Rear brakes
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cfranck1
New member
Take a look at this. It might help you a little
4x4Wire - Toyota 4WD, Off-Highway, & 4x4 Information
4x4Wire - Toyota 4WD, Off-Highway, & 4x4 Information
bigtimeweb
New member
I did this in the spring. Its nothing like discs at all....drums and shoes are a whole new game.
Get a new set of springs when you do it and be prepared to have the talent to replace small tensioned springs. The person that helped me had this talent. I do not :biggrin2: Their secret is using a long stemmed screwdriver to slide it into position. You have to take off the springs to change the shoes no matter what.
Pay attention to the routing of everything - and how it goes together - there are a lot of parts.
When you put your drums back on, try to use the expander arm up top to get them as snug as possible before you put your tire back on, then you can use your ebrake to finish it up.
On the rear of the wheel up top there is a small rubber oval plug that you can pop out and adjust the brakes with either a brake spoon or a screwdriver. If your drums are stuck you can attempt to release tension through that port hole - there is a small brass piece that prevents you from spinning it in one direction - you have to lift that with a screwdriver and go the other way.....OR....put a bolt through the open hole on the drum and it will push itself out/off. I think it was a metric 18? Its big, and it worked.
If you find oil inside when you open it up clean everything with a spray solvent and be concerned about your axle seals.
Helpful info on bleeding
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/63031-brake-issues.html
4Runners.org - Brake Bleeeding
Get a new set of springs when you do it and be prepared to have the talent to replace small tensioned springs. The person that helped me had this talent. I do not :biggrin2: Their secret is using a long stemmed screwdriver to slide it into position. You have to take off the springs to change the shoes no matter what.
Pay attention to the routing of everything - and how it goes together - there are a lot of parts.
When you put your drums back on, try to use the expander arm up top to get them as snug as possible before you put your tire back on, then you can use your ebrake to finish it up.
On the rear of the wheel up top there is a small rubber oval plug that you can pop out and adjust the brakes with either a brake spoon or a screwdriver. If your drums are stuck you can attempt to release tension through that port hole - there is a small brass piece that prevents you from spinning it in one direction - you have to lift that with a screwdriver and go the other way.....OR....put a bolt through the open hole on the drum and it will push itself out/off. I think it was a metric 18? Its big, and it worked.
If you find oil inside when you open it up clean everything with a spray solvent and be concerned about your axle seals.
Helpful info on bleeding
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/63031-brake-issues.html
4Runners.org - Brake Bleeeding
jsmithjr732
New member
Take a few pictures for reference, read-up on the how-to sites, and take your time. If you screw up the order in putting it back together, don't worry about...it happens to everyone.
The rears are relatively easy after you do them once. Nothing too crazy.
The rears are relatively easy after you do them once. Nothing too crazy.
BigFishAllDay
New member
It's really not that bad. You'll need two special tools. I bought both of them at Autozone. The first tool is a set of brake spring pliers. They have long, skinny jaws on them, and one on the jaws is shaped like a "J" and the other jaw fits into the bend of the "J".
Like this: OTC/Brake spring pliers and claw (4590) | Pliers | AutoZone.com
They are used for grabbing the springs and stretching them so you can hook them back into place. The second tool is a brake retainer
The second tool is a Brake Spring compression tool. You place this over the little cups you see in the 3rd and 6th pictures. Put the tool over the cups, press inward to take the spring's tension off the cup, then turn, and the cup will come off of the pin that retains it.
Like this: OTC/Brake spring compression tool (4591) | Brake Tool | AutoZone.com
1) Get a rubber hammer/mallet and tap on the drum to loosen it up. Pull it off and shoot the whole thing with a can of brake cleaner. Use the whole can and get it nice and clean.
2) I used one side of the handle on the brake spring pliers to get ahold of the end of the large spring you see in the 1st picture. It's shaped like a "U" so you put the "U" under the spring, then push it outward until you can unhook it from the shoe.
That will drop the tension on the shoes, and you can then unhook the bottom spring (Picture #5) pretty easily.
3) Use the Brake Spring Compression Tool to remove the cups from each of the shoes (Pics 3 & 6). If you check out picture 6, you can see that on the cup there is a little slot... when you rotate the cup 90 degrees, the head on that pin will line up with the slot and the cup comes right off.
Things will be getting really loose at this point, so remove the cable you see stretched between the shoes in pictures 4, 5, 6. Simply unhook it from it's mounting points.
4) You should now be able to remove both shoes, and the adjuster assembly you see in pics 1, 2, 3 (part with the gear on it) will pretty much fall right out. Once you get it off, you should turn the threads to shorten it a bit which will make re-assembly a little easier.
5) The shoe on the left just gets R & R'd, but the one on the right you will have to take apart in order to move the adjusting arms from the old shoe to the new one. There are two C-clips that you can see in the 3rd picture, top center. Remove those and set them aside. Slide the adjusting arms off the pin, and install them on the new shoe.
