QUICK HELP NEEDED on drum brakes!!!

[Maim Menu]

I was adjusting my rear drums, and asked somebody to press the pedal to see if everything was moving properly, but the guy kinda pressed too hard and the drum cylinder popped out and started squirting fluid on the driver side drum.

I put every thing back in and checked if everything moved correctly, but the whole assembly wiggles way too much, and it's pissing fluid out of the cylinder. It's like there is no pressure in the cylinder and it's pretty much opening and closing too easily.

Nobody has that cylinder on a saturday afternoon, and now I'm looking for an alternate solution.

Anybody can give me some advice, like is there a seal inside the cylinder that can be changed?

I would need the car on monday, but I guess I can find a plan B if there's nothing else I can do other than replace the cylinder.

[CAMRYTUNER20]

yeah you should go ahead and try to find another cylinder. its not worth tring to rebuild.

[Maim Menu]

Thanks, I got it apart, there are two green pistons, and one of the gasket-seals-o-rings is missing a chunk on one of the pistons. The actual cylinder is intact...

Lesson learned, don't test hydraulic brakes without the drums on.

[xtremeskier97]

Rebuilding the cylinder is easy and cheap. If they have the kits in stock at your local auto parts store, do that..but dont just do one side....when you rebuild/replace one side, you need to do the other also.

[Maim Menu]

Thanks for the responses, I got the other cylinder apart and it blew up in exactly the same way. Even the chunks of seals that came off are identical.

I'll check for a rebuild kit at the Toyota dealer, I think I'll plug the fluid holes with a bolt and drive back to Quebec on front brakes (1:30 hour highway) to visit the dealer and see what's up.

[xtremeskier97]

Good luck, and be careful. Dont follow too close to anyone, and you may want to put a clamp on those bolts you put in those fluid holes. You dont want those shooting out and then loosing all your fluid.

[Maim Menu]

I ended up leaving my car at my olds place and driving back home with THEIR Camry , I wassn't feeling too good about going highway driving with fronts only, and since my mother is sick and not working this week, they didn't need their car so they handed the keys over to me.

The plan now is to grab a rebuild kit from the Toyota dealer tomorrow, drive back to my parents home after work, fix the car up and drive it back to quebec.

If I wasn't so squeezed about the timing of it all I'd do an How-to-bleed-your-brakes-and-adjust-your-drums-then-oh-shit-WTF-drum-cylinder-replacement DIY thread.

The cam has to be up in QC city this week to fix the quarter panel that got hit two weeks ago as well. Timing is everything.

[new echo owner]

I would suggest wheel cylinders for both sides because of the mileage of your car. Less work and less to worry about too; you will need to hone the cylinders if you are putting a rebuilt kit on, and there is also a chance of it not sealing properly.

N.E.O.

[Zviator]

Do a dish brake swap.

[Maim Menu]

Originally Posted by new echo owner

I would suggest wheel cylinders for both sides because of the mileage of your car. Less work and less to worry about too; you will need to hone the cylinders if you are putting a rebuilt kit on, and there is also a chance of it not sealing properly.

N.E.O.

You need to hone the cylinder for a rubber seal?

Camricer : I agree it would be a great occasion but I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place right now...

[hevster1]

Originally Posted by Maim Menu

You need to hone the cylinder for a rubber seal?

Camricer : I agree it would be a great occasion but I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place right now...

Yes you do, otherwise it might not seal properly. Change the cylinders, they are fairly cheap. Bleed BOTH the front and rear brakes. Suck the old fluid out of the master first and refill with fresh clean fluid. Start with RR, LR, RF, LF on the bleeding procedure. You will have to add fluid in between. make sure your helper depresses the pedal to the floor and holds it there. When done your pedal should be all the way at the top (engine off). Road test it. If ok you are done. If in doubt bleed again.

[Hajoca]

The honing will give your cylinder to be clean and roughed up abit so the new eal will seat properly.

[Maim Menu]

Originally Posted by hevster1

Yes you do, otherwise it might not seal properly. Change the cylinders, they are fairly cheap. Bleed BOTH the front and rear brakes. Suck the old fluid out of the master first and refill with fresh clean fluid. Start with RR, LR, RF, LF on the bleeding procedure. You will have to add fluid in between. make sure your helper depresses the pedal to the floor and holds it there. When done your pedal should be all the way at the top (engine off). Road test it. If ok you are done. If in doubt bleed again.

I called in Toyota, I'm getting the whole cylinders, no rebuild kits cause they have to order them from Japan and they will take weeks to get here.

There is no fluid in the rear lines as we speak, I will bleed the front lines so I start empty and proceed with refill from there. Thanks a lot for the help everyone.

[new echo owner]

Don't bleed the system until it is empty, sometimes that would actually cause you more problem.

If you have to, suck out the fluid that is in the reservoir, clean the inside out as best as you can. Refill it with fresh fluid, put the wheel cylinder and every thing else back on, leave the bleed valve on the wheel cylinder loose with a pan or container underneath. When you see fluid dripping out, let it run for a couple of minutes, keep checking the fluid level in the master cylinder. Tighten the bleed valve, check the feel of the pedal, you might have to bleed the whole system, but it might at least give you a fairly decent pedal to start with.

Good Luck,

N.E.O.

[Maim Menu]

Aftermath. One chunk of seal gone on both front pistons of each side, oil gushing out, no brake pressure. The new cylinders go for around 80$ each