[SOLVED] Drum brakes - do you disconnect the parking brake cable?

They don't always have to leak. I've had a few that were stuck due to some rust within the cylinder. I just replaced them since they were cheap back in the days of yore. Though, I did take one apart and freed it up with some cleaning. It appeared to work fine after that.

I can't speak for normality but I just find it odd that it would wear like that when there isn't a bad part. Usually, I would see one show worn more so than the other, but never a tapered wear.

Most adjusters work with the emergency/parking brake. Though, many people rarely, if ever, use the parking brake and those adjusters can rust up and stop pushing the shoe against the drum.

I have worked on many drum brakes and I have never had to remove a parking brake cable. The cable is attached to the metal assembly and that will just hang on the cable when you remove it and replace the shoes. Though, if it's easy to remove and reattach, then there's no harm in doing so.

Agreed. There should be a slight drag and minor friction when you turn the drum, but never should be too tight where it's difficult to remove the drum.

Yes, attached to the metal assembly which turns that adjuster.

All I can say is I've never "rotated" brake shoes, since IMO, they were cheap when I used to work on many cars. I can sympathize when only one shoe is worn while the other(s) have ample thickness. I hate to see such waste. The choice is yours since it appears the shoes are the same on each side, you could simply swap them and ensure that drag and minor friction partake when you reinstall the drum. Honestly, if it were me in my youth as a poor teen working on my own car, that's what I would do. But now that I'm a wealthy millionaire (that's tough to say without laughing) Ok, now that I'm financially stable, I would just buy them and install. Since you have to remove all the hardware anyway, installing new shoes would be the best option.

You're correct that the handbrake is what adjusts the drums (I was wrong in assuming it was the action of braking in reverse).

People seem to say that the "bellcrank" needs replacing, so I dug into the terminology to find this parts diagram.

I have since found out that you are correct and I was wrong. Reversing won't work to adjust the drums. The parking brake lever ratchets the adjustment. My bad.

Thanks for the advice, which is much appreciated.

I don't think I said I was done with my homework - just that I was asking out of due diligence - where I have plenty more homework to do, as you are astutely noting.

I haven't watched this whole video yet - it's an hour long - but it should be able to give me all the physical steps necessary to replace the brakes.

Drum Brake Shoe Replacement, Timmy The Toolman

The Toyota threads I've found insist on Toyota OEM shoes, but do say the rest of the hardware can be gotten elsewhere.

The cylinders don't appear to be shot, but 20 years is a long time so they probably will fare with a rebuild.

The Toyota folks say get the "u clip" which has to be bent, and which comes standard with a factory OEM kit but might not come with the NAPA kit. We don't have NAPA anywhere nearby, but we have other brands like Autozone, and O'Reillys and Petboys.

In the OP you see me measuring the internal diameter of the drums, which have a limit of 297mm, but it's only 295 mm so we should be ok. Are you intimating that the 2mm isn't enough of a safety zone?

I think 2mm should be enough. It would be fine on a rotor.

When I googled, that's one of the methods I found people use, although most seem to replace them, one shoe at a time (because they remarked they'd try the full-removal method next time).

This guy did the full removal, but he completely skipped the removal steps:

Thanks for that advice.

I wasn't thinking cylinders, but I'm fine with rebuilding them. I've rebuilt master cylinders in the past where it's easy to rebuild a cylinder with the right parts.

Wheel cylinder is bad as well. The rear shoe show virtually no wear, that indicates the wheel cylinder isn't doing it's job.

That also says the rear shoe is stuck.

No, there is a leading shoe and a trailing shoe.

On most you just make sure it is fully released. Then you install the new parts and adjust the base brakes so the drum just turns free. Then you adjust the E-Brake so it applies after the number of clicks or distance specified in the book.

Don't know about the USA but almost impossible to source the rubber parts kits here in Canada - and cyls are stupidly cheap compared to what they used to be. (labor to rebuild costs as much as a cyl if you are paying to have it done)

You got the tools but still have questions if your drum diameter is any goo d. Why the heck are you measuring the diameter? That info is mostly for the lathe operator if you need to have the drums resurfaced. I've never calipe red a drum in my life. You get the new shoes and check the drum diameter by holding it against the drum surface. It'll be obvious if the diameter is t oo large. This ain't rocket science but you don't seem to be able to grasp the concepts of what's happening here. That's discouraging.

Cylinder rebuild kits are getting scarce on this rock too. I used to get th e kits back in the old days but these days I buy new cylinders. Using new p arts when servicing drum brakes doesn't cost much. In my dotage, I don't li ke dicking around with old parts.

You get the feeling this fellow has been here before, in many guises?

To have an aptitude for mechanical work, you really have to start out young by taking stuff apart. That's how you get a feel for the task. I don't thi nk that it's a job suitable for people that have mostly book learning. They don't have a feel for the task...

ng by taking stuff apart. That's how you get a feel for the task. I don't t hink that it's a job suitable for people that have mostly book learning. Th ey don't have a feel for the task...

On Job Training works very good.

I'd agree with you given that the rear shoe, after 175K miles, still looks perfect, while the front is worn - but all the Toyota threads seem to say that is the way Toyota rear shoes wear.

They give this as the explanation:

Thanks. That explains why I've never heard of "rotating" brake shoes! :)

Thanks. I found a good hour-long video specifically for the Toyota.

Friend's kid had a mobile bicycle repair service. He went to one of the good car-repair trade schools, became a world-class (with trophy to prove it) BMW mech and eventually the service manager, which he found to be a lot less fun.

At a hundred bucks each, I wouldn't call cylinders "stupidly cheap".

Called the local Toyota dealer, who said the cylinders are $102 each, and the brake shoes are $157 for a set of four, so that's about $400 with tax.

Toyota doesn't sell a rebuild/repair kit for the rear brake cylinders.

I'll look around for better parts although I need to know the friction ratings to compare shoes apples to apples.

Mad Roger posted for all of us...

I didn't look at any of the pix. It should be ok if not scored or bell mouthed or other problems.

The drums are perfectly fine in that they have 2mm to spare even after 175K miles on the original drums.

As you're probably aware, scoring has to be huge to fail a rotor or drum (really huge when you look at the specs, it's amazing how huge).

The shoes are $157 for a set, and the cylinders are $102 each at Toyota.

I'm going to look for a rebuild kit because these cylinders are in great shape from the looks of it (and I already rebuilt the brake master cylinder which was also in great shape).

On Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at 10:38:03 AM UTC-10,

One the job training is good. It is only on the job where one finds out if he can cut the mustard or the cheese.

Several ~1/4" x 1/4" plus a number of smaller ones before I noticed any problem except screeching. Ultimately I had to replace the rotors ($10/each) when the hogging-in started. It's interesting to know that the pad backing plates are this sturdy!

Jesus, that's kind of scary. For that big an investment you (or at least *I*) might as well pay somebody else to do the work. FWIW I was always happy with Pep Boys 'lifetime' parts. That was before most stuff came from China, though.

If only there had been digital cameras to permanently record how those nasty drum springs were arranged last time I did it -- I am guaranteed to reassemble everything in every possible wrong way before finally getting it right :-(