85 Brake drum

[nofe3o2]

Hey, I'm new to the forum so please be gentle. I've just joined the club with the purchase of an 85 4runner. It's an interesting piece of work as it is an 85 operating with a 88 ECU, which has made for some interesting exhaust-O2 sensor work. Anyway I have been getting it ready for a Maine inspection sticker and am now tackling the rear brakes. I am having some difficulty removing the passenger side drum was hoping for some advice or tips. The guy who sold it to me threw in the complete service manual so I have that. Looking forward to any help.

 

[cometobanks]

Adjust the shoes all the way up (loose). then there are two threaded holes on the face of the brake drum near the lug studs. Thread the proper size bolts into the holes tighten and it should press the drum right off.

That being said, you may have to do some banging and use copious amounts of break free.


lotsa luck

 

[KidVermicious]

Use the blue wrench and convert to disc brakes.

 

[nofe3o2]

I've already loosened up the adjustment bolt. Whats the blue wrench? I would like to convert to disc brakes but for now economics dictate fixing the drum brakes.

 

[nofe3o2]

Good old beat'n and bang'n got it off. Thanks

 

[nofe3o2]

Can anybody talk about the pros and cons of doing a disc brake conversion? Are the drum brakes all that bad. I'm replacing the shoes and hardware for now but plan on doing upgrades a little bit at a time. Painting the underside with Rust Bullet will be my first task, to keep it surprisingly rust free in Maine.

 

[KidVermicious]

Can anybody talk about the pros and cons of doing a disc brake conversion? Are the drum brakes all that bad. I'm replacing the shoes and hardware for now but plan on doing upgrades a little bit at a time. Painting the underside with Rust Bullet will be my first task, to keep it surprisingly rust free in Maine.

Blue wrench = cutting torch.

Drum brakes aren't horrible, but disc brakes are obviously better - more stopping power, easier to service, etc. There's kits out there, or you can source the parts yourself. If you're staying street legal, you'll need a parking brake, your old one goes away when the drums go away.

If you've got stockish tires and aren't bothered by servicing the drums, you don't need the conversion. The larger your tires, the more necessary it gets.

 

[fourwd1]

Can anybody talk about the pros and cons of doing a disc brake conversion? Are the drum brakes all that bad. I'm replacing the shoes and hardware for now but plan on doing upgrades a little bit at a time. Painting the underside with Rust Bullet will be my first task, to keep it surprisingly rust free in Maine.

Just concentrate on getting your stock brakes working properly.
They do the job fine. I run 36" tires and they are still adequate, but that's in the area when a disc conversion can make a difference.

 

[nofe3o2]

Thanks fourwd1, I thought so. Thankfully the seller threw in a complete 85 service manual which is like having your hand held. I stripped the binding, three hole punched the whole thing and put it in a binder. It makes it easy to photocopy the pages and just have what you need to do the job without dealing with the whole manual. Now if I could just get some procrastination out of the way.

 

[Inpor]

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[cometobanks]

What if my RX-7 has a straight axle swap?

 

[KidVermicious]

Wait - RX-7? Drum brakes?

Don't do it, it's a trap!

 

[nofe3o2]

It's done! What a mess they were to start out with. This project was undertaken to get the parking brake working so I could obtain an inspection sticker. Seems whoever last attempted to install a new p-brake cable failed to adjust it properly and the right side p-brake was always on for a while until several springs let go and every thing siezed. None the less, everything came apart ok with some beatin and bangin. Cleaned up nicely, siezed bellcranks were freed up with PB Blaster, that stuff is the shat, reassembled, adjusted and good to go. We'll go and get it inspected tomorrow.