Rear Axle Questions/Issue (1 Viewer)

[ppc]

Shoes are pretty thin - 0.1mm to 0.12mm.

Are you sure you measured that correctly. One millimeter is .0394 inches/ 0.1mm which is about the thickness of a sheet of normal copier paper.
For a brake shoe that doesn't see possible unless the brake shoes were not installed properly or have some major problems.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Ok, we got it. I made every mistake in the book,

Glad you got there

Have a careful look at all the clips and retainers etc that hold the shoes in.
If you've forced things apart, you nave tweaked some of the hardware

 

[BILT4ME]

Ok, we got it. I made every mistake in the book, but fortunately the hole was close enough and we finally snagged the star wheel and moved it twice. That got the drum turning and we aligned the hole and the star wheel. A few more turns and we were free. Shoes are pretty thin - 0.1mm to 0.12mm.

I have to order shoes and rotors as well as head out of town. The hubs are clean and my feeling is I should get the new bearings in and get the hubs "closed" before I head out.

Make sure when you go back together with the new rotors that they are properly clocked with the hub. The adjuster hole in the rotor must align with the open space on the hub so you can get a screwdriver in there to adjust.

Use white lithium grease to lube brake parts and friction points inside the hub. It doesn't melt with heat like other greases.

On the parking brake linkages and rockers, make sure they are free and well lubed. I packed the rubber boot on my rockers with white lithium grease and they have not seized again.

When parking brake shoes are properly adjusted, the parking brake actually works!

When I first got my truck, I had similar issues and I reached a point that I was going to have to destroy something to get it apart. I had to force the rotors past the shoes because the rockers were completely rusted in a tight position and the rotors were worn bad enough to not let it past the shoes. I used large pry bars and hammers to force the rotors off the hubs and it broke the shoe retaining hardware when I did.

 

[BTLSHP]

Are you sure you measured that correctly. One millimeter is .0394 inches so 0.1mm = 0.00394 which is about the thickness of a sheet of normal copier paper.
For a brake shoe that doesn't see possible unless the brake shoes were not installed properly or have some major problems.

I am a moron! 1.0 mm and 1.2mm is what I meant to say. Still pretty hair thin. There is war at a metal edge too

 

[BTLSHP]

Make sure when you go back together with the new rotors that they are properly clocked with the hub. The adjuster hole in the rotor must align with the open space on the hub so you can get a screwdriver in there to adjust.

Use white lithium grease to lube brake parts and friction points inside the hub. It doesn't melt with heat like other greases.

On the parking brake linkages and rockers, make sure they are free and well lubed. I packed the rubber boot on my rockers with white lithium grease and they have not seized again.

When parking brake shoes are properly adjusted, the parking brake actually works!

When I first got my truck, I had similar issues and I reached a point that I was going to have to destroy something to get it apart. I had to force the rotors past the shoes because the rockers were completely rusted in a tight position and the rotors were worn bad enough to not let it past the shoes. I used large pry bars and hammers to force the rotors off the hubs and it broke the shoe retaining hardware when I did.

Did not know about the rubber boots. No wonder my dad has ben so frustrated with the parking brake through the years. We did have new bell cranks put on a year or so ago. Thanks for clarifications!

 

[BTLSHP]

Just turned from a few days of cooler weather in upstate NY with family. Today I got the following done:

- New parking brake shoes and hardware installed -- pending final adjustment
- New rear rotors & rubber bungs
- New rear pads

I packed new bearings with grease and re-assembled the hubs per the manual. Only issue/concern is that the drvier's is down at around 8 pounds pull on the fish scale while the passenger is a hair over 12 pounds. I did not find the match marks allowed much in the way of fine tuning. That is when I backed off one mark on the passenger side I was at about 2 pounds on the scale. That said, there is no play and everything is back together on the hub.

The car has the rear axle locked per a note in the FSM. I am unable to turn the rotor to get at the star adjuster and do the final setting of the parking brake. Should the wheel turn in this condition? Or do I have release the lockers first?

Sadly, I discovered the rubber boots/dust covers on the calipers were shot. I could not find these isolated on a parts diagram, but found this on another post:

I will run them against a local Toyota site, typically I get stuff through a Lexus dealer.

 

[BILT4ME]

Just turned from a few days of cooler weather in upstate NY with family. Today I got the following done:

- New parking brake shoes and hardware installed -- pending final adjustment
- New rear rotors & rubber bungs
- New rear pads

I packed new bearings with grease and re-assembled the hubs per the manual. Only issue/concern is that the drvier's is down at around 8 pounds pull on the fish scale while the passenger is a hair over 12 pounds. I did not find the match marks allowed much in the way of fine tuning. That is when I backed off one mark on the passenger side I was at about 2 pounds on the scale. That said, there is no play and everything is back together on the hub.

