1997 Corolla rear brakes

[itsbrad]

Well I just finished the driver side on the rear drum shoes and whew, what a task. Granted I took my time and really read the Hayne Manual and had to run to the store a couple of times, I cant believe it took me so long to get one side finished. Hopefully now Ive done one side the passenger side will go a lot smoother. The drum came off easily and all, I just had a hard time getting the upper springs into the shoes. Then I had to adjust the starwheel to get the drum to go back on. I hope once I finish tommorrow the brakes work after all this hard work, lol.

[Bitter]

make sure when you're done that the shoes are tight against the drum. you should be able to spin the drum by hand and it should complete one to 2 rotations before the drag from the brake shoes brings it to a stop.

[schn0354]

The starwheel will auto adjust after you get it as close as possible. They make a simple brake tool for spring install/removal. It works much better than trying to stretch the spring with a needle nose pliers. Hopefully, you cleaned and lubricated the adjustment mechanism. The old grease can dry up with time and seize partially. This was the case on my Corolla. When you are finished, you may need to bleed the system. Did you need to resurface the drums?

[diver9000]

Drum brakes are a PITA. Drum brake spring kit tool does help when putting things back together, and they arent very expensive.