Yes, adjuster arm is "side specific." I recall having this issue once before as well, but it wasnt nearly as bad. I believe I have everything correctly installed, but no matter which way I try the spring, it interferes with the arm catching the star wheel.

 

Sorry they aren't very good, but hopefully you can compare to yours. My truck is a 95.

 

The 1st couple pics are of the drivers side drum, right? Mine look exactly thesame, except I cant see the spring holding the 2 shoes together at the bottom.. Does it hold together behind the star wheel? Also, when I replaced my drums both sides (for the shoes) used all yellow springs (I copied what was already there in the drums), maybe I need to try one of the green springs instead...

 

Yes, the first two are drivers side.


I zoomed in and then took a picture of the picture. Looks like the spring is on the back side.

 

Thank you!! Im going to get another hardware kit this morning and get it figured out.

 

I ended up fixing the star wheel issue. First I had to bend the long end of the spring to get clearance around the star wheel.. Then I noticed the adjuster arm had some slack in it. Turns out the metal rod that applies tension to the arm was slightly too long.. So I bent that too, now the star wheel works perfectly. I got 2 hardware kits, and both had "faulty" parts.

 

Now Im having problems with the front brakes.. They brake good, but I'm getting a fairly strong pull to the left.. Would this indicate a sticking piston? I noticed just my front left wheel was locking up the tire on my gravel driveway.

Yesterday I checked all the slides and regreased them.. During the process a dab of grease got on one of the pads, (must have been from sliding the caliper bolt through the slide) which I noticed after a short test drive.. Took everything back apart, sanded a layer off all the pads, scrubbed the rotors/pads with dawn dish soap, then hit them with brake cleaner... Still pulling to left. Im hating this "project" right now. Hopefully pads/rotors will be ok, they looked fine still.

 

You replaced both front calipers didn't you? Or was that another thread????

Either the right front caliper isn't getting equal pressure, or something else is hung up? What all have you replaced on the fronts??

 

If your brake pads got contaminated and you drove on them, i would replace them.

 

If you used them with grease on them, it soaked in farther then what you sanded when they got hot during braking.