weirdwaldo

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?

4) Any other hints or tips?

Thanks much

Shaun

mgood

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.

scope103

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.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

When I do rear brakes I go with The best lining I can get hardware kits, new drums, wheel cylinders on hand just in case .

The only part that is a little tricky is the E-Brake linkage if you have never seen it.

Make sure the adjusters turn free:jessica:

pwd

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.

Ezrider_92356

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.

hunter4runner

easy tip : remove the drums from both sides but do NOT touch one side that way you have a cheat sheet on how it goes back together

weirdwaldo

Good advice guys, got the brake shoes and been ready to do them but rain has put a damper (heh) on that. Oh how nice a garage would be