Rear drum brakes not adjusting - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

I\/an · 03-19-2010, 10:22 PM

Hi all,

The rear drum brakes are not self adjusting, no matter how many times I pull the parking brake, which I use every time I park, or reverse and slam on the brakes.

I know people manually adjust the star adjuster every oil change, but I'm losing braking power to the point the pedal hits the floor every 2,000 miles. I record each time I'm manually adjusting them and it is getting ridiculous.

So far I have bled the brakes, cleaned the drums, replaced all the springs in the drum, cleaned the star wheel and applied some high temp grease too. The master cylinder is fine and there's no brake fluid leaks. I've been to 5 shops now because I don't know what else to do and no one can figure it out. The plate that prevents the star wheel from turning the wrong way is fine too.

I even adjusted the parking brake level so it only clicks 4-5 times, and that is the only time the rear brakes work, but I know they are just dragging then, which isn't good either.

It is so bad I need to brake 1/2 a street away from traffic lights and leave a semi's stopping distance in the rain.

I have a 2005 Camry LE with approx. 71k miles and brand new front disc pads. I got the car certified used back in 2007 but I couldn't tell how bad the brakes get at the time since they were adjusted.

***JohnGD*** · 03-19-2010, 10:48 PM

There's probably something wrong with the self adjusting mechanism, or maybe it's in backwards. Remove the drum and have an assistant repeated pull on the parking lever. Do the brake shoes get pushed out by the adjuster?

Yes, you need to make sure things are properly lubed and maybe you need a new parking brake hardware kit, about $20+shipping on rockauto.com:

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1288312

Quote:

Originally Posted by I/an

Hi all,

The rear drum brakes are not self adjusting, no matter how many times I pull the parking brake, which I use every time I park, or reverse and slam on the brakes.

I know people manually adjust the star adjuster every oil change, but I'm losing braking power to the point the pedal hits the floor every 2,000 miles. I record each time I'm manually adjusting them and it is getting ridiculous.

So far I have bled the brakes, cleaned the drums, replaced all the springs in the drum, cleaned the star wheel and applied some high temp grease too. The master cylinder is fine and there's no brake fluid leaks. I've been to 5 shops now because I don't know what else to do and no one can figure it out. The plate that prevents the star wheel from turning the wrong way is fine too.

I even adjusted the parking brake level so it only clicks 4-5 times, and that is the only time the rear brakes work, but I know they are just dragging then, which isn't good either.

It is so bad I need to brake 1/2 a street away from traffic lights and leave a semi's stopping distance in the rain.

I have a 2005 Camry LE with approx. 71k miles and brand new front disc pads. I got the car certified used back in 2007 but I couldn't tell how bad the brakes get at the time since they were adjusted.

I\/an · 03-19-2010, 10:55 PM

I turned the star wheel adjuster downward and if I keep going too far, the drum won't spin anymore because the brake shoes are too far adjusted, so I know the wheel isn't in backwards.

I did replace the parking brake springs, all of them inside the drum. I made sure the thing is clean.

The only thing left I can think of is to adjust the parking brake lever until it only clicks 3-4 times and accept dragging rear brakes. They'll wear out faster, but hopefully not overheat. My mpg will go to hell though.

***JohnGD*** · 03-19-2010, 11:01 PM

No, you need to "turn" it with the parking lever to make sure it actually grabs the drum. Better yet, have an assistant so you can see for yourself that the adjuster is pushing the shoes out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by I/an

I turned the star wheel adjuster downward and if I keep going too far, the drum won't spin anymore because the brake shoes are too far adjusted, so I know the wheel isn't in backwards.

I did replace the parking brake springs, all of them inside the drum. I made sure the thing is clean.

The only thing left I can think of is to adjust the parking brake lever until it only clicks 3-4 times and accept dragging rear brakes. They'll wear out faster, but hopefully not overheat. My mpg will go to hell though.

I\/an · 03-19-2010, 11:07 PM

I've had someone pull the parking brake while I watched the star adjuster with the drum off and yes, this "hook" catches the star gear's "teeth" and pushes it down, making a click. I've not notice if it ends up pushing out the shoes closer to the drum though after many pulls of the parking brake. I've just seen it move the star adjuster.

