05 Corolla LE Brake Shoes

[sunfire]

While I was driving home from work today I noticed a very audible metal clank sound coming from underneath the driver side. It sounded like a thick pipe being dragged on the pavement at slow speeds but only audible for a few seconds at a time. It only happens while the car is moving/braking. While I had the window rolled down it almost occurs more frequently when I brake or when I tap the brakes but not always.

I have 51K miles on my 05 Corolla LE. The car has seen easy city driving most of its life. I recently replaced the front brake pads about 3 weeks ago with ceramic Raybestos Adv Technology, FF rating. The factory pads were 95% worn out on the drivers side and 90% on the passenger. Yes, 95%, a piece of the thin friction material chipped off while I was prying off the pads from the rotors. I'm still on front factory rotors (rotors were still very thick), didn't have them machined because they felt smooth. The pads felt broken in after the 2nd week and had a good bite to them compared to my factory pads.

Looked underneath when I got home there was nothing obviously hanging out. So I have had no noise up until today. Right now I suspect the factory rear brake shoes since they have 51K on them as well. The shoes have never been checked because I thought shoes wear out a lot slower than the pads in the front that provide most of the stopping power.

So how long do shoes typically wear out under city driving conditions? My shoes might have been doing more than the normal amount of the stopping since the front pads were almost worn down to the metal. Could it be something else?

Its too dark to check the condition of the rear shoes right now. I just need a game plan for tomorrow. Hopefully I can find some good DIYs. I've posted on toyotatnation but nobody is reading my thread.

 

[bullwinkle]

Well-the lazy way to check it is use the e-brake while rolling and listen for the noise. Some of these new extreme-duty pads are EXTREMELY noisy-my E-350 has a set on it that squeak even when cornering WITHOUT the brakes on, and the wheel bearings have been checked twice-might be a "normal" noise

 

[sunfire]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Well-the lazy way to check it is use the e-brake while rolling and listen for the noise. Some of these new extreme-duty pads are EXTREMELY noisy-my E-350 has a set on it that squeak even when cornering WITHOUT the brakes on, and the wheel bearings have been checked twice-might be a "normal" noise


I'm going to try your suggestion out right now. I did use the e-brake while parked in the lot today. Which I don't normally use on level spots. Maybe it upset something.

 

[sunfire]

I drove around normally (no e-brakes) but slowly around the block and the sound was still there. Then I drove with the e-brake 70-80% engaged the sound was gone but still heard a clank once or twice. After a few minutes of driving and messing with the e-brake while driving, the sound is gone when driving normally.

Many thanks for your help. I'm hoping the rear pads are the problem.

 

[Maritime Storm]

Check your muffler hangers, you're around the age where they fail.

 

[mechtech2]

Shoes usually last at least twice as long as front pads.
Often longer. AT 51k, they are almost certainly in great shape [material left].
Clanking is not usually a drum brake going bad sound. But who knows? It should be easy to find out.

BTW, those front pads with an FF rating are very good. They are fairly high in friction warm and hot.

 

[sunfire]

I only managed to take apart the passenger side rear brake drum. There was tons of brake dust. But the shoes looks like they might last another year or two. One shoe was a bit more worn down than the other.

I was panicking when I started this thread. But since I played with the e-brake as bullwinkle suggested, the noise has gone away. No noise when I drove into work today.

I will check the muffler hangers soon. Thanks for you help.

 

[M1Accord]

Good luck with your car dude. I hope it is some minor thing.

One thing I hate and kept me from getting the Corolla was rear brake drum on their newer vehicles still. I don't know if Toyota save that much money sticking us with drum brakes over disc brakes or not but they blew a sale on that alone. I want disc brakes on newer vehicle for ease on maintenance as well as cheaper replacement cost. I can go 200k miles on rear brake discs and can figure if they require replacement or not to be safe. I can't do that on drum and I don't know enough to open it up. Additionally, I drive on mountain road a lot for leisure and break discs cool faster. I remove the restrictive hub cabs on front disc brakes of my 92 Corolla to help with cooling. It wish it has rear disc brakes but it doesn't.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
Good luck with your car dude. I hope it is some minor thing.

