hand brake adjuster knackered???

[jaky cakes]

Hi folks - I'm after a bit of advise with my hand brake.
just recently the nearside rear brake has been locking up when braking from low speed. so today i decided to strip the rear brakes to see what was going on.
I started 3 hours ago and still cannot release the hand brake adjuster mechanism. from what a can see through the inspection hole - the toothed nut is very rounded and no matter what i use to spin it - i just slip off. I am disenaging the pawl by pushing it The drum is not turning freely.
is there anyway of removing the drum other than smashing the bugger off??
I'm at the point now where i'm looking at damage limitation. I have thought of just jacking the drum over the shoes but not sure just how much damage this will do.
any help advise greatly appreciated!

[surfenstein]

is the drum stuck solid? get the drum in a position where you can rotate it backwards and forwards over the brake shoes,get a pair of prybars and try prying the drum off,just enough to get at the adjuster.alternatively you could try undoing the bleed nut on the wheel cylinder and see if you can prise the shoes back to give you some clearance.

[jaky cakes]

is the drum stuck solid? get the drum in a position where you can rotate it backwards and forwards over the brake shoes,get a pair of prybars and try prying the drum off,just enough to get at the adjuster.

I can get the drum to turn if i put the wheel back on - but very stiff to turn. with the wheel off it's impossible to rotate the drum by hand.
there seems to be just enough tension on the shoes to lock up the adjuster threads - and as the teeth seem rounded - it's impossible to spin it round with a screwdriver.
seems the only way off would be to grind/split the drum or try to cut a bigger hole in the back plate to get better access at the adjuster. thought about trying to shear the adjuster bolt with a thin chisel through the adjuster hole, but not sure if i can buy a new adjuster online. need the car back on the road by wednesday for work.

[surfenstein]

see my edited post,

[stormforce]

Slacken the hand brake by the adjuster under the truck and then you should be able to pull the drum off easier to get to the brakes

[jaky cakes]

Thanks Mark, Richard - will resume tomorrow in the daylight. - i'm in for a bath now and i've got a fridge full of beer that needs drinking!!
will let you know how i get on.
just out of interest - where would i buy a new adjuster mechanism - roughtrax / milners don't stock them. the adjuster nut seems knackered so i don't fancy rebuilding the brakes with the it - just to go through it all again in the future.

[stormforce]

If you need replacement adjusters then i probably got some good ones on one of the breakers

[KERRSURF]

Get an adjuster off a breaker, they are usually in pretty good condition.

You can wind in 2 long 8mm bolts into drum face to push off the drum. Toyota have pre-drilled and tapped holes on the drum face.

[jaky cakes]

You can wind in 2 long 8mm bolts into drum face to push off the drum. Toyota have pre-drilled and tapped holes on the drum face.

been trying that to an extent - until the bolts when very tight to turn - but unsure of what damage i would cause by continuing. something would eventually give - but would probably bend the backplate/shoes/adjuster/cylinder rod or strip the 8mm threads in the drum

[KERRSURF]

Must be proper jammed on then, worth trying the other methods suggested then.

[NiftyNev]

Have you tried turning the adjuster with the hand brake applied? When released, the pressure from the shoes and the return spring, may be stopping you from turning it. With hand brake on the adjuster may be easier to turn because it will then just be sitting between the two shoes without pressure on it.

If that don't work, maybe you could just resort to the chisel and knock the adjuster out, again with the hand brake applied firmly to support the shoes against the drum.

Nev

[jaky cakes]

Well after a day of head scratching and contortion, i finally freed the adjuster.Made myself a small thin chisel with a fine sharp end. with a bit of jiggling, i managed to crack off the tension on he adjuster nut and release the adjuster.
once stripped the cause of the problem became evident - well in theory.
I changed the shoes a while ago for non Toyota parts (never again!!). On the top of the right hand shoe there is a small pivot pin on which the handbrake lever and adjuster plate sit. this pin had become loose in it's hole. the pin had / has splines on and is pressed into a hole in the main shoe. The fit of the pin was not tight enough allowing the splines to wear and the pin to wobble in it's mounting hole. My therory is this slack in the pivot pin had allowed the adjuster mechanism to over compensate for shoe wear and either jam or twist the shoes against the drum just enough the allow the wheel to lock up when footbrake applied?????
Anyways - I managed to stretch the material around the hole in the shoe with a small centre pop - just enough to get a good hold of the pivot pin then put a couple of blobs of weld on the rear of the pin. cleaned up the backplate, degreased shoes and lubricated the wear pads on the back plate.
checked the other side and found the pin was starting to become loose as well so repeated the weld on this pin also.
all built up now and adjusted just right.
A big thanks to all who offered advice and ideas, much appreciated!

pic below of offending pin.