Now by backing up you move the shoes to the opposite side of the drum by torque. This pulls on the cable a bit more depending on how much the shoes are pulling away from the rivet on the opposite side. Will this adjust better the star adjuster, well YES it will because the arm will move up farther but regardless the adjusters will still adjust in ANY position just a little better if it is in the opposite direction while pulling further on the rope.....that's all. To say the only way to adjust automatically is to reverse is clearly incorrect.