4Runner Brakes

Resurfaced rotors will not last as long as new rotors because there is less metal to dissipate the heat. If you got 40,000 miles since a rotor was resurfaced, and assuming that there was a like mileage before they were resurfaced, I'd say that is probably average to slightly above average wear. I don't think you are going to get more than 60,000 or 80,000 miles on any aftermarket rotor.

I've dealt with quite a few different drivers driving Toyotas, and the pattern I've noticed is that people who drive them are either hard on the brakes and tend to have more rapid wear and warpage than people who are not hard on the brakes. In other words, some peole experience warpage and rapid wear on several different Toyotas, and some people do not.

When I say "hard on the brakes," I mean the opposite of what most people think. Someone who stops very gradually, applying the brakes for a distance of over 50 yards to stop from 30 miles per hour is hard on the brakes. Someone who nails the brakes hard, releases the pedal, and then brakes hard again as the car slows down is actually easier on the brakes.

Who is adjusting your rear drums?

That would be me. I do it using the technique I was taught 30 years ago. I adjust the shoes until I feel a slight drag on the wheel. After I adjust them like this, my brakes seem to work as expected, that is most of the braking force on the front, yet still feeling the rear brakes engage. The more miles I put on them though, eventually I get the feeling that all my braking is happening on the front. It's as if the self adjusting mechanism in the rear does not work, but I have checked this out and find nothing wrong with the mechanism. It really feels as if I do not get the pressure to the rears as I should.

When you adjust the rear drum brakes, adjust them so that the wheel turns once to one-and-a-half times when you spin it by hand with moderate force. Both sides should be as even as possible. I believe the self-adjusters for the rear brakes are activated by applying the parking brake. If you do not occasionally use the parking brake, the rear brakes will not adjust.

Ray, thanks much for your replys. I rarely use the parking brake, being a flat lander and all. I figured that the self adjusters worked more or less like the american cars build in the 60s ans 70s, once the travel of the shoes reached a certain point, the mechanism would engage the star wheel and expand the shoes a bit. What you say makes sense though, so I will use the parking brake more frequently to see if that helps keep the rears adjusted.

You're welcome and good luck!