ONLY BUY TOYOTA BRAKE SHOES! Autozone shoes are crap, and don't come with new C-Clips. The toyota shoes are about $70 and come with new C-Clips, and the pins that the adjusting arms and C-clips mount to are already pressed into the shoes.
6) Putting it back together is the hardest part. Once you've got the shoe on the right side all re-assembled with the adjusting arms, put the shoes back onto the center pins (remember to lubricate the points where the shoes contact the backing plate with some caliper lube), and reinstall the cups using the Brake Spring Compression Tool.
7) Hook up the cable at the bottom, then the small blue spring in pics 4,5,6. This is going to make the top part of the shoes spread apart, so you can insert the adjuster assembly. It's helpful to have a second set of hands to hold the shoes while you get it lined up. Once you've got it back in there right, hook up the top spring. It makes it easier if you hook up the right side of the top spring before you put the tensioner in... then do the left side after you get the adjuster lined up.
8) Spin the gear to expand the adjuster back to about where it was, and test fit by putting the drum over the shoes... if they aren't making any contact, expand it a little more until they just barely touch when you put the drum back on, then back it off a little so the drum goes on nice and easy. You can make the final adjustment through the access hole on the differential side of the backing plate with a screwdriver. I adjust mine until I could just barely feel them drag.
9) Get in and pull the E-brake a few times, it should pull up high the first time, then the next few times it'll get tighter and stop lower when you pull it up.
That's about it... just take some pics before you start, and only do one side at a time, that way if you get mixed up, you can go check the other side to see how things should look. I may have forgotten some small things, as I'm going off of memory here.
The pics below are starting at about 10 o'clock and moving clockwise to 12, 2, 4, 6 and 9.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
Like this: OTC/Brake spring pliers and claw (4590) | Pliers | AutoZone.com
They are used for grabbing the springs and stretching them so you can hook them back into place. The second tool is a brake retainer
The second tool is a Brake Spring compression tool. You place this over the little cups you see in the 3rd and 6th pictures. Put the tool over the cups, press inward to take the spring's tension off the cup, then turn, and the cup will come off of the pin that retains it.
Like this: OTC/Brake spring compression tool (4591) | Brake Tool | AutoZone.com
1) Get a rubber hammer/mallet and tap on the drum to loosen it up. Pull it off and shoot the whole thing with a can of brake cleaner. Use the whole can and get it nice and clean.
2) I used one side of the handle on the brake spring pliers to get ahold of the end of the large spring you see in the 1st picture. It's shaped like a "U" so you put the "U" under the spring, then push it outward until you can unhook it from the shoe.
That will drop the tension on the shoes, and you can then unhook the bottom spring (Picture #5) pretty easily.
3) Use the Brake Spring Compression Tool to remove the cups from each of the shoes (Pics 3 & 6). If you check out picture 6, you can see that on the cup there is a little slot... when you rotate the cup 90 degrees, the head on that pin will line up with the slot and the cup comes right off.
Things will be getting really loose at this point, so remove the cable you see stretched between the shoes in pictures 4, 5, 6. Simply unhook it from it's mounting points.
4) You should now be able to remove both shoes, and the adjuster assembly you see in pics 1, 2, 3 (part with the gear on it) will pretty much fall right out. Once you get it off, you should turn the threads to shorten it a bit which will make re-assembly a little easier.
5) The shoe on the left just gets R & R'd, but the one on the right you will have to take apart in order to move the adjusting arms from the old shoe to the new one. There are two C-clips that you can see in the 3rd picture, top center. Remove those and set them aside. Slide the adjusting arms off the pin, and install them on the new shoe.
ONLY BUY TOYOTA BRAKE SHOES! Autozone shoes are crap, and don't come with new C-Clips. The toyota shoes are about $70 and come with new C-Clips, and the pins that the adjusting arms and C-clips mount to are already pressed into the shoes.
6) Putting it back together is the hardest part. Once you've got the shoe on the right side all re-assembled with the adjusting arms, put the shoes back onto the center pins (remember to lubricate the points where the shoes contact the backing plate with some caliper lube), and reinstall the cups using the Brake Spring Compression Tool.
7) Hook up the cable at the bottom, then the small blue spring in pics 4,5,6. This is going to make the top part of the shoes spread apart, so you can insert the adjuster assembly. It's helpful to have a second set of hands to hold the shoes while you get it lined up. Once you've got it back in there right, hook up the top spring. It makes it easier if you hook up the right side of the top spring before you put the tensioner in... then do the left side after you get the adjuster lined up.
8) Spin the gear to expand the adjuster back to about where it was, and test fit by putting the drum over the shoes... if they aren't making any contact, expand it a little more until they just barely touch when you put the drum back on, then back it off a little so the drum goes on nice and easy. You can make the final adjustment through the access hole on the differential side of the backing plate with a screwdriver. I adjust mine until I could just barely feel them drag.
9) Get in and pull the E-brake a few times, it should pull up high the first time, then the next few times it'll get tighter and stop lower when you pull it up.
