Let's talk about rear brakes.

I've never attempted this but I've been watching YouTube.
There are a lot of small parts. It looks complicated.

I'd like to replace all the old parts inside the rear drum. I saw mention of a kit that comes with everything but someone said it didn't have the right parts.

What's the best way to attempt this? I kind of want the challenge but unsure at the same time.

This video is what I've watched a few times.

 

I think I used this video when I did mine:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3W0fs6shT3o

 

Watch bmf4069 over on his thread as he is doing his this week. He has an extra vehicle and the truck has been torn down for a week and waiting on parts.

Key part (pun) to any job is having all the proper parts ahead of time and knowing what you can get quickly if/when a surprise comes or you mess something up. Happens to all of us.

 

Did mine last month, first time in 250,000 miles, it's not that bad. The hardest thing for me was dealing with the long spring, Vise-grips will be your friend. Make sure you properly adjust them when finished. I had to when I discovered my emergency didn't work.

 

I ordered this kit:




If yours are bad, you will need to get new ebrake cables for inside the drum as this kit doesnt come with them. A spring retention tool would help for holding the shoe spring to turn the stud. Other than that the shoes come off as an assembly. You will need to keep the adjuster and its hardware. The wheel cylinders unbolt from behind with a 10mm and you will need a 10mm wrench to remove the hard line into it. It's not a hard job, just a lot of little parts. Do one side at a time so you can use the other side as a reference. Hose the whole thing out with brake cleaner, and clean the shoes/drums with it right before you put the drum back on. A little copper grease wouldnt hurt on the contact points on the backing plates. I'd recommend bleeding the lines as well. I think that about covers it, if not someone else will add.

 

This is what comes in that kit. Not pictured are the 2 sets of shoes, but they do come with it.

 

Don’t forget, do one side at a time so that you can reference the other side on how everything goes.

 

That's exactly the info I was looking for. Someone else claimed the kit from Rock Auto was incorrect. Sounds like you didn't have any problems? We both have 02's so that gives me confidence.

I have yet to actually look inside the drums so I have no idea what kind of shape they are in. I just assume after 17 years it would probably be a good idea. My parking brake actually holds like a champ.

Question, is carb cleaner sufficient? I have a can of that I've been trying to rid myself of.

 

Something like this?

ARES 70191 - Brake Spring Compressor Tool - Provides Leverage to Remove and Install Stubborn Hold-Down Springs of Drum Brakes

https://www.amazon.com/ARES-Compres...49464600&sr=1-11&keywords=drum+brake+tool+kit

 

Exactly that.

 

I just use a pair of needle nose vise grips on them, the springs aren't super strong so it's a pretty easy twist.

 

That's what I did. Channys ro push the spring, needle nose to twist the pin.

 

@Casper421 @bmf4069 @Festerw @Professional Hand Model

Take a look at this. Did I catch a break? I'm not an expert but these appear to be in great shape. No way these are original.

The only concern is some gunk where I assume the axle seal is..? Just realized I forgit to take a pictute of that. Damn.

Before:




After spraying. Side note: one can of brake cleaner not nearly enough. Rookie move on my part.





Shoes look good right?

 

Look good to me, is the short parking brake cable still present?

 

Honestly wouldn't know where to look. I know the parking prake holds like a champ.

I'm pumped! Was expecting I'd need to replace everything. The passenger side was even cleaner.

I do wonder about the gunk I saw. Could it be diff fluid from a bad axle seal?

 

Looks good to me. Buy a few more cans of brake clean, clean her up good and and then you’ll know where the gunk is coming from.

 

Looks pristine compared to mine that had blown rear axle seals and diff fluid still stuck to the dust shields as the mechanics just did the minimum and put in new seals and pads, but no cleaning of the whole assembly. They did not even change the stuck rear diff breather which caused the whole fiasco.

When I opened the drums up back in the fall to observe and paint the drums and clean the pads I was disgusted with the oil cack build up. I did not have enough brake cleaner on hand as it looked like a minimum 2 can per side job.

Yours looks like normal dust build up. Pads look nice and full with even wear.

 

I concur. You can look on the back of the backing plate to see if any diff juice is leaking out there too. Any yes, your ebrake cable is in place. It's right under the hub.

 

The photos you posted and the fact that you aren't bleeding prove that it's worth it to let a professional mechanic replace your rear brake shoes (when necessary) for about $100 with/without you providing the shoes. It's do-able, but messy, frustrating and dangerous if the shoes are worn and everything under the drum is coated in dust. Your brakes look pristine, must have been done professionally lately.

 

Has anyone ever retrofitted disc brakes on our 1sr gen rear drum trucks?

 

Well, sort of. Sequoia swaps are possible, but tough. Other than that, no, I dont think anybody has done anything else.

 

@MOTORHEAD has talked about his rear disc conversion a few times on here.

 

One company makes a conversion kit but it's insanely expensive. Close to $3k I think. Not worth it.

 

@bmf4069 or others, is it still recommended to stay away from RA and Centric ?

 

RA is fine, just avoid the centric.

 

I just finished the rear brakes, new OEM Toyota shoes and had the drums turned by a local brake shop. I have had so many bad experiences on other cars with non-oem shoes and pads I spent the $90 or so on OEM. I also figured they went 17 years/133k miles and still looked pretty good and know my $90 investment will last the lifetime of the truck. Mostly I replaced the shoes based on age, cars of this age I have seen many where the pad material starts to crack and crumble, that really fouls up the braking. Also they were a bit glazed, I expect better braking from the fresh material

This is the first time I turned drums, they came out great! They had some grooves and were pretty glazed, now back to perfect.

For me this guy just kills it in the repair videos, he is a professional and very efficient in motion.

https://youtu.be/6wjT8Iz43zk

I had an interesting problem on one side - once installed when I turned the star wheel adjuster it did not click. There is a dull grey lever arm that reaches from the pivot on one shoe up behind the star wheel and ensures the wheel only turns one way. This is part of the auto-adjusting of the shoes, and prevents the wheel from unscrewing and losing its adjustment. When turned the wheel should make a loud 'click click' with each tooth. Mine made no click! I took the shoes off and found the grey 'click arm' had a little tab that had to be captured by the main transverse fork on the back of the pads to pull it toward you and force it to put tension on the star wheel. When I settled it inside the transverse fork tine all was well.

 

Glamor shot - including the new shock for the rear, so fun!

 

Hey resurrecting this. I'm having the same issue with my little "clicky" arm not engaging the star adjuster. I think the little tab is properly captured by the main fork thing, but I'm not 100% sure. Do you happen to have a picture of that little tab in the main transverse fork for reference?

 

Check the video in post #26. At 9:55 he gives a good look at it.

 

The rears are a bitch, You can do everything right and the star wheel wont click. It doesn;t click if your pads engage, if they wear later and everything is cool they will click to tighten. But if you did it wrong they won't. But you don't get to know on day one. if you install to spec there is no room to click until the pads wear down. I seem to recall installing loose, before the drum was on, and checking the lever motion. Then tighten to the drum and install snugly. But it is one of those pray and follow the manual moments.