I tore into the rear driver side of my truck, needed to replace the wheel seal...once I got everything off I was looking around at my drum brake assembly thinking I needed to take everything off, I screwed the adjuster all the way in and found out that I dont have to take it all off...once I got everything back together I drove around for 10 min at 50 mph and then checked to make sure everything was ok, my driver side drum (side I tore into) was alot hotter than the passenger side...If I jack my wheel off the ground I can get about the same amount of spin as the other side but only my drivers side is getting warm...I know the adjuster is probably not back in the same spot because my brakes are really tight and my I dont have to push in much for my parking brake to work...I have never done brakes before...should I just keep slowly loosing the adjuster though the port in the backUpdate : I took off my passenger side drum and counted the threads on the adjuster and made the drivers side the same but it still gets warm the brakes seem ok but my parking brake wont hold nothing, the axle housing and rear backing plate are all normal temperature so I dont think its my bearings

You really can't go by the threads on the adjuster. The way to adjust them is to jack up the rear wheels (put jack stands under it too!!), and rock the wheel back and forth so you are feeling the gear slop. Then tighten the adjuster while rocking the wheel UNTIL you just start to hear or feel the shoes starting to contact the drum. DO that to both sides and you are done. Now to why one drum feels hotter, there is a possibility your other wheel cylinder has seized and the brakes aren't working. Try adjusting them up and stomp hard on the brakes while moving on gravel. You should be able to tell if the brake is grabbing or not even with ABS.

well I jacked one side up and took my drum off again and sucked the adjuster in quite a ways then put everything back on and while spinning the wheel I tightened the adjuster from the backing plate...maybe I didnt get it far enough this time because my BRAKE and ABS light are both on and staying on and my pedal is very soft...but my drum was still pretty hot??? I watched my brakes as my brother pushed on the brake and emergency brake and everything moved fine it looked like

Are you sure your parking brake isnt hanging up?

i replaced the shoes on the rear of mine, i need to tighten them up on jacks soon. but i got e-brake now not full strength yet lol

the slack adjuster is one that will adjust itself.go to a big empty parking lot and put the vehicle in reverse. start rolling backward and press the brake pedal firmly until u have come to a complete stop. if everything in the drum is working correctly it will have clicked(ie spun) the adjuster by 1 tooth. do that 15-20 times and it should have tightened itself back up

the slack adjuster is one that will adjust itself.go to a big empty parking lot and put the vehicle in reverse. start rolling backward and press the brake pedal firmly until u have come to a complete stop. if everything in the drum is working correctly it will have clicked(ie spun) the adjuster by 1 tooth. do that 15-20 times and it should have tightened itself back up

ill try this