PREPPING THE REAR

13 After we finished up the front of the truck, we turned our attention to the rear. We used the floor jack to lift the truck under the rear axle, and then placed jack stands under the frame rails. Then we removed the rear wheels to access the rear drum brakes. The new rear brake kit comes with all new lines as well, so we began disassembly by removing the factory line running into the drum backing plate. 14 The brake drum was easily pulled off to expose the inner components. Since we were tossing them in the scrap pile, we just tore into the springs and hardware securing the brake shoes to the backing plate. Everything needed to go and nothing is being reused. 15 In order to remove the axles from the rearend, we had to remove the rear diff cover. This isn’t a terrible thing; it’ll force us to do some maintenance on the rear axle. 16 With the diff cover removed and all of the gear oil drained, we started to remove the axle shafts. The diff was spun until we could remove the retaining bolt and slide the pin out of the carrier. Next, we removed the C-clips that retain the axles. 17 We pulled the axles out of the ends and set them aside temporarily. 18 Next, the drum backing plates could be removed. Just four bolts secured them to the axle flange, and there’s also an E-brake cable that can be a bit tricky to free. We used a closed-end wrench to compress the tabs and wiggled the cable free from the backing plate. 19 Since the new caliper brackets don’t fully surround the axle shafts, we reinstalled them. Notice that we also installed new wheel studs in the original axle shafts.

20 Reinstalling the axles involved putting the C-clips back in place, reinstalling the pin, and tightening the retaining bolt for the center pin.

21 Then the rear differential cover was resealed with a bead of sealant and reinstalled.