Brakes not working

[drugal]

I replaced the rear drum brake shoes on my 87 today, and now the brakes aren't working. The pedal sinks to the floor, and I have to pump the brakes several times to get a small ammount of brake pressure. The E-brake works fine.

I turned the star adjusters until the shoes were on the drums,, and then backed them off a few notches. I've driven back and forth slowly a bunch of times, and pulled/released the e-brake about 100 times to try adjusting it with no result.

It's as if I have an air bubble in the system but I haven't opened any lines. I'd like to get to work tomorrow, so any suggestions are welcome.

[JetspeedCamry]

Even if you havnt opened any lines....you should bleed the system whenvever doing brake work like that.

[TBayToyotaBoy]

If you're getting brake pedal sponginess that bad, I have bad news: you may not be able to use the car for work tomorrow. You HAVE to make sure that no air gets up into the master cylinder, so bleed all four corners as soon as you can. I believe it's front-left; then rear-right; then front right; then rear-left...but check the manual to be sure.

Good luck!

[atobe]

bleed the brakes the rears have self adjusting systen u go in reverse then u slam on the brake do that a few times it should adjust itself till the shoes are @ the drums but since u said u did that already... bleed the brakes don't have an accident.. E brake works fine because it's a cable system has nothing to do with your hydralic lines

[Mike Gerber]

I don't think the hydraulics are the problem here if you didn't open up the hydraulic system and there is no evidence of hydraulic fluid leaking anywhere. You may want to check around the boots on the wheel cylinders looking for eveidence of fluid leaks, just to be certain. (Although bleeding fresh fluid in to the system every 2 to 3 years is good maintainence. Incidently, the correct order is passenger rear, driver's rear, passenger front and finally driver's front.) Readjust your rear brake shoes. They are probably too far away from the drums to produce enough braking force. Adjust them with the drums on (I dont remember is there is a cutout for that on the generation 2's) if at all possible. Spin the drum by hand. There should be a light drag on the drum if the brakes are adjusted properly. If you are not sure, adjust them a bit tighter. Once the rear of the car is in the air it should take about 1-2 minutes a side. Another way of telling that the rears are in proper adjustment is to pull up slowly on the e-brake. You should hear 4-7 clicks. My rear drums work best when I am closer to the 4 clicks. If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, take it to a pro and ask them to adjust your rear brakes. It really shouldn't cost much.

Mike

PS: The self adjusting system for Toyota rear drum brakes works off the e-brake. Use it all the time even though it isn't the best working system ever devised, since most Toyota rear drum brakes need periodic manual adjusting. The adjusting system that required you to back the car up to adjust the rears were for old American cars.

[Nad1370]

I'd double check your work.

Maybe one of the pistons on the wheel cylinder is cocked to one side.