Rear brake problem "94 Corolla. Help

Hello:

I'm finishing a replacement of rear brake hoses, cylinders, shoes and drums on my '94 Corolla. I can't seem to get the drums on now without a lot of force. I don't want to keep banging them on and cause damage to the shoes or the wheel studs or the drums. It looks like the shoes are on correctly (on the anchor and in the cylinder) and the adjuster is seated at it's lowest point, parking brake is off. The drums go over the shoes about 1/3 of the way with some banging and then stop. The Toyota manual says put the drum on and work the parking brake handle and then take the drum off and measure the clearance between drum and shoes and then put it back on and bleed the system. I can't do that at this point. I could use some help and it would be appreciated.

Thanks, Bill

Reply to
Bill
Loading thread data ...

Well, I'm a Backyard Gumby, so I just bang 'em on. Obviously you have checked the clearacnes and that the shoes are seated properly and not canted one way or the other.

New drums w new shoes can be a bitch to put on. I see the guys n the shop banging them on with a rubber hammer.

Reply to
Hachiroku

You did do one side at a time so you can compare with the other, right? Are you sure that the adjuster is fully retracted and no threads are visible? Are the cylinders fully retracted? Are the shoes and drums OEM or aftermarket? Are the shoes oriented properly (leading and trailing)? Is the parking brake handle and cable fully retracted (off)? Is the hold down spring seated properly?

Reply to
Ray O

Well, if they are new drums, they shouldn't have a wear ridge on the outer edge that can be getting in the way.

Did you compare all the new parts with the old parts closely to see if they gave you a wrong part somewhere? Measure the drums - they could have been bored undersized at the factory. Take the adjuster apart to make sure the threads are clean and lubed, and it's really cranked all the way in.

Could the drum be hanging up on something other than the shoes, like the wheel studs or the axle center? There IS a logical reason why it won't go together, it's all in finding it.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

"Ray O" wrote in news:5535c$42b4e264$180fead6$ snipped-for-privacy@msgid.meganewsservers.com:

Yes, and I reassembled using the toyota diagram.

No threads are visible, but this has taken the other side of the adjuster out of it's rear base about 3/4". Is this normal?

The shoes are sitting is the cylinder notches and are fully inside the boots.

Aftermarket. Auto Zone Valuecraft drums, Duralast shoes.

When I took the new shoes out of the box I saw that there were two pairs of identical shoes, so I just took a pair for each wheel, one for the rear shoe and put the levers on it and used the other for the front shoe. The toyota manual didn't say anything about specific shoe orientation.

The handle is all the way down but how can I make sure the cable is retracted? I noticed I was not able to move the parking brake lever back and forth at the wheel to check that the adjuster moves (in the manual). I had a rough time connecting the parking brake cable, I may have pull it out a ways.

Shoe springs look seated well.

Unfortunatly at the present time I can't afford toyota parts.

Reply to
Bill

Bruce L. Bergman wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Shoes and hardware looked the same, I will compare the drums.

I will try to measure them.

I took the adjusters apart cleaned and lubed them.

I really haven't been able to get the drum in that far.

I hope so.

Reply to
Bill

I don't think so. You mentioned that you cleaned and lubed the adjuster - is it oriented so that the star wheel is in front of the rubber adjusting plug on the backing plate? When the drums are installed, you should be able to pull the oval-shaped plug and get at the star wheel from the inboard side of the backing plate. If not, then the adjusted is installed backwards - fore-aft.

Use a ruler to measure the diameter of the replacement drums and the ones you took off.

Measure the curvature of the replacement shoes and the ones you took off to make sure they are an exact match.

There is a specific leading and trailing shoe, and I believe the adjusters are specific left and right. The moving threaded part of the adjuster should extend towards the rear of the vehicle.

If the parking brake cable is too tight, it will pull the shoes out. Back off the parking brake adjuster if necessary. Peel back the boot over the adjuster lever and make sure it it not all rusted.

Good luck!

Reply to
Ray O

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.