Cleaning and Adjusting Rear Drum Brakes

[The Critic]

2006 Corolla, ~55k miles.

I've never owned a car with drum brakes before, so this one is a first for me.

When the car was first purchased at around 27k, the brake pedal wasn't firm, but it wasn't too bad either. It was "high and squishy," which was fine with me.

30,000 miles later, the brake pedal needs more pressure before the braking action engages. In other words, the brake pedal is not as "high" as it used to be-- there's a big "dead spot."

Would cleaning and adjusting the rear drum brakes correct this problem? Pep Boys said they can take care of it for $20.

Thanks!

 

[ekko]

it should help. how are the front pads wearing?

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

I think mushy brakes are characteristic of Toyotas or something. The ones on my mom's car are disc/drum and they've never been firm. Aunt's 2009 Corolla is the same. I wonder if they use sufficient sized brakes for these cars. I drove it for a few miles a couple of weekends ago and I really had to apply the brakes to get a feeling that the car was slowing down. There's a Corolla in the parking lot at my apartment complex with aftermarket alloys (look to be about 16-17 inches) and the rear drum looks small.

The brakes are one of the things I don't like about the Camry (the other being the throttle-by-wire).

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: ekko
it should help. how are the front pads wearing?

The original front pads lasted 37k. I installed a set of Raybestos Advanced Technology pads and rotors and the pad wear has improved significantly and so far, they are lasting 2/3 longer than the original pads.

 

[ekko]

yea i drive a base model 05 celica and i have drums on the rear.
i just cleaned and adjusted them yesterday and i had about 80% life left on them with about 30k on the engine. mushy brakes can also be a sign of air in the system to.

 

[ekko]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: ekko
it should help. how are the front pads wearing?

The original front pads lasted 37k. I installed a set of Raybestos Advanced Technology pads and rotors and the pad wear has improved significantly and so far, they are lasting 2/3 longer than the original pads.


cleaning and adjusting the rears should help a little with stop distance and it will most def make your e-brake tighter.

 

[javacontour]

Going through this with oilBabe's Camry, as at 203K miles, the rears need some attention.

Things were so far out of adjustment, there was rattling in the right rear drum.

So we sat down and I mentioned that she is supposed to come to a complete stop with the brakes when backing up as that is what adjusts the rear brakes.

I think are 3-4mm of pad left, and I think they start new with 5mm, so the rears probably haven't been used much.

I pulled the drums, used a couple of cans of brake cleaner, and adjusted the brakes until they barely contact and then backed them off a bit.

Put it all back together and then took the car over to an unused road in our new subdivision (seems they aren't building homes so fast right now) and performed many complete stops in reverse, some at 20-30 MPH.

The car seems to have more braking. There is a little less rattle, so maybe the drum is worn. I'll probably swap the drums, and if the sound moves, pick up a couple of drums and some new pads and call it a day. Well, after I get frustrated with springs, etc.

 

[DoubleDee]

You really should not have to do much. Take off the drums, inspect the wheel cylinders for moisture/leaks, clean off with a brake cleaner, a adjust the fit of the drums. Like was stated before, drum brakes have self adjusters, and by backing up and making complete stops completes the task. To start, the adjuster is on the bottom behind the spring, with a ridged knob. Move the drum in and out feeling for resistance, it should slide off and on with very little play between the drum and shoes, then do your reverse stops.

 

[mechtech2]

There are little tabs that the shoes ride on - slide on. Grease them and lube the adjuster mechanism.
Smaller thinner parts on a new car flex more than a 1960 Chrysler drum brake system, and you'll feel it in the pedal - also the firewall where the master cylinder is bolted to. And don't forget about the front discs - they need their pins lubed as well.
For a check [with the car off], pump the pedal to lose the vacuum assist. How does the pedal feel? High and tight? Now put the parking brake on, and it should be a little higher.

 

[eljefino]

Jack up the suspect tire/wheel and give it a good hearty spin. You should hear "bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt" every revolution as you get a very slight amount of drag out of the shoes.

