Rear Brakes Over Adjusting

11023 Views 17 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Skeezix, Jan 9, 2018

kekaimalu

Discussion Starter · Nov 19, 2017

I just got a 99 tacoma v6 5spd 4x4 a few weeks ago. The rear passenger brakes are over adjusting and causing the drum and rim to get hot. I have replaced the drum, brake shoes, all the internal hardware (springs, horseshoe clamps etc), and the automatic adjuster. The brakes are still over adjusting and heating up the drum going down the road. It takes a few days to happen, pretty sure its from engaging the handbrake and the brakes just don't stop adjusting. The last thing to replace is the bell crank actuator. Being from Hawaii there aren't any on island and it'll take a while for the part to come in. I thought id ask you guys if anyone has had this problem or knows of a solution before I spend more money on something that will not fix my problem. The undercarriage is rusty because the PO took the truck to the beach and didn't rinse the truck down. Please help!

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BamZipPow

· #2 · Nov 20, 2017

How good is the brake cable underneath the truck? Is it sticking? Have you inspected the bell crank?

Give these a read...

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attac...-toyota-truck-park-brake-bellcrank-repair.pdf

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-clean-bell-cranks-ebrake-stick-fix.140573/

kekaimalu

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 20, 2017

BamZipPow said:
How good is the brake cable underneath the truck? Is it sticking? Have you inspected the bell crank?

Give these a read...
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attac...-toyota-truck-park-brake-bellcrank-repair.pdf

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-clean-bell-cranks-ebrake-stick-fix.140573/

Thanks for replying. The cable is pretty rusty, Ill go over the entire cable in the morning. I haven't taken the bell crank housing apart, but I do remember the screw not touching the backing plate when the parking brake is released. I also forgot to mention the ABS light is on, not too sure if this will effect the adjusting.

fourwd1

· #4 · Nov 20, 2017

The bell crank can freeze up with rust, but usually the just means the ebrake doesn't work. I'm wondering if maybe something has been assembled wrong.

Skeezix

· #5 · Nov 23, 2017

kekaimalu said:
I just got a 99 tacoma v6 5spd 4x4 a few weeks ago. The rear passenger brakes are over adjusting and causing the drum and rim to get hot. I have replaced the drum, brake shoes, all the internal hardware (springs, horseshoe clamps etc), and the automatic adjuster. The brakes are still over adjusting and heating up the drum going down the road. It takes a few days to happen, pretty sure its from engaging the handbrake and the brakes just don't stop adjusting. The last thing to replace is the bell crank actuator. Being from Hawaii there aren't any on island and it'll take a while for the part to come in. I thought id ask you guys if anyone has had this problem or knows of a solution before I spend more money on something that will not fix my problem. The undercarriage is rusty because the PO took the truck to the beach and didn't rinse the truck down. Please help!

I've had the same problem since I replaced the brake shoes on my 1998 Limited. Although it doesn't do it as much anymore I'm not satisfied that I eliminated the problem. If it happens again I will buy Genuine Toyota brake shoes (I used OReilly shoes this last time).

Periodically and at interstate speeds, a vibration would slowly come and then over 3 to 4 miles, slowly go away. If I carefully pulled on the E-brake lever the vibration would get really bad. One time I noticed that one of the rims was too hot to touch. I backed off that brake's adjustment and that seems to have cured the heat problem, but I'm still not satisfied with the action of the E-brake (hafta pull pretty hard before it will engage).

I checked my bellcranks behind the backing plates and they are working fine. Also, the adjustment there is spot-on.

So I would recommend that you replace your shoes with Toyota parts - they're not that much more expensive than OReilly's or Autozone's.

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kekaimalu

Discussion Starter · #6 · Nov 27, 2017

Its possible i assembled it wrong. But im pretty sure both sides are the same and its only hapenning to one side.

kekaimalu

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 27, 2017

Skeezix said:
kekaimalu said:

I just got a 99 tacoma v6 5spd 4x4 a few weeks ago. The rear passenger brakes are over adjusting and causing the drum and rim to get hot. I have replaced the drum, brake shoes, all the internal hardware (springs, horseshoe clamps etc), and the automatic adjuster. The brakes are still over adjusting and heating up the drum going down the road. It takes a few days to happen, pretty sure its from engaging the handbrake and the brakes just don't stop adjusting. The last thing to replace is the bell crank actuator. Being from Hawaii there aren't any on island and it'll take a while for the part to come in. I thought id ask you guys if anyone has had this problem or knows of a solution before I spend more money on something that will not fix my problem. The undercarriage is rusty because the PO took the truck to the beach and didn't rinse the truck down. Please help!

Click to expand...

I've had the same problem since I replaced the brake shoes on my 1998 Limited. Although it doesn't do it as much anymore I'm not satisfied that I eliminated the problem. If it happens again I will buy Genuine Toyota brake shoes (I used OReilly shoes this last time).

Periodically and at interstate speeds, a vibration would slowly come and then over 3 to 4 miles, slowly go away. If I carefully pulled on the E-brake lever the vibration would get really bad. One time I noticed that one of the rims was too hot to touch. I backed off that brake's adjustment and that seems to have cured the heat problem, but I'm still not satisfied with the action of the E-brake (hafta pull pretty hard before it will engage).

