drum brake shoes

what a good brand on the drum brake shoes and what do you guys recommand on the fluid? this is gonna be my first time doing drum brake shoes and the fluid on my 2002 tundra.
and another question is it easy to convert the drum to a brake pad? idk if that possible. thanks again

 

I would probably use Toyota brake shoes. If Bosch makes a set, they are probably ok if you want a less expensive option.

Any DOT 3 brake fluid or DOT 3/4 (as many are labeled now) from Walmart or a parts store will be fine.

Some have converted to rear disc brakes using Sequoia rear end, but its quite a job.

 

I just bought OEM during the last 25% off sale from Serra. Worked out to be 66 bucks. As I bought a couple other items, shipping was free and as I am not in their state, they did not add sales tax.

You can get cheaper, but 66 bucks is nothing seeing as brake shoes can last 100k. Even non sale price is 88 out the door. That's just a fraction of a penny a mile.

ETA - Oh, and they came with a couple of the replacement 'horseshoe' clips. Those are supposed to be one time use.

 

$66 is a good price. And you know they’ll fit. Not a given with aftermarket stuff recently.

 

Akebono for pads from RA

 

Before you even think about touching the rear brakes, because adjustment of the rears is absurdly important to avoid spongy/soft braking ...

Read this thread, all pages: https://www.tundras.com/threads/rear-brake-adjustment-theory-and-practice.99575/

Make sure you've read the FSM (factory service manual) and all its related instructions for rear brakes (braking starts at section "BR-1" I think?)

If you intend to bleed, understand what the LSPV is, where it is, and know you must bleed it also, it's important.

Don't jam the brake pedal to the floor during bleeding, or better yet, use a vacuum bleeder or pressure bleeder.

Make sure you have Silglide or similar brake lubricant, there are several contact points you need to grease.

I have yet to find a single good video online showing how to do rears for our trucks. All of them contain pretty generic info I learned as a young'un, but they really dont' cover everything.

Repack the adjusters: Don't replace the star adjusters, nothing works as well as OEM, aftermarket is problematic, and unless the teeth are totally blown, you can unpack, clean, re-lube, and reinstall the adjuster.

If this is your first time, it never hurts to take a picture before you disassemble, on each side, just so you have a picture of how it should look once it goes back together.

 

That is some good info. would you say the drums should always be turned before new shoes? I’m debating new drums/shoes/wheel cylinders or just new shoes and turn the drums. The WC’s are not leaking and the rubber looks fine…but they’re 20 y/o

 

I'd actually pretty shocked to hear anyone needs to replace the rear shoes before 150k. I've got almost 82k on my original factory shoes and they're not even half worn. And I have them dialed in pretty aggressively.

That said, unless the drums had unusual wear, or measured out-of-round, I would feel 100% confident simply replacing the shoes. And on the shoes, it's common for one side of the shoe to have less material, on the edge that grabs first.

For anyone that's not familiar with how to test if drums are in-round, within spec, some local auto parts stores will test that for you, and even offer to turn (mill) the drums to get them back in-spec again. They'll be measuring to see if there's enough there to work with. I'm not sure if I'd trust, say, a shithole like O'reillys to be able to do this, but it is something I'd expect at a NAPA. The other chain stores typically have test benches for batteries, alternators, and starters too, and sometimes have a staff member who actually knows how to use the test bed. I reckon the counter jockeys at a place like O'reillys would probably try to sell you on inferior aftermarket drums.

Just my opinion though. And you know what they say about opinions...

 

Appreciate the info. I recently replaced a broken lug on the rear and noticed my shoes worn right down on the leading edges….its got 307k km’s on it but i was still surprised bc the e brake cable is loose as all hell and the bell cranks are seized. Picked up the Dorman kit to do those at the same time. I’ll have to look closer for grooves. A local reputable machine shop said they still turn them, I just wasn’t sure if it was worth keeping the OE drums. Sounds like thats the way to go.

 

Seeing the myriad of problems folks on here have had with aftermarket drums, I would turn what I've got.

Back when I was poor as shit, it was cheaper to have the local shop turn drums rather than buy new. And that was when US manufacturing was still strong, and pricing on US-made parts was far cheaper than today.

 

my bad guys i been busy lately with farming, soo if im replacing the brake shoes do i have to replace the drums also? and yes thinking of going OEM route as much as possible. i know ima have to do the timing belt in 25k miles cause it getting close to 300k miles. but havent check the timing belt yet, my buddy have a V8 and mine a V6 idk much difference it gonna be just to look at the belt.

 

Drums are most likely ok. Not typically replaced each time car/truck gets new shoes.

Have you verified that it needs new shoes?

 

Answered that above:

It's same story with rotors. If the braking surfaces aren't gouged, warped, or showing unusual signs of wear, and you're not experiencing pulsating braking or similar issues to suggest they're out of round, and wear isn't out-of-spec, then there's no reason to replace your rotors, nor your drums.

I think a LOT of people unnecessarily replace their drums and rotors. Sometimes with inferior aftermarket parts. Then we see them on here complaining, "I just swapped out my original drums for TRQ (or some other aftermarket) and now the brakes are pulsating!", and some have found their aftermarket drums were warped, straight out of the box. It happens way too often nowadays. I swear they don't do any QA/QC on aftermarket parts anymore...