Parking brake? (1 Viewer)

[Poser]

Had a '97 LX450 at the shop, very clean truck, 83K on the clock...

Parking brake was not working properly...

Anyone that lives in the rust belt knows that the paking brake on a Toyota needs to be used frequently to stay functional...or it will rust up.


The only thread that I found out here about the parking brake was about the wasted/rusted to hell steel cam lever and aluminum pivot block being frozen solid, and how to free them up.

Many times, replacement is the only option, as was with this truck.



In the following pictures, I hope to share my idea of what has worked at keeping the parking brake functional for years of service.


In order to remove the rotor to get to the parking brake assembly, the caliper and pad mounting bracket must be removed. These can be set aside, or, I just tucked them up by the coil spring.

 

[Poser]

Next, the rotor needs to be seperated from the wheel bearing hub. This can be done by using the two 8mmx1.25x30 bolts threaded into the holes in the rotor assembly and forcing the rotor off the hub. Sometimes the rotor can be a pain, but most times it will pop free with little effort, and then can be set aside.

 

[Poser]

So with the rotor removed, you can see the parking brake shoes... these shoes still had life in them, so the project was replacing the levers and mounting blocks, as they were rusted up solid and would not move.

Here are pictures of the rusty cam arm and non-reuseable link that needed to be cut off with a small rotory tool in order to get the bad brake pieces off the backing plate..

 

[Poser]

I cut the cam arm with the rotory cuttoff tool as far as I could, and then snapped it off the rest of the way with the Vise-Grips..

 

[nanuk]

Thank You, this is the motivation I needed to finally get mine done before I get to that stage. Have never had the rears apart (even having had 2 80's), so the pics and how-to helps.

Mine is not frozen up yet, but after my front knuckle service, I need to do my rear bearings, brakes etc.

 

[Poser]

So with the old junk out of the way, we can focus on installing the new pieces....

The cam pivot block is made from aluminum and the cam pivot pin and cam arm are made from steel. We all know how well those two play together in the rust belt... The sealing boot needs to be installed on the arm, and then the arm, pivot pin and pivot block get coated in anti-size...

 

[Poser]

A healthy coating of anti-sieze has proved to work well at keeping these pieces functioning properly over the years....

 

[Poser]

Installing the new pieces to the backing plate...

 

[Poser]

Make sure that when installing your new cam lever boot, that it gets seated in the groove that is formed by the backing plate and pivot block...

 

[RavenTai]

FAQ material

seeing that makes me want to preemptively lube mine. it will eventually happen to us just 30 years down the line.

 

[Poser]

Next,

You noticed that I had to cut the cam arm to get the assembly out of the backing plate...well the cable link to the shoes was not going to come apart...and needed to be replaced.

If you live in the rust belt, be sure to order this cable, pin and retainer for both sides, as they will likely not be reuseable...

 

[Poser]

Installing the new cable, pin and retainer.....and installing it onto the parking brake shoe lever...

 

[Poser]

After attaching the cable link to the parking brake shoe arm, it is just a matter of putting the shoe retainers and springs back together....installing your new parking brake cam arm return springs and attaching your cable to the arm.

You then can put the brake pad retaining bracket back on and the caliper.

As stated earlier, I am a fan of anti-sieze, so that gets used here on the bracket bolts and the caliper bolts...

 

[Poser]

After installing the rotor, I coated the brake pad bracket retaining bolt and caliper pin assemblies with anti-sieze...

 

[Poser]

After everything is back together, you now can adjust the parking brake shoes. The adjuster is on the lower section of the parking brake assembly. This also gets a little anti-sieze on it when things are apart.

There is a little rubber plug in the rotor that needs to be removed in order to get to the adjuster. You will need some form of long, flat screwdriver to get into the adjuster. I install two lug nuts, 180 degrees off from one another, to keep the rotor secured properly to the hub when adjusting the parking brake shoes. I adjust then so that there is a bit more than a light drag on them, and call it good.

Remember to put the little rubber plug back in when you are done.

 

[Poser]

Going to do oil sampling while it was here...

Front diff oil does not appear to be as 'fresh' as the transfer case and rear diff Ryan...I would have a talk with your lube boys next time you see them...

 

[drsales]

How true! Both of my trucks have had the parking brake treatment. Very common here in Ohio. Nice job with the write up and pics. Grade A for you

 

[flem0061]

I would have a talk with your lube boys next time you see them...

Thanks Steve! Great write up.

It's not too likely that the front diff got that dirty in the last 2000 miles is it? Hmmm, I wonder what that shop did with the other couple quarts of Amsoil that I gave them if they didn't go in the front diff....

 

[Discyota]

Hey, if you dont mind me asking, how much was it for all of the parts to do both sides?

Don

 

[Poser]

Hey, if you dont mind me asking, how much was it for all of the parts to do both sides?

Don

PM cruiserdan... <--- this is a link

Be sure to tell him that you want the cable link between the cam arm and parking brake shoe arm, along with the pin and retainer for it, both sides.