DIY HELP: rear brakes

[mole177]

working on the rear brakes now... can't get the rotor off.

parking brake is released and i even clicked the ticker adjustment inside the housing.

there's some pin behind the hub... do i need to release it??

HELP!

thanks

 

[Jed]

The rear rotor should slide right off once you remove the caliper and release the parking brake. If your is stuck, it is probably rusted to the hub. You should be able to get it free with a few good taps with a hammer. If not, look to see if there is a threaded hole somewhere near the lug nuts. If there is, that hole is there for you to put a bolt into to "press" the rotor off the hub.

 

[mole177]

right. the rotor is free to wiggle, but it seems the parking brake is holding onto the rotor.

i tried using the 2 screws which are 8x 1.25 mm to press the rotor off, but no dice.

there is no rust.

 

[Jed]

Ok...in that case, it seems that your parking brake isn't completely releasing. That would definitely make it very difficult to remove the rotor.

 

[Jed]

I can't say from memory, but you should be able to access the parking brake adjustment from behind the hub. If so, you should be able to turn the adjustment enough to release the parking brake shoes. You'll just have to completely readjust the parking brake when you're finished with the brake job.

 

[mole177]

small job turned into big job...

i have to tow it to mech...

this could have been prevented if i had clicked the gear futher than what i had it at... i thought it was enough, but it wasn't.

i got the rotor off, but now the parking brake springs and a couple parts for the parking brake are disassembled.

i will be flat bedding it to my mech and let him do the rest of the job.

Fail...

Thanks for the speedy input Jed.

 

[TechWrench]

I can't say from memory, but you should be able to access the parking brake adjustment from behind the hub. If so, you should be able to turn the adjustment enough to release the parking brake shoes. You'll just have to completely readjust the parking brake when you're finished with the brake job.

Actually, with the 4Runner rear discs, the parking brake shoe adjustment is from the front side of the disc. You have to remove the wheel, and I use two lug nuts to keep the disc in place while making the adjustments. There are two holes in the front of the disc, and if you rotate the disc to line up one with the corresponding hole in the bottom side (about 6 o'clock) of the plate behind the hub, you can access the adjusting wheel with a narrow screwdriver. The adjuster wheel can turn in either direction, there is no self adjusting system on the parking brake system, so rotating the wheel either up or down (I can't remember which right now) will back off on the shoe adjustment and allow the disc to be removed easily. Once the repairs are made, just reverse the process to make the final shoe adjustment on the parking brakes before reinstalling the wheels.

 

[Jed]

Actually, with the 4Runner rear discs....

LOL...um, yeah..thanks for that. I'm not sure how you thought for even a moment that anyone was saying that the 4Runner has rear drums. All along we've been talking about rear rotor removal, not rear drum removal.

 

[TechWrench]

LOL...um, yeah..thanks for that. I'm not sure how you thought for even a moment that anyone was saying that the 4Runner has rear drums. All along we've been talking about rear rotor removal, not rear drum removal.

Never said anyone was talking about a rear drum system. I just wanted to make sure he understood that the rear parking brake shoes adjustment was accessed from the front/outer side of the disc, not the inside like your post could lead someone to think.

 

[Jed]

Never said anyone was talking about a rear drum system. I just wanted to make sure he understood that the rear parking brake shoes adjustment was accessed from the front/outer side of the disc, not the inside like your post could lead someone to think.

Okay, got ya..... I couldn't remember from memory if the brakes were adjust from the back or not. Either way, it would only take a second for anyone to realize that the adjustment isn't from the back if there is no access!