adjusting rear brakes on a d44

hey guys. i'm trying to adjust my brakes on my rear 44 as i know they are in serious need of it. i know the gear on the lower part of the indside of the drum has to be turned...what is the exact process for this? i'm so lost when it comes to drum brakes. thanks a million.

Brad

Screwdriver or brake spoon going down will turn the adjuster up and tighten it.

Bob, don't you have that backwards? The self-adjuster pushes down on the star wheel, and it's mounted on the outer side, opposite from the backing plate.

Doing it manually, the brake spoon wants to flip the star wheel up to tighten, down to loosen.

If everything is in good order, the brakes adjust themselves...and Eagle has it right on the manual adjust procedure..if they aren't adjusting themselves...i'd pull the drums and find out why...usually the adjuster threads are dry/rusty and won't turn..

MudDawg said:

If everything is in good order, the brakes adjust themselves...and Eagle has it right on the manual adjust procedure..if they aren't adjusting themselves...i'd pull the drums and find out why...usually the adjuster threads are dry/rusty and won't turn..

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Ummmmm, yeah.......The stock drum brakes are by far the worst 'self-adjusting' brakes I've ever run. I manually adjust mine every couple of weeks.......(all new brake hardware and I do back up out of the driveway every day, at least 80 feet or so). The hardware is very similar if not identical to other drums I've used, so I really don't understand why they suck so bad........

Eagle said:

Bob, don't you have that backwards? The self-adjuster pushes down on the star wheel, and it's mounted on the outer side, opposite from the backing plate.

Doing it manually, the brake spoon wants to flip the star wheel up to tighten, down to loosen.

Click to expand...

Just did this the other day and Eagle is right. I always remember it as turning toward the outside of the Jeep.