does any bodys e-brake work?

(4)runnin'it

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in both of the 3rd gens i've had neither of them work. oh and my car doesnt idle i can be sitting on the slightest incline and it just doesnt go anywhere? is this common? anyway to fix it?
 
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(4)runnin'it said:
in both of the 3rd gens i've had neither of them work. oh and my car doesnt idle i can be sitting on the slightest incline and it just doesnt go anywhere? is this common? anyway to fix it?

My e-brake works well. To tighten it I think you go to an open parking lot and put it in reverse while slowly pulling up the brake until you come to a stop or something along those lines...

And as far as "not idling on inclines" I think what you're experiencing is the fact that as the engine warms up, the idle RPM drops

Cold start: +/- 1,500 RPM

Warm start: +/- 600 RPM

Say you're on a slight incline when your engine is still warming up - the RPM's will be higher that normal, therefore giving the effect that the transmission is "holding" the car in place on the slope. Once the engine warms up, the RPM's at idle drop, exerting less energy through the torque converter, at which time gravity takes over and your car beings to roll backwards down the slope, even though you still are in D
 
mine doesnt work very good either, i have to yank it all the way to the last notch to get it just SLOW my car down :mad:
 
you can adjust the rear brakes with the star wheel inside the drum...you can access it from behind the backing place, behind the little oval-shaped rubber plug...don't over tighten it or you'll lokc up your rear wheels when you dont want to....bad news
 
It's a common thing on these trucks, especially if you live in an area that uses salt in the winter.

If you look at your axle from the rear looking towards the front. You see the park brake cable, that park brake cable is connected to the park brake lever which actuates the shoes on the drums. That lever sits on a pivot, that pivot likes to sieze up when it's not being used especially on automatic 4Runners. You can take it apart, clean it up and put an anti siezing compound on it. Then, use your park brake every now and then to make sure it doesn't sieze.

Oh, and my E-Brake works great by the way it was siezed up when I bought it. Cleaned it up, serviced it now it works great!
 
Victor said:
It's a common thing on these trucks, especially if you live in an area that uses salt in the winter.

If you look at your axle from the rear looking towards the front. You see the park brake cable, that park brake cable is connected to the park brake lever which actuates the shoes on the drums. That lever sits on a pivot, that pivot likes to sieze up when it's not being used especially on automatic 4Runners. You can take it apart, clean it up and put an anti siezing compound on it. Then, use your park brake every now and then to make sure it doesn't sieze.

Oh, and my E-Brake works great by the way it was siezed up when I bought it. Cleaned it up, serviced it now it works great!
That is exactly how mine is now. I will have to take apart that pivot and clean it up.
 
Great info Victor! Thanks for posting that. I just feel like that would take a while lol. How long did it take you to do?
 
yeah i had to do it alot when I worked at toyota, even with an automatic i still use my e-brake, just a habit from my old RX-7 days and when you're parked it's the brakes that hold the wheels rather than the u-joints, so i would assume it's alot better for the driveline

If the lever is frozen, you've gotta pull apart the whole drum, if you take your time and have all the stuff necessary it should take you about 35-45 minutes a side....if you do them frequently like i did, you can do them both in under a half hour haha
 
sn0wrunner said:
Great info Victor! Thanks for posting that. I just feel like that would take a while lol. How long did it take you to do?

Well, it really depends how rusty your linkage really is. It takes me just under a half hour to do per side. The hardest part is getting the clip off (you need a new crimp c-clip by the way when you do it.) Then gettting the pin out is one thing if its rusted to a crisp.

Parts list:

I'd reccomend you get the crimp C-Clips for both sides, I don't exactly know what they're called but your parts rep at your area Toyota dealer will be able to find it for you.

Secondly, get the pivot base (it bolts onto the backing plate). This way, you don't have to clean the pivot because it can be a big pain unless you have a bas**** file. That said, you'll only need to clean the lever arm ONLY.

Use an anti siezing compound and use it generously then place the lever boot back over the pivot base. Repeat the removal process.

Hint: Some of you will find that the brake shoe will be in the way of the bolts. You can pull the shoes down enough to insert a shallow 12mm socket with a 3/8's extension.

Now is a good time to check your axle shaft seals and check and adjust your rear brakes. Remember, brakes that are out of adjustment WILL give you a low brake pedal feel.
 
when i did rear shoes, i lost mine but i adjusted the linkage on the part in the cab and it works great now. it will have to be adjusted i think every time you get new brake shoes.
 
I adjusted the star wheels on mine a bit, and it helped some, still have vibration on brand new rotors (not new for long at this rate!)

It seemed to me that you adjust the wheels by clicking them "up" but I couldn't seem to get them to go the other way, so I didn't want to go until the pads dragged, in case I couldn't back it off. Is there a little catch I have to release to "back off" the pads using the star wheel?
 
I adjusted the star wheels on mine a bit, and it helped some, still have vibration on brand new rotors (not new for long at this rate!)

It seemed to me that you adjust the wheels by clicking them "up" but I couldn't seem to get them to go the other way, so I didn't want to go until the pads dragged, in case I couldn't back it off. Is there a little catch I have to release to "back off" the pads using the star wheel?

Yeah, you can get them to go the other way by pushing a second screwdriver alongside the one you use to turn the star wheel. You use it to push the ratchet pawl away from the star wheel and then you can turn it down. It's easy to get the idea if you look at one with the drum off. (Of course, you usually need to adjust it to GET the drum off.)
 
To tighten it I think you go to an open parking lot and put it in reverse while slowly pulling up the brake until you come to a stop or something along those lines...


I would advise against reversing and pulling the e-brake........I read that on a thread once, tried it, and it seized up! I ended up driving around with the brake on for a few days, before noticing! The result was over heated brake shoes, that cracked, and I had to replace them!
 
Mine was frozen for years. I made it through several state safety inspections with it frozen up, as well. I finally had the shop that did my exhaust give me some rear shoes and new e-brake linkages as well. Works good, I suppose, not great. I can not lock up the rear brakes with it, that's for sure.
I guess I can forget about drifting in the 4Runner.
 
Helpful thread! I just replaced my fronts (easy) and rears (not so much). To get the rear springs off of the shoes, I turned the spur to reduce the spreader to its shortest length. When I put it all back together, my brakes worked, but my parking brake gave me nothin'. I tried the reverse trick and pumped the brake pedal and pulled and released the parking brake handle, but nothing worked.
Last thing I did... pulled up the parking brake handle two clicks (in Park with car off), then got under the rear end, removed the rubber oval plug near top of backing plate and turned the adjustment spur (down) on each side as far as I could using a screwdriver until it wouldn't go any more. Got back into car and all is well. Good Luck!
 

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