One thing I hate and kept me from getting the Corolla was rear brake drum on their newer vehicles still. I don't know if Toyota save that much money sticking us with drum brakes over disc brakes or not but they blew a sale on that alone. I want disc brakes on newer vehicle for ease on maintenance as well as cheaper replacement cost. I can go 200k miles on rear brake discs and can figure if they require replacement or not to be safe. I can't do that on drum and I don't know enough to open it up. Additionally, I drive on mountain road a lot for leisure and break discs cool faster. I remove the restrictive hub cabs on front disc brakes of my 92 Corolla to help with cooling. It wish it has rear disc brakes but it doesn't.


185k miles and still going on the factory pads and shoes. Yes I drive a lot of highway miles but drums DO LAST.

Bill

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Originally Posted By: M1Accord
Good luck with your car dude. I hope it is some minor thing.

One thing I hate and kept me from getting the Corolla was rear brake drum on their newer vehicles still. I don't know if Toyota save that much money sticking us with drum brakes over disc brakes or not but they blew a sale on that alone. I want disc brakes on newer vehicle for ease on maintenance as well as cheaper replacement cost. I can go 200k miles on rear brake discs and can figure if they require replacement or not to be safe. I can't do that on drum and I don't know enough to open it up. Additionally, I drive on mountain road a lot for leisure and break discs cool faster. I remove the restrictive hub cabs on front disc brakes of my 92 Corolla to help with cooling. It wish it has rear disc brakes but it doesn't.


185k miles and still going on the factory pads and shoes. Yes I drive a lot of highway miles but drums DO LAST.

Bill


But you have to open it to see if they are still safe to use. That is the part I hate. I also believe it cost more to replace in term of labor. I take my cars to a friend that is a master mechanic and since it cost a little more in labor to replace instead of inspect or repair as far as brakes and minor parts are concern, I prefer to deal with a system that allow me to visually inspect it myself instead of relying on someone else. I can determine if my pads need replacement by looking, I can't with drum.

I need to learn when rotors need replacement because I didn't think my Accord rotors need replacement or even turn last time. I could see it going for another 30k miles or 2 years.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Originally Posted By: M1Accord
Good luck with your car dude. I hope it is some minor thing.

One thing I hate and kept me from getting the Corolla was rear brake drum on their newer vehicles still. I don't know if Toyota save that much money sticking us with drum brakes over disc brakes or not but they blew a sale on that alone. I want disc brakes on newer vehicle for ease on maintenance as well as cheaper replacement cost. I can go 200k miles on rear brake discs and can figure if they require replacement or not to be safe. I can't do that on drum and I don't know enough to open it up. Additionally, I drive on mountain road a lot for leisure and break discs cool faster. I remove the restrictive hub cabs on front disc brakes of my 92 Corolla to help with cooling. It wish it has rear disc brakes but it doesn't.


185k miles and still going on the factory pads and shoes. Yes I drive a lot of highway miles but drums DO LAST.

Bill


But you have to open it to see if they are still safe to use. That is the part I hate. I also believe it cost more to replace in term of labor. I take my cars to a friend that is a master mechanic and since it cost a little more in labor to replace instead of inspect or repair as far as brakes and minor parts are concern, I prefer to deal with a system that allow me to visually inspect it myself instead of relying on someone else. I can determine if my pads need replacement by looking, I can't with drum.

I need to learn when rotors need replacement because I didn't think my Accord rotors need replacement or even turn last time. I could see it going for another 30k miles or 2 years.


You replace rotors for 3 reasons;

1. They are warped (very hard to do to drums)
2. They are worn too thin
3. They have major grooves.

I guess we could say number 4 could be badly pitted due to rust...

As far as being able to check for wear, most of the time you'll hear them well before they need to be replaced and cause any damage to the drums.

Take care, bill