I am doing a frame off on my '70. Had trailing arms rebuilt and E-brake shoes installed by local shop. I was adjusting E-brake shoes using procedure online. Procedure said to adjust the starwheel for E-brake shoes until rotor stops turning. I did that part. Now I can't get it to loosen. Am using a flat blade screw driver to loosen the starwheel I can't get the starwheel to loosen. And I am really leaning on the screwdirver. Should the starwheel turn UP, or DOWN to loosen?

 

If the adjusters are put on with the adjuster wheel on your right hand (facing the tire) I would expect it to loosen if you pry from the bottom of the star-wheel toward the top. I found that I had to use a small screwdriver just to have enough room through the hole to move the adjuster.
Can't remember where I read the adjuster wheel faces the right hand on both sides of the car but I set my 75 up that way when I did the e-brakes.
Hope you get them to loosen.
Roy

 

Thanks Roy. I don't know if the adjuster wheel was mounted to the right or to the left. I will try to peer inside the adjuster hole and see what is visible. Then I can compare it to other side once I take the caliper and hub off of that side. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! Steve

 

Steve- Once you get the hub off you can flop on your back and see the star wheel under the flange. I recall that they can be removed and reinserted by pulling the bottom spring off the shoes but it feels like something will break from all the prying you have to do to get them back on again.
I feel for you buddy! I don't like the e-brakes on these things one little bit!
Roy

 

If the adjusters are installed properly then inserting the screwdriver and pulling UP on the handle will tighten the shoes.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. I did get the E-brake loosened, then adjusted properly, earlier tonight.

I thought moving my hand / screwdriver downward (which pulls the star wheel up since I'm using the edge of the rotor wheel as a fulcrom) would loosen the starwheel per step 22 of the following article at Zip - http://www.corvettemagazine.com/brak...e-rebuild.html. Either I am reading the article wrong, or very possibly my starwheel was installed wrong because that was tightening the brakes. I am grateful I didn't chip a tooth because the wheel got very tight quickly.

 

The star adjuster has normal right hand threads. Just like any bolt it tightens buy turning it clockwise. The star part screws into the long part of the adjuster, once it bottoms out you install the short part of the adjuster on the other end and install it between the shoes.
Now turning the star counter clockwise unscrews the two parts and presses the shoes out.
Once the rotor locks up you turn clockwise to get the adjuster to compress and the shoes to release.

So to answer your question up or down: it depends if the adjuster were install correctly.