That's about it... just take some pics before you start, and only do one side at a time, that way if you get mixed up, you can go check the other side to see how things should look. I may have forgotten some small things, as I'm going off of memory here.
The pics below are starting at about 10 o'clock and moving clockwise to 12, 2, 4, 6 and 9.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
Last edited:
BTO
Member
Yep, on the money. I bought the AZ shoes and learned this the hard way. Not a show stopper but none the less.
Only thing I can add to your write up is about the adjusters. When all is disassembled take the adjusters and soak them in PB Blaster and then blow them off with a compressor. They will actually work after that.
stever1000
New member
It's really not that bad. You'll need two special tools. I bought both of them at Autozone. The first tool is a set of brake spring pliers. They have long, skinny jaws on them, and one on the jaws is shaped like a "J" and the other jaw fits into the bend of the "J".
Like this: OTC/Brake spring pliers and claw (4590) | Pliers | AutoZone.com
They are used for grabbing the springs and stretching them so you can hook them back into place. The second tool is a brake retainer
The second tool is a Brake Spring compression tool. You place this over the little cups you see in the 3rd and 6th pictures. Put the tool over the cups, press inward to take the spring's tension off the cup, then turn, and the cup will come off of the pin that retains it.
Like this: OTC/Brake spring compression tool (4591) | Brake Tool | AutoZone.com
1) Get a rubber hammer/mallet and tap on the drum to loosen it up. Pull it off and shoot the whole thing with a can of brake cleaner. Use the whole can and get it nice and clean.
2) I used one side of the handle on the brake spring pliers to get ahold of the end of the large spring you see in the 1st picture. It's shaped like a "U" so you put the "U" under the spring, then push it outward until you can unhook it from the shoe.
That will drop the tension on the shoes, and you can then unhook the bottom spring (Picture #5) pretty easily.
3) Use the Brake Spring Compression Tool to remove the cups from each of the shoes (Pics 3 & 6). If you check out picture 6, you can see that on the cup there is a little slot... when you rotate the cup 90 degrees, the head on that pin will line up with the slot and the cup comes right off.
Things will be getting really loose at this point, so remove the cable you see stretched between the shoes in pictures 4, 5, 6. Simply unhook it from it's mounting points.
4) You should now be able to remove both shoes, and the adjuster assembly you see in pics 1, 2, 3 (part with the gear on it) will pretty much fall right out. Once you get it off, you should turn the threads to shorten it a bit which will make re-assembly a little easier.
5) The shoe on the left just gets R & R'd, but the one on the right you will have to take apart in order to move the adjusting arms from the old shoe to the new one. There are two C-clips that you can see in the 3rd picture, top center. Remove those and set them aside. Slide the adjusting arms off the pin, and install them on the new shoe.
ONLY BUY TOYOTA BRAKE SHOES! Autozone shoes are crap, and don't come with new C-Clips. The toyota shoes are about $70 and come with new C-Clips, and the pins that the adjusting arms and C-clips mount to are already pressed into the shoes.
6) Putting it back together is the hardest part. Once you've got the shoe on the right side all re-assembled with the adjusting arms, put the shoes back onto the center pins (remember to lubricate the points where the shoes contact the backing plate with some caliper lube), and reinstall the cups using the Brake Spring Compression Tool.
7) Hook up the cable at the bottom, then the small blue spring in pics 4,5,6. This is going to make the top part of the shoes spread apart, so you can insert the adjuster assembly. It's helpful to have a second set of hands to hold the shoes while you get it lined up. Once you've got it back in there right, hook up the top spring. It makes it easier if you hook up the right side of the top spring before you put the tensioner in... then do the left side after you get the adjuster lined up.
8) Spin the gear to expand the adjuster back to about where it was, and test fit by putting the drum over the shoes... if they aren't making any contact, expand it a little more until they just barely touch when you put the drum back on, then back it off a little so the drum goes on nice and easy. You can make the final adjustment through the access hole on the differential side of the backing plate with a screwdriver. I adjust mine until I could just barely feel them drag.
9) Get in and pull the E-brake a few times, it should pull up high the first time, then the next few times it'll get tighter and stop lower when you pull it up.
That's about it... just take some pics before you start, and only do one side at a time, that way if you get mixed up, you can go check the other side to see how things should look. I may have forgotten some small things, as I'm going off of memory here.
The pics below are starting at about 10 o'clock and moving clockwise to 12, 2, 4, 6 and 9.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
Do you still have the pictures available?
Rock_Rat
Senior Member
Rear brakes are easy. So many folks make it more difficult than they are. Just pre-assemble them and "open" them up pre-assembled and slide them over the axle. If it's your first time, remove BOTH wheels but only do one side at a time. If you get lost, run around to other side and take a look.
You DO NOT need to turn the drums if they don't need it. Use the fingernail test and if you so desire, take them in and have them measured. Use a piece of emery cloth to smooth it out and break them in as required.
You only need one tool to make the job easier and that's the "screwdriver" looking tool for the hold down springs.
Like most parts on these rigs, OEM is your best bet.
Look at my write up with pics here Rear Brakes