The car has the rear axle locked per a note in the FSM. I am unable to turn the rotor to get at the star adjuster and do the final setting of the parking brake. Should the wheel turn in this condition? Or do I have release the lockers first?

Sadly, I discovered the rubber boots/dust covers on the calipers were shot. I could not find these isolated on a parts diagram, but found this on another post:
View attachment 3715712
I will run them against a local Toyota site, typically I get stuff through a Lexus dealer.

Don't worry about the fish scale.
Torque the nut to 35 LB-FT while rotating, loosen, repeat 3 times. Then lock it down.

Since you have the axle shafts installed, disengage the locker and allow it to rotate. Then adjust the parking brake shoes.

 

[mudgudgeon]

As above. Torque the adjusting nut, rotate the hub, retorque, repeat 2 or 3 times until you get no more rotation of the adjusting nut to hit 35lb.
If the little match marks don't line up, find the one that is closest to lining up ( they are all oriented differently, one should be close), then tighten until you have the mark aligned.

If you have the axle in place, you won't feel any play in the rear bearings

 

[Malleus]

There are supposed to be two return springs on each parking brake assembly, at the rear face of the wheel. They're cheap, if you don't have any. They keep the parking brake from automagically engaging.

 

[BTLSHP]

So, I think I have all the bits and things are mostly adjusted per the FSM on the parking brake. One thing that has me puzzled is the little "stop" screw on the driver's side adjusted perfectly. I got it to touch and then backed it out 1 turn and locked it in place. The passenger side is wildly off. I can not run the screw in far enough to get it to touch and am left with about a 3/16th's gap. I suspect that means something else is out of whack else where, but I do not see it.

The star wheel adjustment that had me spinning two weeks ago is now so easy I can do it by feel. The learning curve on these trucks is huge.

I am waiting on the new caliper dust seals and then the rear axle should be done and on to the front.

 

[Malleus]

One tool that helped me tremendously when adjusting the rear bearings is an infrared thermometer. When the bearings are too tight, they heat up very fast. When I adjust them now, I work on one side at a time, so that I have a temperature standard to meet. If I think I have them adjusted correctly. I drive the truck for a couple of blocks and stop to check the hub temperature from one side to the other. If the bearings are are too tight, you'll see a significant rise in temperature immediately.

I've been able to match correctly adjusted bearings with a running temperature of about 100°F (plus 10°F) , reliably, across several trucks, measured at the OD of the hub, near the cap.

This obviously isn't the way it's done on the assembly line, because the parts are all new and not worn. It helps a lot when reusing bearings (such as when you've made a water crossing and need to repack your bearings).

 

[ZetheGSD]

One tool that helped me tremendously when adjusting the rear bearings is an infrared thermometer. When the bearings are too tight, they heat up very fast. When I adjust them now, I work on one side at a time, so that I have a temperature standard to meet. If I think I have them adjusted correctly. I drive the truck for a couple of blocks and stop to check the hub temperature from one side to the other. If the bearings are are too tight, you'll see a significant rise in temperature immediately.

I've been able to match correctly adjusted bearings with a running temperature of about 100°F (plus 10°F) , reliably, across several trucks, measured at the OD of the hub, near the cap.

This obviously isn't the way it's done on the assembly line, because the parts are all new and not worn. It helps a lot when reusing bearings (such as when you've made a water crossing and need to repack your bearings).

@Malleus I have to give you credit. I would have gotten a very large hammer and broke the rotor off of the hub well before you finally got the neighbor involved. I work around cars regularly helping local shops diagnose issues mechanically as well as electrically. I know rusty vehicles too well and man sometimes those rotors will not slide over the shoes due to rust. Great job staying patient!

 

[Malleus]

I think the credit goes to @BTLSHP, I'm just fooling around here...

 

[BTLSHP]

Thanks to all!

The rubber dust seals for the rear calipers arrived yesterday and I got everything buttoned up and took a test drive this afternoon. I noticed nothing unusual. Parking brake has some bite, but sense i might need to take slack out of the cable at the lever.

I took it for 20 minutes of mixed driving. The hubs were warmer than ambient temps but certainly not hot and I have no idea if the source of the heat was brakes or bearings.

Thanks to everyone for all of the help. I think I am at least competent with the star wheel at this point. It is nice to know there are fresh shoes, rotors and pads. If I were doing it over, i might have gone with reman calipers. That said the piston boots were in good shape and there are no signs of leaks.