My trucks is squeaking when i go in reverse and i have traced it to the rear end. I sure its the rear brakes but i want to take it apart and make sure its just not some dirt that found its way in there. Does any one have an tips or pointers for removing the drums. I only ask because i have never messed with drums before and i dont want to screw something up.

 

buy a haynes manual?

 

Block front wheels. Jack up rear of truck. Rest axles on jack stands. Remove rear wheels. Remove little washers from lug studs. Pull drum off.

Squeaking is usually just from built up brake dust, just blow it all out and reassemble, should clear it up... Use brake cleaner if desired.

 

thanks

 

Apply pressure to the parking brake and drive a little bit, this will tell you if its your rear brakes or not, if the noise goes away or gets louder, I'd say its your rear brakes. Just a little thing I tried last time to tell if it was the brakes or not.

 

sometimes they're a PITA to come off & you have to hit it with a BFH to get the shoes outta tha groove. If that doesn't work then there's a little sprocket thing "brake adjuster" inside that you can loosen the shoes with. They sell a tool that makes it easy to adjust it, but it can be done with a screwdriver and some patience.

after the drums are off, I go nuts with the brake cleaner and get all that junk out. It gets pretty nasty after awhile..

 

don't breath the brake dust though, I've always been told it is realllly bad stuff

 

Bad enough -- though it's not asbestos anymore.

Like Jeff said, if they've been on there a long time, you'll need a hammer to break the rust bond on the hub, and shake the shoes loose.