I checked my bellcranks behind the backing plates and they are working fine. Also, the adjustment there is spot-on.

So I would recommend that you replace your shoes with Toyota parts - they're not that much more expensive than OReilly's or Autozone's.

Its weird that its happening only to the passenger side and they both dont have toyota shoes. I know anything is possible but its weird that its only on one side.

kekaimalu

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 1, 2017

UPDATE
So I have taken the drum off and inspected everything again. Even had a friend help me and they thought it looked put together correctly. I did find that the top of the bell crank where the cable attaches is frozen. It doesn't rotate when pulling on the parking brake. Could that be it? Im getting really frustrated with this problem. If it isn't mechanical what could be the other issue? Spoke to a Toyota mechanic and he had never heard of this issue before. If anybody had this problem before and found an answer could help me out. I greatly appreciate it.

BamZipPow

· #9 · Dec 2, 2017

Try fixing/cleaning up the frozen bell crank and see if that doesn't fix the problem since that is the only nonfunctioning part of yer rear brake system.

kekaimalu

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 31, 2017

UPDATE
So i lubed up the cable and all the moving parts. I found that one of the arms under the driver side near the front was seized. I freed that up and I thought the problem was fixed. However the drum started getting hot AGAIN. I did notice that the piece that is mounted to the rear axle moves left and right, but the round part where the cable is connected does not spin. Is it supposed to? I also replaced the bell crank housing on the side that has been having the problem. Ive about run out of ideas. Any help is appreciated.

Bitter

· #11 · Dec 31, 2017

I'm willing to bet you've got a spring reversed on one side compared to the other, remember it's a flipped picture from one side to the other so it's easy to get a spring turned the wrong way or the adjuster the wrong way and then it'll over adjust. I've seen this on a few cars over the years, also don't always assume the guy before you had it done correctly. And finally, make sure the wheel cylinder is retracting and not frozen/stiff!

kekaimalu

Discussion Starter · #12 · Dec 31, 2017

Bitter said:
I'm willing to bet you've got a spring reversed on one side compared to the other, remember it's a flipped picture from one side to the other so it's easy to get a spring turned the wrong way or the adjuster the wrong way and then it'll over adjust. I've seen this on a few cars over the years, also don't always assume the guy before you had it done correctly. And finally, make sure the wheel cylinder is retracting and not frozen/stiff!

Ive put everything back together according to the chitin and haynes manuals. Triple checked it and had other tacoma owners help. So I don't think its put together wrong. The wheel cylinder was the first thing i replaced when I started to fix this problem.

BamZipPow

· #13 · Dec 31, 2017

What round part? Post some piccies, please.

Try this...take the drum off and press on the brakes. See if you can fit the drum back on. If you can't, something is still preventing the shoes from retracting back.

Did you lube the appropriate parts correctly? Hopefully yer backing plate isn't worn down and catching the shoes. Piccies, please.

kekaimalu

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jan 6, 2018

BamZipPow said:
What round part? Post some piccies, please.

Try this...take the drum off and press on the brakes. See if you can fit the drum back on. If you can't, something is still preventing the shoes from retracting back.

Did you lube the appropriate parts correctly? Hopefully yer backing plate isn't worn down and catching the shoes. Piccies, please.

Heres the pictures

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kekaimalu

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jan 6, 2018

BamZipPow said:
What round part? Post some piccies, please.

Try this...take the drum off and press on the brakes. See if you can fit the drum back on. If you can't, something is still preventing the shoes from retracting back.

Did you lube the appropriate parts correctly? Hopefully yer backing plate isn't worn down and catching the shoes. Piccies, please.

The round think Im talking about is the first picture from the last post. Where the cables pass through does not move. The whole thing pivots left and right, but not the middle round part.

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BamZipPow

· #16 · Jan 6, 2018

According to ToyoDIY, the bracket that sandwiches the pivot can be disassembled so you can clean the rust frozen part up, lube it, and reassemble it. You might end up killing the bolt but you should be able to easily replace it with another metric one. That should resolve the last part that's rusted up.

BamZipPow

· #17 · Jan 6, 2018

You can see it in this illustrated breakdown.

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Skeezix

· #18 · Jan 9, 2018 (Edited)

Why don't you have a look at the video on replacing tacoma/4runner rear brakes on YouTube? Look for the one by Timmah - it's by far the best, explaining not only the hows but also the whys. It also gives tips on how to do something that isn't quite straight-forward.

MOF, all of Timmah's videos are IMO nothing less than excellent!!

IMO, frozen bell cranks and cables that don't move the bell crank would cause the opposite effect. That is, the brake shoes will never tighten.

I would again suggest that you use genuine Toyota Parts for brake issues - in this case, the shoes. I've had the overadjustment issue for a couple of years now - first on one side, then on the other, and I have adjusted the emergency brake a zillion times during that time. So come warmer weather, I might just replace the shoes with the Toyota parts (using O'Reilly-supplied shoes now). Replacing the shoes with OEM is the only thing that I haven't tried, and from what others have posted, that seems to work for this problem.

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