>10 revolutions before stopping= shoes too loose.

This is also a good way to check your tire balance; if the tire reverses direction and stops with the valve stem in the same spot you've got a dud.

Lucky you, corolla drums have (self) tapped screw holes that make pulling rusty drums a breeze.

 

[demarpaint]

A spongy pedal could also mean the brakes need to be bled. After they're properly adjusted if they're still too soft I would suggest bleeding them.

 

[The Critic]

Thanks for all of the advice! I'll find out on Friday when I take it in.

 

[The Critic]

I had the local Firestone perform a clean and adjust of the rear brakes this morning.

The rear drums were way out of adjustment. If you spun them, there was no drag of the brake shoes on the brake drums. The parking brake took 12 clicks to engage!

The tech spent 30 minutes adjusting the rear drum brakes. He went through nearly an entire can of brake cleaner in an effort to clean out all of the old brake dust.

After the adjustment, the brake pedal no longer feels as "low." The braking response is significantly improved. Also, you no longer have to put your foot to the floor in order to keep the car from moving while in traffic. The parking brake now engages with only 6 clicks. Lastly, the squeaking noise that I would sometimes hear while using the brakes in reverse (i.e. backing out of a driveway) is gone.

It was well worth the $23.99. Normally the shop charged $29.99, but the owner threw in a 20% discount because I convinced him to.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
I had the local Firestone perform a clean and adjust of the rear brakes this morning.

The rear drums were way out of adjustment. If you spun them, there was no drag of the brake shoes on the brake drums. The parking brake took 12 clicks to engage!

The tech spent 30 minutes adjusting the rear drum brakes. He went through nearly an entire can of brake cleaner in an effort to clean out all of the old brake dust.

After the adjustment, the brake pedal no longer feels as "low." The braking response is significantly improved. Also, you no longer have to put your foot to the floor in order to keep the car from moving while in traffic. The parking brake now engages with only 6 clicks. Lastly, the squeaking noise that I would sometimes hear while using the brakes in reverse (i.e. backing out of a driveway) is gone.

It was well worth the $23.99. Normally the shop charged $29.99, but the owner threw in a 20% discount because I convinced him to.

I am glad your brakes are better. Always good to have a sure stop. But most drum brakes are self adjusting and adjust when you back up and apply the brakes. In many cases then you have to push in a thin screwdriver and back off the star wheel with another tool to be able to get the drum off.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Donald
I am glad your brakes are better. Always good to have a sure stop. But most drum brakes are self adjusting and adjust when you back up and apply the brakes. In many cases then you have to push in a thin screwdriver and back off the star wheel with another tool to be able to get the drum off.

I tried backing up and applying the brakes, but that didn't seem to work.

The tech used a hammer to get the drums off. Another way is to use screws.

 

[mechtech2]

Drum brakes that are adjusted by normal driving are never as high as if you manually adjust them.
So expect the pedal to go down somewhat in the future.

 

[doitmyself]

Critic, you must be the one in a hundred customer that Firestone didn't make a killing on.

In our area they have a reputation of bait and switch tactics. They either charge you $29 for a brake service that is not necessary (adjusters working o.k.). Or, more often, they "find" just enough wrong to convince you on an entire brake job.

Glad to hear you had a good experience there. Maybe they are one of the good ones with good personnel.

 

[Jim 5]

The rear drums on my previous truck could be adjusted by backing up and slamming on the brakes. You really had to find an abandoned parking lot and get it going close to 25 mph in reverse then SLAM on the brakes....to the point that ABS on the front wheels came on.

I did this 3-6 times in a row every 10k miles or so and noticed a significant difference, just like you mentioned. The self adjusters can work, but it is pretty surprising how hard you have to brake in reverse.

In a very safe environment, it can work.

 

[labman]

If that is what it takes, no wonder my self adjusters have never worked.

 

[AcuraTech]

I just put the car up on the hoist and adjust them manually. Not hard to do at all. No guess work involved. Well adjusted drums are imperative to correct pedal feel and stopping distance.