Time to replace rear brake shoes?

N

NathanOfSeattle

Member
How would I know when it is time to replace the rear brake shoes on my 2000 4 Runner? Would I hear the high pitch squealing like I do when my front brake pads need replacement?
 
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that or u can just pop off the wheel and drum and take a look at the brakes.

rears are a PITA if u dont have the tools. but tools are cheap.
 
bak3rme said:
that or u can just pop off the wheel and drum and take a look at the brakes.

rears are a PITA if u dont have the tools. but tools are cheap.
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Thanks!

Yeah I watched a video on youtube on how to replace the brake shoes and it seems like a lot of work :). I'm comfortable doing brake pads, but all those springs and small parts on the brake shoes scare me.
 
NathanOfSeattle said:
Thanks!

Yeah I watched a video on youtube on how to replace the brake shoes and it seems like a lot of work :). I'm comfortable doing brake pads, but all those springs and small parts on the brake shoes scare me.
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its not too bad.. the first time i did it was a complete nightmare. a total disaster..but once i knew what i did wrong it was easy from there.

just buy the tool for like 6 bucks at a autostore and you should be good after watching a few videos . the springs are not that bad. the tool will help you TONS
 
Just do one at a time so you can always go look at the other one--and get the tool. I did my first drum service on my 4Runner and it wasn't too bad. Keep the FSM chapter handy.

Amazing I always had 4-wheel disks on all my cars and tractor drums have bands, not shoes.
 
TheDurk said:
Just do one at a time so you can always go look at the other one--and get the tool. I did my first drum service on my 4Runner and it wasn't too bad. Keep the FSM chapter handy.

Amazing I always had 4-wheel disks on all my cars and tractor drums have bands, not shoes.
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Which specific tool do I need? Sorry, you have to dumb it down for me..
 
Wonder why our trucks came with rear drums anyway. 95-97 lcs had rear discs...seems 96 would have been the perfect year to upgrade the 4runners as well.
 
NathanOfSeattle said:
Which specific tool do I need? Sorry, you have to dumb it down for me..
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I'm too lazy to post a pic, but here is the tool, some including mine only have one side, they just have different size springs. It's to compress the springs that hold the shoes to backing plate.

http://www.princessauto.com/worksho...pair/8248452-brake-shoe-hold-down-spring-tool

Like TheDurk said, just do one at a time so you can use the other side as reference for how it should look etc.

Just make sure you pay attention as you take em apart, and have a jar with some kerosene or something to stick the parts you take off in. Makes cleaning em up easy.

It took me 4 or 5 hours to do mine, but it was also -18 degrees celsius outside in the middle of winter so I was friggin cold and everything was stiffer.

One suggestion, when you get to the part where you have to remove the springs that hold the shoes together at the top and bottom, the best thing I found to use was needlenose vise grips. Only thing that grabbed the spring hard enough for me to compress/stretch it into place.


Oh, and while your back there, may as well grease up the ebrake components and adjust them if they need to be. Plus you'll see if your axle seals are leaking at all.
 
Drums are pretty easy.
As already said, pull both drums and only disassemble one and use the other as a reference. This will save your a$$.

BIG NOTE: ONLY USE TOYOTA OE SHOES! Other brands usually cause issues.
 
Gerdo said:
Drums are pretty easy.
As already said, pull both drums and only disassemble one and use the other as a reference. This will save your a$$.

BIG NOTE: ONLY USE TOYOTA OE SHOES! Other brands usually cause issues.
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what are these issues? i replaced mine with duralast its been about 1k miles almost . just curious.
 
One other point: once the shoes are off, there is nothing holding the brake piston in the slave cylinder--it will easily pull right out. No biggie if it happens, but then you will need to bleed the system--which is probably a good idea anyway. You might also think about a fluid flush at this time, if it hasn't been done.
 
TheDurk said:
One other point: once the shoes are off, there is nothing holding the brake piston in the slave cylinder--it will easily pull right out. No biggie if it happens, but then you will need to bleed the system--which is probably a good idea anyway. You might also think about a fluid flush at this time, if it hasn't been done.
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Hahaha, I learned that the hard way. I was cleaning the boot and pushed on it a bit too hard. Pop and out it came, like you said, not a big problem, but I would have preferred not to have had to bleed it.
 
Gerdo said:
BIG NOTE: ONLY USE TOYOTA OE SHOES! Other brands usually cause issues.
Click to expand...

I put AZ Duralast shoes on our 4R and there is hardly any stopping power back there. The emergency brake barely slows the thing down. Is that one of the "issues" you speak of? I guess I'll go down and get some Toyota shoes this week.
 
If you have never replaced shows before making sure you leave one side on for reference as others have said. No special tools are really needed, but some can help make it a little easier.
Not sure what issues others have had with aftermarket shoes, but I've never used OE shoes and never have had issues. One thing I can stress is that our rear brakes are very sensitive to adjustment. If they are not adjusted properly you will have little to no brake power from the rear or they could be over adjusted and making contact all the time. Take your time and watch some videos. Take pics after removing the drum can help too.
 
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