Grabby and noisy drum brakes - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

#2! · 08-30-2009, 10:53 AM

I got my camry from my grandma and remember one time having to run some errands for her she wanted me to take her car to the shop to have them look at the brakes. When I got to the shop the guy told me my grandma brings her car in every 2-3 weeks to have them check out her brakes and they check out fine every time. So now that I have her car I think I know what was going on. Whenever the weather is wet they get really grabby and loud. I pulled off the drums and cleaned them up and that fixed the problem but only for a week. The shoes have some good life left in them and the drums didn't look too bad.
What would you suggest doing? Machine the drums or replace the shoes or both or just replace everything?

Mike Gerber · 08-30-2009, 11:43 AM

Did you use brake clean to clean everything off? Are the 6 spots on the backing plate where the shoes ride lubed with a high temperature brake grease?

Mike

#2! · 08-30-2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

Did you use brake clean to clean everything off? Are the 6 spots on the backing plate where the shoes ride lubed with a high temperature brake grease?

Mike

I only pulled the drums and used a whole can of brake cleaner to clean everything except around the rubber parts on the cylinder. Then wiped everything clean and sprayed more and then wiped again. I didn't think about lubeing up the backing plate but to do that would you have to take everything apart?

Mike Gerber · 08-30-2009, 09:02 PM

"I didn't think about lubeing up the backing plate but to do that would you have to take everything apart?"

You can do it with a slotted screwdriver and a small brush, like an artist's paint brush, without taking anything apart. Just use the screwdriver to pry the shoes away a bit from the backing plate and use the brush with some high temperature synthetic brake grease on the brush to brush it on the 6 spots. If you accidently get any grease on the shoes themselves (you shouldn't if you are careful) just use the brake clean on a clean rag to wipe it off. Just make sure you get it all off. Having a sceond person to hold the shoes away while you use the brush might be helpful.

Mike