Please help!!! Break issues and exhaust issues

[Banana_Boat]

Hi i was wondering if anyone knew of any replacement on the corolla 98 weather stripping?? mine are really worn and i cant find any website or store that sells replacements that fit good. Also i was wondering if anyone ever had an Evap problem because the check engine light came on, went to the machanic and he told me its the Evap.. what would happen if i ignored it, all i know with my exhaust is there is a whole of some sort on the elbow part of the exhaust... last question would be the drum. i know the shoe has no rubber left and when i pull the ebrake its metal on metal. Is the lack of material on the shoe break affecting the front breaks and what i feel. I was wondering if i needed to replace it and does it effect the front breaks at all, because my breaks are soft and un responsice. I thought i might need to bleed the breaks but there might not be any use to do that seeing as i never touched the break fluid. I hate how the corolla breaks are so soft and unresponsive.. any suggestions?

[huangxin]

ummm the brake question is kinda a no brainer...duh you need to replace your brake shoes. if it's metal on metal there is no friction present to stop your rear wheels, the front pads takes a lot more load and your brake effectiveness would suffer as well which means you need to press the pedal harder to stop the car. get your drums checked out as well, if it's been metal on metal they most likely need work done to being them back to spec. while you are doing the shoes replace the springs inside the drums too as they loose tension from the heat created by the brake.

i don't know much about exhaust, so someone else has to answer it

[fishexpo101]

EVAP issues are pretty common on the 8th gen Corolla. Is it safe to ignore? Depends on what the code was - sometimes it is a worn gasket on the filler cap, other times it might be from overfilling the tank (do not top of the tank, bad for the vapor canister). If you have smog inspections, you need to fix that EVAP issue to pass - EVAP deals with emissions. I would have it checked out - as it could be something you really need, like a cut-off valve or similar.

I'm with huangxin on the brakes - if you knew you were metal on metal - you should have stopped driving the car and get that checked out ASAP. Brakes are not something you want to wait on, if you need them now, get them. Could have a situation where, instead of $40 for a two paris of shoes for the drums - you're now looking at $15-$55+ a drum (either turning them down or replacing, if they got scored too deeply), plus shoes, and hardware. Also braking load will shift forward, since the rears are no longer pulling their weight. Braking performance will automatically suffer in response.

As for the exhaust - depends on where the leak/hole is. If it is not too close to the exhaust manifold and the pressure isn't too high - you might be able to patch it temporarily until you get the other, more critical items fixed.

Weatherstrip - that is almost always a dealer item - aftermarket may not give a satisfactory performance (doesn't fit right). Try a body shop and see if they can set you up - they have many more sources for parts, they might be able to order you one.