Follow these steps to adjust you truck’s air brakes
Trucks use air brakes that when air is applied the brake pads press on the brake drums. The moment the air brake button is pulled air pressure is applied to the slack adjuster that turns the S-cam on the wheels, resulting in braking.
Follow these steps:
- Choose a good working area to park the truck and pull out the brake button.
- Put chocks on the front and back of the rear wheels
- Now go back and push in the brake button to free up the brakes and allow the slack adjuster to move
- Find the slack adjusters located behind the rear axle. Use them to adjust the brake pads with the brake drums.
- Using an open-end wrench push the head of the bolt with one hand and with the other rotate it clockwise. Stop when the pads are fully compressed on the brake drums. You can see the brake pads and inside the brake drums through a slit in the dust cover.
- Now again turn the bolt counterclockwise until the brake pads are of the brake drums. Remove the wrench and pull out the head of the bolt. If this doesn’t work the first time, push it a little back and forth.
- Repeat the steps for every slack adjuster.