***JohnGD*** · 03-19-2010, 11:18 PM

You can verify by measuring the distance between the shoes. It should increase after repeated application of the lever. Or the length of the adjuster itself should increase. If not, then it's the problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by I/an

I've had someone pull the parking brake while I watched the star adjuster with the drum off and yes, this "hook" catches the star gear's "teeth" and pushes it down, making a click. I've not notice if it ends up pushing out the shoes closer to the drum though after many pulls of the parking brake. I've just seen it move the star adjuster.

I\/an · 03-19-2010, 11:30 PM

Okay, I'll try that and if the shoes don't move apart more, or the adjuster screw doesn't move outward, then I will replace the star adjuster.

AlmightyCamry777 · 03-19-2010, 11:43 PM

I think i'd actually take it to the Toyota dealer...they would only charge you for the labor since all the parts are new, and the mechanics have probably seen your problem before and know how to fix it?

***JohnGD*** · 03-19-2010, 11:44 PM

The adjuster is very simple, so not likely to need replacement yet. But people often just replace all the hardware as in the $20 kit I showed.

I think you first might want to double, triple check the installation. For example, to make sure the star wheel actually catches the lock lever (and not just returning to its original position) etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by I/an

Okay, I'll try that and if the shoes don't move apart more, or the adjuster screw doesn't move outward, then I will replace the star adjuster.

The7 · 03-20-2010, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I/an

Hi all,
I have a 2005 Camry LE with approx. 71k miles and brand new front disc pads. I got the car certified used back in 2007 but I couldn't tell how bad the brakes get at the time since they were adjusted.

The rear brakes may not have been installed properly when you got it in 2007.

gdanaher · 03-20-2010, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I/an

Hi all,

It is so bad I need to brake 1/2 a street away from traffic lights and leave a semi's stopping distance in the rain.

Are you using the hand brake to stop the car each time?

I\/an · 03-20-2010, 09:53 AM

Here's an update:

I had a friend pull the parking brake while I looked at the rear brakes with the drum off. The star adjuster is rotated and the adjusting screw moves outward. The parking brake is catching the star adjuster and the locking plate prevents me from trying to turn it in the wrong direction as a test.

I still don't understand why it isn't adjusting with the drum back on though. Can the shoes, while driving, I don't know...rock the locking plate loose and the star adjuster turns backwards? If I don't adjust this thing manually every 2,000 miles now, the pedal is almost to the floor and the parking brake lever can be lifted almost vertically.

gdanaher, I use the parking brake each time I park the car. When I'm driving, I have to rely on using my front disc brakes far in advance, then completely stomping on the pedal to the floor at the point the car has to stop at the traffic light or another car's bumper.

The7 · 03-20-2010, 12:14 PM

Any chance to take photos to show the inside of the brakes?

I\/an · 03-21-2010, 08:29 PM

Sorry about the delay.

I took a bunch of photos of the drums, and I'll include a few in this post, but if you want to see all the photos of the brakes, they are in this photobucket account:
http://s1025.photobucket.com/albums/.../Camry_Photos/

Okay, here's the best pictures of the driver side drum:

Now the Passenger Side drum:

Besides taking the photos, I used a screwdriver to try again to see how the self adjuster turns. The locking plate prevented me from turning the adjuster screw upward, the wrong way and it when I turned it downward, the brake shoes expanded outward. It seems to only work without the drums on.

I\/an · 03-24-2010, 01:59 PM

Does anyone have any ideas? I know the configuration looks right. I'm out of what it possibly can be.

After the recent adjustment, the brakes are getting weak again. I've now even loosed the parking brake lever adjuster nut to give the parking brake cable more slack in the hope that allows the adjusting plate/level on the star gear adjuster more movement to turn that gear. So far, it hasn't helped.

My last option is to take it to the dealership and have them look over the brakes. If they can't fix it, I'll have to sell the car because the brakes are that bad and I can't keep driving something like this.