Well, I went back out and wrestled with it a bit. I connected the spring high on one side and over/down to the other. That seemed to do the trick.

 

That spring wants to be in the oval hole on both sides.The wound part of the spring rests on top of the long part of the adjuster then the spring bends towards the back plate to clear the star part of the adjuster.

 

No such luck here. When the spring rests atop the adjuster, the straight part catches the adjusting wheel, preventing it from turning.

I wish someone would post up a pic of what the proper installation looks like!

 

It is installed almost correct, If the spring is straight after the coil part , then thats the prob. Just look at the pick in the FSM and you'll see what I mean.I thought you were getting new hardware kits? And like the P brake lever , a pic from some one will do you no good because it's behind other stuff.

 

the '01 self adjuster looks nothing like yours, VW. Sorry I can't help with a pic.

 

The parking brake kit came with new springs for everything. See that shiny piece in there? That's the one that was busted. I compared the springs from the replacement kit, the parking brake kit, and the old one, and they are all wound the same. If I put it in the oval hole, then it will rest atop the adjuster and will prevent the wheel from turning.

Drum brakes irritate the ever loving **** out of me.

 

I don't see it being a problem having it in the higher hole. Just a little extra tension. But it all looks good other wise.


And btw, In the pics of the right side , you can clearly see that spring we are talking about is in both oval holes. So someone may have put the wrong spring on.What happens if you hook in onto the shoe on the left side from the back instead of through the front side of the hole?

I'm beginning to see your frustration with the manual! I have never used a manual to do brakes (except for tightening specs and such) I always use the other side for reference. However, I was going to tell you the driver side P brake lever was on the wrong shoe (according to the manual) but the picture is clearly wrong. The cable goes through the back plate from the rear at an angle, which would make it impossible to install the lever on the rear shoe.

 

You get er done or what?

 

Well, I got my son after school today and he helped me bleed the brakes and then I fooled with the adjusters. Then, I took the truck for a test drive.


WOW!!!! When I installed the ¾-ton cylinders I didn't think my braking was that great. Now, I now it's because I had the shoes installed incorrectly. I now have such phenomenal braking power it's scary. Before, it would take a couple of pumps to really grab and now they GRAB. I can't wait for the next load with my 18' trailer.

ZMAN, if you ever, ever come by way of Oklahoma, beer and dinner is on me, bro.

 

Glad it all worked out, I knew they would be way better.

Now we have to cut holes in the plates so we can adjust them every so often. Which you will want to do, like at every tire rotation or so. Because the self adjusters really don't work for squat.