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1994 4x4, time to replace the back brakes and I want to go into battle with as much knowledge as I can, so I got a few questions.
1) Pretty much the same as doing any other drum brakes? Last time I did them was on a '74 chevy about 10 years ago. Had drum brake technology advanced much in 20 years?
2) Dealership said $150 for the back brakes, napa/schucks/whatnot has them much cheaper, is it worth the extra $100 or so for the OEM? I'll pay the extra if given a good enough reason.
3) should I just get the shoes or the whole cylinder/spring/clips rebuild kit?
Just did mine last weekend probably been 20 years since I replaced drum brakes on a vehicle ..... like riding a bike. Mine is an 86 cost $12 plus $8 for the core took about an hour. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
By the way, how do you know it's time? Well, I'm sure you're correct, but in the future you might get into the habit of pulling off the drum and measuring the shoe thickness every time you rotate the tires. Since you'll dutifully make a note somewhere, you'll know how fast YOU are going through shoes.
Personally, I buy almost the cheapest shoes I can find. They range from $10 to $30 / pair at RockAuto; I'm sure the Toyota ones are pretty nice, but not 15 times as nice.
I wouldn't bother replacing a wheel cylinder unless it was frozen or leaking, which is hard to tell until you pull the drum. (though you could pick them up in advance and return them, if you are so inclined). The Spring/clips kit might be a good idea; if you don't know the last time the shoes were looked at, well, the small metal pieces might be doing so well.
And last but not least, it never hurts to look at the FSM. Its only a few pages to print.
X2 on the adjusters... apply some anti-seize compound to the threads. From what I recall new OEM Toyota wheel cylinders are not that expensive if you do need them.
i just did mine the other day cost 12 bucks for new shoes at the auto parts store, the drums were fine all i did was break the glaze with some sand paper. as long as the wheel cyl's are not leaking or stuck i just leave them alone. if your wear on your old shoes are uneven where they are wearing more on the outside than the inside or wearing on the bottom of the shoe and not the top then you need the spring kit otherwise its fine to re use the old. I suggest doing one side at a time pay attention while your pulling it apart but only take the drum off the opposite side until the first side is completely back together. this way if you have any question as to how its suppose to go back together you can reference the other side.
New to the forum, just acquired a 1993 4Runner project truck with 160,000. Thought this would be an appropriate thread to add to. 4Runner sat for about 5 years with no movement. Inspected both driver and passenger side rear drums and found some odd looking extremely uneven wear on the pads on both sides. The pads look fairly new but there is wear only at the center, the top at bottom of the pad have never touched the drum. Truck stop with no issues. Dust plug on back shields to reach adjusting wheel are gone. Last 2 pics are from passenger side. Need help diagnosing. Did someone install pads and never adjust? Drums should have been turned? Springs need replacing? Everything looks dry, need to grease up contact points and adjusters? Pads look new but I think I'll need to replace? Please advise.
Last edited by Brutus805; Oct 3, 2024 at 07:06 AM.
My take is that the drums might have been turned oversize and the truck operated so little that the new shoes have had insufficient time to conform to the somewhat larger arc of the turned drums.
Back in the day, when I had exotic shoes relined at an actual brake and clutch rebuilders, I would provide the drums so that they could arc the new linings for complete contact from the get-go.
That world is long gone.
If that was mine, I'd be happy with what I saw. I'd clean it all up, lube and adjust. I would measure the drums too as recommended by millball. To clean that, I usually spray it down with orange citrus degreaser (or similar) and hit it with a hose or my pressure washer. It will look almost new.
millball nailed it. Back in the day, we arced the shoes in so they had full contact with the drums. Now most people just put in the shoes and go.
There are posts out there and maybe youtube videos of people using makeshift methods to arc in the shoes. I've used very coarse grit adhesive backed sandpaper stuck inside my drums to work my shoes into shape.
Millball - that totally makes sense. The pads are new so the previous owner must have had the drums turned, which increased the diameter of the drum interior and the pads are at a smaller radius which is why the center of the pad is only touching the drum.
aztoyman - You both mentioned arcing, and you mentioned possible youtube on this. Well, did a search and sure enough, there a guy who shows how to do this by hand - "Arcing brake shoes by hand Episode 125" Looks like it will help, but also looks labor intensive. Oh well, that's why I call this a project truck.
Last edited by Brutus805; Oct 3, 2024 at 03:45 PM.
do the drums look like they've been turned? you could put 'em back on there and try adjusting the shoes, confirm that the adjustment is way off, which is what it looks like.
Jan 27, 2011 | 03:40 PM
