1988 PickUp Hot Wheels (read: Scalding Hot Hubs)

Addendum: it's only the driver side back wheel hub. I tweaked the adjustment bolt on the ebrake line, which has a cut which slants the bracket so one or the other cable has more tension (as the ebrake line does not run in the exact center). That seems to have helped a little bit, but the driver side hub still seems warm after taking a spin around the block...

Yours,

mothy

mothy wrote:

Okay, I got the back end up on jacks and the left wheel is much harder to turn than the right. What are my options? And I'm dumbfounded that Toyota told me a couple weeks ago that the rear brakes were fine (I've noticed the metal-on-metal sound for months, honestly)...

Thanks,

mothy

How do things look now that you've got the drum off?

Best case scenario, new return springs. Worst case scenario, new drums, wheel cylinder (if the pistons are hanging in the bore), shoes, springs, wheel bearing (if the heat coked it) and backing plate (if the heat warped it).

-- Mike Harris Austin TX

Mike,

Over lunch I didn't have a chance to take the drum off and look. I hope to do that this evening or tomorrow morning. Thanks for your post!

Yours,

mothy

Mike Harris wrote:

Pull the rear drums off and see if you can find what is causing the problem. The first place to look would be the parking brake cables and related parts inside the drum. They tend to get rusted and hang up.

I am not sure how the emergency brake cable connects to the brake housing on your 1988, but if it is the same as my 1989 4wd, that may be the problem. Look under your truck and see how the emergency brake cable connects to the brake housing. On mine, there is a lever, that sits vertically on the housing and pivots at the bottom. The emergency brake cable pulls on the top of the lever, and the bottom end of the lever works the shoes. The lever pivots towards the bottom, where it is connected to the brake housing. The pivot point is covered by a rubber accordion type seal to protect the pivot point. In time, water gets in there, and the pivot has to be lubed. If you pry the seal slightly on each side of the lever, you will see the pivot pin, and you can lube it with some penetrating oil. With the emergency brake off, work the lever back and forth until it becomes free and easy to move. I have to do this two or three times a year, especially in the winter time to keep my rear brakes from seizing. Larry

I am not sure how the emergency brake cable connects to the brake housing on your 1988, but if it is the same as my 1989 4wd, that may be the problem. Look under your truck and see how the emergency brake cable connects to the brake housing. On mine, there is a lever, that sits vertically on the housing and pivots at the bottom. The emergency brake cable pulls on the top of the lever, and the bottom end of the lever works the shoes. The lever pivots towards the bottom, where it is connected to the brake housing. The pivot point is covered by a rubber accordion type seal to protect the pivot point. In time, water gets in there, and the pivot has to be lubed. If you pry the seal slightly on each side of the lever, you will see the pivot pin, and you can lube it with some penetrating oil. With the emergency brake off, work the lever back and forth until it becomes free and easy to move. I have to do this two or three times a year, especially in the winter time to keep my rear brakes from seizing. Larry

Thank you to everyone who responded. A buddy recommended a small shop north of Manchester, and I took it in the other day (I'm working during the day, and delivering papers at night, so I really didn't have the time to do more than a little looksie to try to figure out what was going on). What Scott (of "Jerry & Scott's Automotive") found was that the pivot bracket that splits the one ebrake line from the cab into two lines to each back wheel had frozen and rusted at a 45 degree angle. I'd never seen it loose, so I assumed that that's the way it was supposed to be, as if memory serves the line itself is slightly off center. I assumed that you had to adjust it 360 degrees or one full revolution at a time to make sure the angle was towards the left wheel, which was farther away (and assuming each cable is the same length). Anyway, he blow torched and cleaned the bracket so it now pivots and floats appropriately, and he replaced the left pads and springs because the former was cracked by the heat and the latter was equally effected. I'm disappointed that Toyota didn't catch this some weeks ago, as I now recall that my truck has always grabbed like that when I first would start up, and the last time I made a long trip something was very hot once I got there. I was told by Toyota "...the back brakes were fine." Driving stop and go for a couple hours a night with the windows down and no noise will make you attuned to the sounds of your truck, and it took doing that to realize that I had a real problem. It now drives like a charm and my mileage is miraculously improved!

Yours, mothy

Excellent. Good news.