My mechanic at the shop replaced the rear drums, shoes, cylinders, and all hardware. 2000 4runner.

It was silent for a bit but after a few thousand km it started making a pretty bad rotational grinding/screeching/wincing noise from the rear.

It is not really present when cold only after driving for a bit, and most noticeable when braking 30-60% ish. (hard stops are fine, very light pedal also no noise)

The shop warrantied the drums, and I have had it in there twice now they have taken them apart and sanded, cleaned, etc. We are both stumped and considering taking it to the dealer for just another opinion...

Wondering what else to look at, we are both going a bit mad.

How about the axle wheel bearings going bad? As they could have enough wear that the hub is moving slightly causing your issue as a possibility.

Or possibly a bent wheel hub on the axle is all that would come to mind as to cause this issue.

The dust shield around the drum is another cause of grinding noise back there. However, when the drum is on and you spin it you hear that hit instantly.

Probably gonna be very hard to do but is there anyway you could upload a video of it making the noise?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I will try yeah, I was going to do this to help my mechanic as well

I appreciate the comment - would this all be relevant knowing that when I pull the e-brake it makes the noise? I missed that detail, sorry...

Sounds like the drums are trying to center......are the brake shoes adjusted properly because you pulling the e brake is applying the brake shoes. Also make sure the bell cranks and cable pivot points move freely.

As the shoes will press onto the drums when applying. Will the e brake stop the car? If not, it's majorly out of adjustment


Sent from my SM-A536V using Tapatalk

My mechanic mentioned they adjusted everything a few times now, including the e-brake cable - once it was too tight then they tried backing it off. It does stop the truck but it is quite weak. I'm not sure what to expect though since it has never had much stopping power in my 4 years of ownership.

I am sort of reaching out to gather some insights here to round up and bring back when we chat next week. Thanks for any and all feedback

Having had a lot of issues with my rear brakes I will say this. Manually adjusting them is ok but it’s very easy to go too tight. You want to hear the shoes LIGHTLY rub on the drum when you spin the wheel

I would make sure your bell cranks are working properly, which since everything is new back there they should be and back them off till you know they are loose. Then basically just keep pulling the Ebrake until they are tight. Sit there and crank it like 50 times. Once they are tight the adjusters will slip so they can’t overtighten. Then for added measure I tighten by one more click and this has always worked perfectly for me.

Having the proper adjustment for the rear brakes will help even the playing field and cross one area out when troubleshooting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Are you sure you don't have any air in your brake system. These can be very tricky to bleed and air can get stuck in the abs acutators. I am just trying to think on what else could cause rear brake issues.

Sent from my SM-A536V using Tapatalk

My educated guess is the replacement drums and replacement shoes were aftermarket. Aftermarket drums and shoes are notorious for sucking. It would be quite the coincidence for the wheel bearings to go out shortly after doing the rear brakes. Using logic, the culprit for the noise most likely has something to do with the recent brake job.

Buy some OEM rotors and OEM shoes and I bet your problems will be gone.

Instead of bringing it back to the mechanic for the umpteenth time, you could use the video @JZiggy and I made, and do the job yourself. But, if the mechanic is doing the work for free, then I guess it would be worthwhile to let them do it one more time.

I’m with Tim on the use of aftermarket drums/shoes.
When I did my rear axle seals/bearings I initially had fitment issues with the aftermarket shoes I installed.
Instead of jerking around I ordered up some OEM shoes & drums from Conicelli Toyota. 30K miles and no issues.
I also rebuilt the bell cranks as they were a mess.

I disagree.

I never had issues with aftermarket shoes rotors or drums. As I haven't use Toyota oem brake parts for years. Especially the pads or shoes. This is very interesting.


So you guys want the Op to just throw the shoes and drums out and buy OEM?

I just run these till shoes are junk and go from there. Because I really don't think the OP does he own work and will have to pay again to have the work done again with OEM parts.

That is if the e brake will stop the car quickly. As the rear is only 10% braking and it's main purpose is the emergency brake.

I use this as a learning experience but this is just me.


Sent from my SM-A536V using Tapatalk

Just sharing my experience with aftermarket brake components.
Bought the brake parts from Autozone so it was easy enough for me to return them when I ran into fitment issues. I should have known better as I also had fitment problem with the front pads on my T100 from Autozone.
On that occasion it was clear the pads from Autozone were not correct as once I purchased the OEM pads from Toyota the difference in the pads was obvious.
I live in an area with some winding and steep roads so I need all the braking power I can get as we all know the factory brakes are marginal on these trucks.

Nothing wrong with that. I am suspecting a Belcranks or emergency brake cable not functioning properly or slightly sticking on this one. Possibly the pivot point on the cable seized.

As I believe the OP mentioned, this only occurs when using the emergency brake. If the emergency brake cable isn't pulling properly or if the bellcranks are not releasing and moving freely. The drums will not fit on properly.

I rather see the problem be found and fixed. Then playing the parts cannon game.

Sent from my SM-A536V using Tapatalk

Yep, we both know what the culprit is. I can't count how many stories I've heard of people having issues with aftermarket drums and shoes. I have no doubt aftermarket drums and shoes are the issue, unless the mechanic doing the job is severely incompetent. Our drum brakes are incredibly easy to work on.