Quote:
Originally Posted by stewart591
hey how do you adjust it?? could you put a pic or two on how to
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Sorry, I can't take a picture, since I no longer own a Camry with rear drum brakes. My 98 was totaled in an accident about 16 months ago. I can give you a quick verbal description of how it is done, but I think this is something you would be better leaving to a professional, since too little adjustment of the rear shoes to the drum will result in longer brake pedal travel when the brakes are applied. Too much adjustment will result in brakes that are constantly applying pressure to the rear drums and can cause the rears to overheat and possibly cause the brake fluid to boil. Boiling brake fluid can result in no brakes when you step on the pedal. If you are still willing to try this here's how to do it:
Park the car with the
emergency brake off. Chock the front wheels so the car can not roll in either direction. Jack up the rear of the car and support it safely on jackstands. Remove both rear tire/wheel assemblies. Hand tighten 2 of the lug nuts back on each of the drums. On each drum you will see a rubber disc about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. That disc will have a slot in it so you can remove it easily with a slotted screwdriver exposing a hole in the drum. Remove that rubber disc and rotate the drum to positon the hole at either 11:00 or 1:00 oclock (near the top). Each wheel is different. Shine a small light in to the hole through the drum until you see a star-toothed wheel. Like I mentioned before, the star-toothed wheel may be at 11:00 or it may be at 1:00 oclock. Now take a slotted screwdriver and while spinning the drum, adjust that star-toothed wheel either up or down. One way will decrease the brake shoe to drum clearance and the other will increase it. You will have to determine yourself through trial and error which way decreases and which way increases the clearance. Most likely you want to decrease the clearance. This is somewhat of a trial and error method. You should feel a slight drag on the drum when adjusted properly. I heard it once described as you should be able to spin the drum with moderate force and have it rotate 3 times before coming to a stop. That's why I can say this is really easy, but it is best to have some experience of the proper amount of drag. Perhaps you can have a friend who has done this before help you. When done, replace the little rubber disc in the hole in the drum. Then remove the 2 lug nuts and reinstall the tire/wheel combination on each side. Lower the car and take it for a ride. Note the brake pedal height. If you have adjusted the shoe to drum clearance properly you will have less pedal travel (a higher pedal).
Mike
