the star adjuster is right behind the rotor, on the bottom, facing the rear. losen that up a little bit, THEN smack the hell outta the rotor. put the new ones on, and turn it back to where you had it. guestimate a lil. play with the parking brake and see how well it holds. you can always adjust it after everything is together.

 

the start adjuster is behind the horizontal black rubber plug in the backing plate. Pull it out, then either using a brake tool, or even a simple standard screw driver, you feel through the hole and make contact with a slotted spur inside the drum. One way spreads the shoes out and makes the brakes tighter, the other loosens it up to take the pads off the inside of the parking brake surface. Make sure you go the right way.

 

Help!!
Do you turn it clockwise while looking out at the back of the wheel???
Tried to do mine last night and failed. I didn't think there was any tricks.
Thanks
Jay

 

righty tighty, lefty loosey... lol

 

So, if i jamb a screwdriver into the slot and twist conterclockwise it will loosen the parking brake and allow my rotor to come off ?

I will NOT loose to a parking brake !!!

Thanks
Jay

 

It's a piece of cake.
Follow this video and they will come off.
But....you must back off the rear brake shoes by adjusting the star adjuster on the rear of the brake back plate.
Just poke a medium size flat blade screwdrive through the slot in the rear back plate. Shine a flashlight in there and you should see a knurled wheel where you prise up or down with your flat blade, the adjusting wheel.
One side goes one way to loosen the shoes and the other side is the opposite I believe.
Check out this video for more help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtsTJCRljAs
Al.

 

I'm close I took off the little rubber caps, The driver's side is on top and the passenger side is on the bottom. I looked in with my light and saw the edge of the little wheel with teeth. On the driver's side do i spin it up or down to loosen the parking brake? The passenger side being on the bottom would be the opposite.

Please help save a dumb a$$ some time

Thanks
Jay

 

Here's a fool-proof way to get the star adjuster right- jack the truck up and remove tire and caliper. You should now be able to rock the rotor around a little. You will hear a drag from the parking brake shoe, which should be set to almost contact the rear rotor. Start turning the star with a screw driver, and periodically check the rotor. If the drag goes away, you are going the right way. If it gets louder or the rotor stops, you went the wrong way.

ALSO- very important. The two pictures I loaded below show how to get the rotors off without beating on them with a hammer. I highly discourage doing that, because it is almost impossible not to **** the rotor to one side and possibly damage the lug threads or jam the rotor on there but good. If you don't have a porta-power, the same thing can be done with a bottle jack and some timbers. But if you go that route, use a safety-lash to keep the lumber from jumping out and biting you. A length of dog-chain around your differential would work for that. Good luck!

 

Got it done. The little star thing is the answer.turn it the correct way...alot the correct way and the rotor slides right off. Brakes are done and saved a couple hundred bucks!! I just needed to be smarter than a parking brake.

Thanks for all the help!!!
Jay

 

Is there a star adjuster on both rear wheels?