ok, i looked around a little bit, but im really busy as we just got another 3 ft of snow and i do snow removal, so i didnt have time to search. keep in mind this is my DD and my only vehicle.

anyways, the problem just started today, felt like my brakes were sticking a little bit. then, after a little bit, i lost all pressure to the pedal, and i had to pump it 5 or 6 times to get any pressure. then the right rear started smoking a ton, the same side my axle seal is blown on. the thing was extremely hot, sprayed cold water on it and it still took about 10 minutes to cool. im gonna go out there and take the drum off and see what i see. any suggestions? could this be at all related to the axle seal?

 

Yes. The gear oil saturated the shoe all the drum components and is not allowing for proper engagement. Could be one of the springs is shot or where the middle e break bar connects has come off.
It could also be the break cylinder is shot. I would buy a kit with new shoes and re do the both sides. I just did mine on my 82 and the thing stops on a dime now. My right side was seized up from a bad cylinder and the E brake bar had slipped out of place not allowing the shoe relax off the drum. Mine was hot has hell.
Make sure you bleed the system systematically and correctly.

 

thanks toyo. i cant even get the brake drum off to look at it

 

Your drum may have the two holes where you can thread in metric bolts and walk it off.

Sometimes a rap with a rubber mallet is all it takes to break it loose.

 

Your probably going to have to beat the hell out the drum with a hand sledge. Good luck


Be careful doing that its easy to break the bolts, the size isn't that big....I've been there

 

both mine were so frozen I had to pound the center and carefully pry between the drum and the cover with a prybar. The older Yota's little metric back off screws almost never work. At least in my experience. Make sure and soak the inner ring where it separates with PB Blast.
MAKE SURE when you do this you do ONE SIDE at a time in order to use the other side as a reference. That is a complicated set of things going on under there. At least it always is for me.

 

ok, i got the drum off with some beating. the thing is caked with gear oil. is there any way i can just clean it and it will go back to normal? i dont really have the time to replace all the parts.

 

Clean the shoes and everything else with brake cleaner and see if it gets you by temporarily.

 

ok, i will try that. auto parts store is closed, so i will have to get the cleaner tomorrow. any other ideas guys?

 

Dang, the part store rolls the carpet up early down there.

 

only on the weekend. on weekdays they are open til like 8 or so

thinking about it, i dont see why caked gear oil (which it is, CAKED) would make the brakes smoke?

 

The reason the breaks are hot and smoking is the shoe is stuck against the drum. Friction is casing it to heat up. Usually if the shoes are expanded and locked in place you can't get the drum off once the drum is free or at least you have to really work at it.
Put your rig in neutral, take off the e brake and see if it will roll with ease. Or take off the tires and try and spin the the drum or axle and see if it is hung up. If so the shoes are pressed against the drum probably from something stuck or jammed open in mechanics of the drum. The caked on axle grease is heating up and smoking. Take both sides off and carefully look at everything and make sure nothing has slipped out of place forcing the shoes to expand. Or look in the FSM and make sure things are okay.
Like the earlier post said try and spray break cleaner in there. That might not do it. Sound like you need to replace the whole thing.
Total cost for both side with the shoes for me was $87.00 at Napa.
I bet your E brake cable and/or hardware in the drum is causing the problem.
Worst case scenario would be your wheel bearings are toast. The way to tell that is take the shoes out and spin the axle.

 

well, when it was up in the air, the tire spun fine. didnt really seem to be hung up. but when i was driving, it seemed to be hanging up a little bit. the pedal will go all the way to the floor unless i pump it a few times. would it even be worth it to rebuild the drum brakes or should i switch to discs?

 

I would make sure that is gear oil or break fluid. Take a good whiff of it and see what it is. If the rubber seals on the break cylinders are shot BREAK fluid will spit all over the inside of that drum.
When the drum breaks work they work really well. I suppose it depends on what your needs and finances are. I would be stoked to have disks in the rear but I can't afford them. My break system works killer now. I replaced everything, breaks front rear, master and all the hardware.
I would have someone pump those breaks for a while and crack those back bleeders to see if you have air in the line. It sounds to me like your wheel cylinder is bad on the side that is heating up. That is a super cheap fix and easy to do. 2 12mm bolts, the zurk and the break line then pull out the cylinder from the open drum side the replace then bleed the system. Just make sure and soak that area with PB Blast so you don't mess up the break line.

 

definitely gear oil. the axle seal has been blown for about 2 months. ill definitely try cleaning it, and hope it fixes it. if not, i will probably rebuild the whole thing.

 

cleaned it up, no change. but, i figured out what is happening. the brake is going on and off involuntarily on the right rear. sooo, im thinking this would mean a bad wheel cylinder? any ideas?

 

anybody

 

well i guess ill just have to give it a try then.

 

This is what happens when you go drifting into trees!!! i hope you get it fixed and soon! i hate seeing a yota not going!

 

haha yea, me too. i hate when it breaks haha