Rear Brake Drum Issue

[cntmn8td2006]

Happy new year to all. I am having an issue with the rear brake drums on my Camry 98. Every time I apply the brakes there is a loud screech from one of my rear drum brakes. Now when I move the car slowly their is this reoccuring screech but not as loud as when I apply the brakes. Now I have found that its my right rear drum brake that is making the noise. Many have recommended that I get new brakes but then i decided to actually look for myself and I was surprised as to what I saw.

The following are pictures of the drum brake(left rear) that are not making any noise. You can easily spot the springs(gold colored) and the metallic colored part.





Here are the pictures of the drum brake(right rear) that is making the noise. As you can see everything is covered in dust which may be the cause of all the noise.






My question is what is going on here? I can see that the rear drum brake on my right side is being used up a lot more than me left, and please note that my car is not aligned and tends to drift right ward. This may very well be what is causing the high use of my right rear drum break. Has anyone else encountered this issue? And I say thanks in advance to your response.

[Andrew Liu]

Maybe the right side was just maladjusted to begin with?

if it rubbed, even just a little, it would cause excess wear (which means more brake dust), and may also contribute to the car drifting.

[BMR]

My guess is that the left brake's self-adjuster is not working properly. Some dust inside the drum area is normal; just dust from the friction material wearing. Those self adjusters are a PITA to get working right when they mess up. Check that it's free to rotate; use some brake grease on it if it doesn't. Or the ratchet that is supposed to index it isn't aligned properly, bent, etc., etc..

As for why the right side is screeching, I'm not sure. The pad material on the right brake, right-side pad looks to be a bit thin in the middle of the arc, but it's hard to tell; the picture's a bit blurry.

[bcp477]

I concur with BMR - the adjuster on the left brake is not working properly - and probably has never set the left-side brake shoes in the proper position. Hence, the left-side drum brake is probably not gripping as it should. As for the right side, the appearance in your photos is normal. It is likely that the right-side brake is dragging a bit, which causes the squeeking once the friction material overheats.

As to a "fix" : the first thing I would do is to check the relative adjustment of the right and left drums. This is easily done, via a simple "trick". Jack up the car (one side first, then the other....or both sides at once....whichever, it does not matter).....then with the handbrake SET (yes, with the handbrake in the ON position....you read it right)....try HARD to rotate each wheel in turn. Don't remove the wheels for this, it is better to have them on the car (more leverage for turning each wheel). IF the rear brakes are adjusted correctly, then you will NOT be able to rotate the wheels. If they are NOT adjusted correctly, then one or both of the wheels will turn, even just a little. This little test works because the adjuster in the drum brake sets the position of the brake shoe, relative to the drum surface (when the brakes are not on). Whether the handbrake is being used, or the hydraulic brakes are engaged, the drum brake will only grip properly IF the position of the brakes shoes is correct. The amount that the brake shoes move is virtually the same, whether the hydraulics are applied - or the handbrake used. If the shoes are set too far from the drums in the static position, then they cannot grip the drum adequately, when the brakes are applied. I am betting that the left-side wheel will turn by hand, when you do the test outlined above.

The adjusters are finicky items - far from perfect. It could be that they are simply clogged with brake dust. Corrosion could be the issue. Anyway, remove the drums and spray the heck out of the adjuster mechanisms with spray brake cleaner. Don't be conservative with this - use a whole can, if need be. While you are at it, you can spray down the whole of the rear brakes, to get rid of any dust . (The spray will NOT harm the friction material.) Then, when they are as clean as you can get them, use a SMALL amount of lube (high temp grease, or a spray lube suitable for brake parts) on the THREADS of the brake adjusters. You will see the items I refer to - they are at the bottom of the assembly. Only a small amount is needed. If you have any anti-seize grease, of the type used on the threads of bolts, that will do fine. You can then use a screwdriver to turn the star-wheel for each brake adjuster back and forth - to free them up (and to see if they will move properly). If the star-wheel will not turn, or is VERY difficult to turn, then the adjuster is frozen (dirt or dust inside, or corrosion). At this point, you can decided whether the adjuster assembly needs to be removed and cleaned further....or simply replaced. Usually, they just need a good cleaning....followed by lubrication. If you get them to work satisfactorily with this process, then they should be fine. At this point, then, re-install the drums and wheels and lower the car.

The brake adjusters are designed to ratchet and set the brake shoes into the proper position, when the brakes are applied, with the car in REVERSE. So, after the above procedures, back the car up (10 - 15 mph will do fine)....and apply the brakes HARD. You need to really apply them HARD to break loose a sticky adjuster. Often people do not apply the brakes hard enough, when setting the adjusters, thus causing the brakes to never really set themselves correctly. Braking in a forward direction does NOTHING to set the adjusters - it MUST be done in reverse. Do this several times.....until the performance of the brakes is adequate (the car stops well in reverse). If, when manually manipulating the brake adjuster (star-wheel), you happen to adjust the brake shoes in very far.....it is possible that the brake pedal will go down further than normal, the first time you stop in reverse (to set the adjusters). However, after the adjusters ratchet the shoes out to a more correct position (usually after the first stop in reverse), the pedal returns to normal.

