Parking brake adjustment - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

93ToyCorolla · 07-02-2006, 06:32 PM

I replaced rear brake shoes and had to adjust all the way inward the shoes to get drums back on. My parking brake seems to work intermittently now. Does the parking brake self adjust?????????? Thank You!

***toyomoho*** · 07-02-2006, 08:39 PM

On most cars, parking brake adjustment is done by taking up the parking brake cable slack. Can you pull the handle all the way to the stop?

On the Camry, pulling the parking brake adjusts the rear brakes.

Piloter · 07-02-2006, 08:41 PM

Parking brake locks up rear drums. Rear drums auto-adjust every time you reverse.

Edit: When you spun the drums after you test-fitted them, did they spin briefly and stop (shoes just barely touching/not touching) or did they keep spinning (way too far in)? They should've pretty much stopped.

thespud · 07-02-2006, 08:44 PM

Just reverse down a long straight deserted road. You reverse, then brake, reverse then brake. This will auto-adjust the rear shoes, and the park brake shold follow suit.

Just FYI: the E-brake should go up around 4-5 clicks before the force gets too much...

Dave's · 07-03-2006, 02:43 AM

Are the 'rollas different than the cams? Because the camrys adjust with the parking brake. Very different than the cars I grew up with which used the reverse brake method.

thespud · 07-03-2006, 02:49 AM

the 93 definately adjusts in reverse. I have a '95 that uses the same method..

GoPitt68 · 07-04-2006, 09:28 PM

I took my car to Firestone to get my '04 Sienna's annual state inspection and those guys told me my rear brake drums needed adjusted, as the wheels spun freely without stopping, and it would be $35 to adjust them. I told them maybe next time. I spoke to a gear-head friend and he told me that was a scam, since they self-adjust if you use your parking brake or if you go in reverse...just like you guys are saying here. What a bunch of scammers they are! I'm just pissed that I bought lifetime alignments on my Sienna and Corolla, since I don't trust those guys now

thespud · 07-04-2006, 09:45 PM

$35 would be reasonable. That would be the Labour... Say 1/2hr at $70/h. Thats all it would be. Theyve got to make money some how...

ToyotaMan1281 · 07-04-2006, 10:27 PM

does this work on a 2006 corolla le?

Flashmn · 07-05-2006, 02:54 AM

On the rollas I've worked with the parking brake adjusts when you pull the lever, theres a claw that turns a tumble wheel inside the parking brake. Now if you got that assembled wrong, it wont work and your parking brake wont work.

initialrt · 07-05-2006, 06:21 PM

have you taken the trim off the brake and looked at the internals yet?

mikes_matrix · 07-05-2006, 08:22 PM

the brakes only self adjust to a point ......they are only adjusting enough to keep them working .........You still need to adjust them now and again...

AND YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT

He said that the park brake works right away.....VERY LOW NOT VERY HIGH

so you may have incorectly routed the cable for the Park brakes ...or there is some thing out of place in there

the Shoe to the front Looking at the top .....the shoe at the front should look like there is less there ( friction Material)

Take some good pics and I can tell you what is Wrong

MIKE

camry-jc · 10-01-2006, 06:28 PM

Hi - I just did my rear drum brakes on my '94 'rolla with 155K on the odo. Parking brake is now useless. I tried the reverse method - coasting backwards down my driveway whilst pumping the pedal and pulling the e-brake - no luck. Am I simply not being patient enough? I need to re-open it up and make sure the adjuster turns when the e-brake is yanked, to make sure that mechanism is functioning.

The svc manual has an interesting/confusing step on pg BR-35 (this is a '93 manual, sufficient for my '94):

9.
(a) move the parking brake lever of the rear show back and forth, as shown. Check that the adjuster turns, etc. [I need to do this]

(b) adjust the adjuster length to the shortest possible amount. [I take this to mean screw it all the way in, which I did, after applying some lube]

(c) Install brake drum [Did that]

(d) pull parking brake lever all the way up until a clicking sound can no longer be heard [I can do that no problem]

10. check clearance between brake shoes and drum
(a) remove brake drum [Am I to do this while the parking brake level is all the way up? Appears so...]

(b) Measure the brake drum inside diameter and diameter of the brake shoes. check that the difference between diameters is the correct shoe clearance (0.6mm). [Here is where I am confused : if it is NOT correct, what do I adjust? Do I spin the auto adjuster until I get to the desired clearance?]

11. Install brake drum

12. Install rear wheel

etc.

thanks all,

camry_jc