3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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Rattleing Brakes - better to let it rattle, or remove the drum ('til I get home)?
'95 'LE (I4), 170,xxx miles.
This afternoon there was a rattle from the back, I thought that the muffler had fallen down but it was the rear driver's side brake. I took the drum off and the rattleing stopped. When I put the drum back on and spun the wheel the rattleing came back.
The problem is that I am about 160 miles from home (almost all interstate travel though, thus not much braking), and it's a Sunday on Labor Day weekend, and I need to go home tonight.
Would it be better (or safer) to just take the drum off for the ride home and rely on the remaining three brakes, or to let it rattle and most likely damage the drum / shoes? I know that I have some work to do back there but what I don't want to happen is to have the brake system overheat back there, or of course for a leak to happen on the hydraulic side of things and I lose brakes on all four wheels.
YOU CANNOT DRIVE WITHOUT A DRUM ON, IT WILL PUSH THE PISTONS OUT OF THE WHEEL CYLINDER.
Check to see if maybe you have a broken brake show return spring which is coming in contact with the drum when rotating. And make sure you clean the brake dust out. If it is the spring you might be able to pick one up from a parts store. Be sure the brake is properly adjusted.
AGAIN, DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR WITH THE DRUM OFF!!! YOU WILL LOSE YOUR BRAKES.
^ Listen to new echo owner. He is absolutely correct. You can not drive without the drum on. The pistons will push out of that wheel cylinder allowing all of the brake fluid to be pushed out. Suddenly, you will have no brakes at all. Check for the actual problem. A loose return spring, as new echo owner suggested, or maybe something as simple as rust on the lip of the drum coming in contact with the backing plate.
Again, do not drive the car without the brake drum on the car.
Thanks, and I left the drum on. When I had the drum off I pressed the brakes, and the shoes got hung up so that the drum wouldn't go back on. I figured out why (some cable wasn't returning to it's original position), got the drum back on, and whatever I had done to it had taken care of the rattling.
Weird. I'll take a closer look tonight to see if I can figure out what was happening but thanks for the drum advice.
The only cable I can think of back there is the emergency brake cable. That cable has a tendancy to rust inside it's sheath, especially if you do not use your emergency brake regularly. If that is the case, PB Blaster and working the cable back and forth may be your best bet. Just be careful not to get any of the PB Blaster on the drum or the brake shoes.
I spoke with my mechanic, he said that the brakes just need to be sprayed down with some brake cleaner and that the rattling was from the dust getting caught up somewhere in the brake system (didn't quite understand where), he said to pick up something from Autozone.
So the cable must not have been the problem afterall - it only slipped loose when I had my son hit the brakes when the drum was off. He's only 7 so he couldn't hit the brakes too hard which is why they didn't break (I now know that hitting the brakes with the drum off is bad, and of course to never drive without a drum). It was the cable that activates the shoes I think, it ran from right to left in the middle of the brake system (driver's side rear brake). There was a little rubber boot on it as well as some sort of silverish colored ratchet. I'll take a picture of it once Hurricane Gustav passes through central Illinois (lots of rain right now) and I get the tires / drums off to clean the brakes but the cable turned out to not be the problem, it was just really dirty brakes.
Your description fits the park brake cable. You can test it by lifting the rear tire/wheel off the ground, put the parking brake on, if the wheel won't turn then it is holding. Next, release the parking brake, if the wheel turns then you parking cable is working and not stuck.
Enough brakes dust in the rear drum do sometimes cause noises in rear drum brake but usually not too loud.
Excessive brake dust in the rear drum brakes will usually cause some high pitched squealing noises. Your description of a rattle is more consistant with something being loose back there. Did this tech actually remove the wheel and the brake drum to check it, or is he just guessing? If I were you I would remove the drum again and try to move things around inside there by hand to find the source of the rattle.
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