so when im hitting it with the sledge hammer lol do i gotta be careful so i don't bend the bolts going through the drum and how do you reset the star after you backed it off.

well after you fix the brakes.

I adjust them up with the same method. only you don't have to hold the adjuster arm back out of the way.
I run them up till I feel a drag on the drum. have both sides back together. step on brakes. pull the parking brake up and release.
then see if there is still a drag on the drums. if not I tighten down a few more clicks untill I feel the drag again.
get back in and step on brakes. pull ebrake and check again.
if there is a slight drag I back the star wheel off, using the two screw drivers again untill the drag is just gone.

and thats how I set my rear brakes.

edit.. ps. I also take a grinder to that outer lip to remove it.
you will see the little 1/8th inch or so that I am talking about. don't grind to much.
just smooth it down a bit.
oh, don't forget brake dust is bad. use brake cleaner not compressed air unless you are wearing a good filter mask.

oh after you get the drums off, replace the shoes on one side and leave the other one together. so you can look at it.
take some pictures maybe. the must go back with all the springs in the correct places. draw a picture. even the way the springs wrap around the mounting studs matters.
as well as the orintaion of the spring. you can not swap them or turn them end for end.
there is a small kind of hidden one behind the shoes, look for it before you take them apart.
there is a sticky on the main page with service manuals.

also fill out your profile as I have no idea what year truck you are working on.

my lever that the cable hooks to was siezed BIG TIME .had to use the bolt thru the drum technique and bfh.there is a good write up on rear brakes with pics in the tech section .print it out and take it on the job with you.pics are good on rear brakes.I hate drums I,m thinking of doing the rear disc brake mod. SKY-Manufacturing looks coll and not too hard.good luck

I agree with the sledgehammer idea BUT use a copper/ivory bearing hammer.... they're alot softer than a sledgie so won't distort or crack the drum. You could also try screwing the lug nuts on the end of the wheel studs so they're flush with the end of the thread and try hitting them straight on while pulling on the drum. Works like a charm for me

can i hit the drum off without backing off the breaks.. the hole for the star is in the most akward ***** place and i can't move the drum at all..

If they are stuck that bad I would disconnect the brake lines, e-brake cables, and take the four bolts off a pull the whole assembly, axles and all. Makes it much easier to work on.

I've had to do a few like that. I found if I dropped the axle straight down so the wheel studs hit flush, the drum would come off without too much trouble.

what do you mean drop the axle so the wheel studs hit flush.. i've tried driving it forward and backwards.. with the wheels in the air the stupid hole doesn't move and i've tried driving it with the truck on the ground it don't wanna move..

With the axle shaft, backing plate, drums and all removed from the truck. Then holding the whole axle shaft in the air, let it drop, straight down onto the ground, so that all 6 wheel studs make contact at the same time and the momentum of the brake drum will force it downwards and off the brake shoes. Kind of like the picture below, except with the drum end down and probably not that high in the air (start low and work up higher if needed):



http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/rear_axle/wheel_bearing/

I found two things tend to hang up the drum, one is the rust around the hub center making that part larger that the hole in the drum. The other is if there is a ridge on the edge of the drum (from wear), that ridge can catch on the shoes.