I have a 2002 toyota tundra, approx 70K miles.

I replaced the front drums/pads at 60K miles. Also at 60K miles i decided to inspect the rear drums.

The driver side drum (left side) looked very fresh, very, very little brake dust, almost no pad wear.

The passenger side drum (right side) looked horrible. At least an inch to two inches of brake dust on top of the wheel cylinder and generally just black everywhere. I noticed a 1/2inch wear groove inside the drum itself. One of the shoes had excessive wear toward the bottom.

I cleaned and lubed both sides, made sure the parking brake adjuster was working fine with nothing sticking, etc.

I waited 10K miles to re-inspect to see if the "problem" had been solved, the answer is no. The passenger side drum still has a lot more brake dust everywhere and the driver side still looks almost brand new.

The only thing i can think of is the wheel cylinders are faulty. Not sure which is bad so replacing both might be best.

However, do you guys have any further ideas as to what could be causing my problem? Anything else i should check and or clean/lube?


...mike

 

Wheel cylinders are probably bad, I would change both and take it from there. Check it after only a few hundred miles, you will be able to see it.

 

I'd replace both, they are generally inexpensive. Make sure nothing is binding on the drivers side. Maybe something is bent or not installed correctly.

 

FYI- Your front brakes are disk brakes that consist of rotors, calipers and pads. The rears are probably drum brakes that consist of drums, shoes and related hardware, and wheel cylinders.

From what you wrote, and it is hard to say without actually seeing them, I am guessing that you have a problem with the pass side rear brake. A deep groove may have been caused by one of the hardware components coming loose and taking a ride around inside the drum. Something is chewing up the drum and the shoes, hard to say what. Be sure to inspect that side very carefully and compare it to the drivers side, which sounds like it is ok to me. If you can't figure it out, post a picture or two. It would really help with the diagnosis.

As far as wheel cylinders go, they are pretty simple. Usually they are either working, or they are leaking. You can carefully pull back the rubber boot on each end of the WC to check for fluid. Any fluid directly behind the boot means that WC is leaking. Usually, on something with as few miles as your truck, they will be just fine. I guess in a really corrosive atmosphere they could conceivably be rusted to the point of not working, but I would guess not.

For the record, the textbook answer to brake problems is to replace both sides in kind, i.e., if you have a bad WC, change them both, same goes with the shoes and hardware. Drums may be changed individually, as long as the one being reused is within specifications. On my own rig though, I would replace both drums if one of them is bad. That way i know I will have a completely balanced system when I am done.

Good luck with your repairs.