For some reason, the drum brakes on Camrys tend to be a bit sticky. But, if you follow the checks and procedures above, then it is likely that you will get them working correctly again (unless they are so corroded as to need replacement).

[5nowMan]

I have a similar problem. I wish mine were as simple as yours was back when you posted this. You can see in the picture that one of the return springs is hooked through the wrong hole. (The return spring goes around the adjuster mechanism, and is used to pull the brake shoes back away from the drum when the brake pedal is released.) I assume you have probably fixed it by now. Having it through the wrong hole, will cause the spring to be softer. When you push on the brake pedal, the one with the softer spring will always move first, engage the drum first, press against the drum harder, wear out faster, etc. I hope this helps somebody else. Bye.

[Yanpapa]

Hi,
This past weekend I've replaced rear brake shoes and drums(brand new) on my 97 Camry 4cyl. Everything seems to be fine except when car is comming to a stop (10 - 15 mph or so) my rear brake starts to pulsate(no noise) it almost feels like I have a ABS in my drum. It was not an issue before so I know it is not a front disk brake. I've re-used all springs but re-placed c-clips. Adjuster is taken a part, cleaned and greased, did'nt see any problem with its operation. Only thing I am not too sure is how new drum fit on brake shoe at very first time. When I've install a drum, I've adjusted as I put it on, turn adjuster and take drum off adjusted again until I've felt a bit of resistance. Tire was not on during this procedure.
I've referanced to all pictures that were posted in this and past forum and I just don't see any problem in term of re-assembling a system. So did I missed anything?
Do I need to extend adjuster farther? or what is causing this pulsation of drum brake? Is comment by bcp477 below about "REVERSE" braking needs to be done for all brand new brakes?? As always any help will be appreciated.
Thanks

[bcp477]

A pulsation in the rear brakes (if you are SURE that it is the rear brakes) is almost always caused by an out-of-round drum. Either replace the drums, or have them turned at a brake shop (you can carry them in for this - no need to take the car). The reverse braking procedure, to set the adjusters, DOES need to be done, regardless. It sounds as if you manually set the adjusters correctly, so I don't think that you've "missed anything". Try the reverse braking procedure to final- set the adjusters....then, if the pulsation continues, you almost certainly have an out-of round drum.

[Yanpapa]

Thanks for your reply. I'll definately check this out. Since these were brand new drums, I never thought about "out of round drums".
Now that I think about it, when I install drum over a new pads resistance was uneven. It means when I turn a drum, I can feel pads making a contact at one point but not a entire 360 degrees.

[DrXenon]

I had problems with the right side rear brake 1) Worn much more than the left side. 2) Replaced using Brembo drums and Akebono shoes had quite a bit of clicking and mild squeaking which cleared after I attended to lubing the backer plates and using brake cleaner on the drum and shoes twice. I followed the DIY on a sticky here which helped. I got onto the brakes because after about 5,000 Km my front rotors from Canadian Tire were vibrating badly. I replaced them using Brembo Rotors and EBC Green pads, this is working out very well.

[DrXenon]

I found that Brembo drums were difficult to find, I found them at importrp.com thats in Washington State. The shipping and import issues were handled intelligently with no prompting from me. Could not find any in the Toronto area.

[Yanpapa]

Well, I took out both drums, once it was re-surfaced and now brakes are working perfect. However, now I have a small clicking sound comming from left drum when I slow down to 5-10 MPH with braking. I've put high temp. grease(silver color) on a backplate contact area and on adjuster tread but what is causing this noise? Do I need to clean/grease it again?
Thanks.

[Mike Gerber]

"I've put high temp. grease(silver color) on a backplate contact area and on adjuster tread

There should be 6 spots on each backing plate (3 behind each brake shoe) that need to be greased. I suggest doing that just to eliminate that as a possible problem.

Mike

[Yanpapa]

I've re-greased but still makiing a clicking noise, it is more like a knocking sound. Just wondering, when you wiggle(green arrow) a break shoe and it's component to clock/counter-clock wise, I know it suppose to move a "little bit" for break shoes to expand and contact a drum. However my component seems to move into a "wheel cylinder" more(white arrow).
It almost piston inside of a wheel cylinder is not expanding to engage a break shoes. I don't see any fluid leaks, but do I need to investigate bit more? or Is this normal?
Thanks.
PS. I've used this picture for visual purpose only and this is not my brakes.

[Yanpapa]

Boy, this knocking sound is bugging me. Does anyone have any idea?
Thanks.

[ghettosled]

truth be told, when i re-did my brakes last year and installed new drums and shoes, they knocked/clunked for a bit. after a day or two i took them apart to see what was causing the clunking because it was in rythm to the wheel rotating. couldnt find anything so i put it all back together. i think it continued for about 2 weeks then went away. i just assumed this was happening until the brakes bedded themselves.