Rear brake rebuild advice (1 Viewer)

[PBcuiser]

Howdy,

Two weeks ago JUST as I got home after a short drive in the cruiser ('90 62) I lost my brakes. This past weekend I started tearing open the rear drums which I do not think had been looked at in 3 years or maybe more.

I managed to get the drums off (took some serious encouragement from a sledge) and while the drivers side looked OK the passenger side was pretty messed up. Part way through getting the drums off I noticed brake dust sludge/brake fluid dripping out from the bottom of the drum. When I finally got the drum off the wheel cylinder was in pieces - one piston completely out, cylinder was cracked, one pad had been worn down to the metal backing plate, and the auto adjustment was fully maxed out and seized . No bueno.

I clearly need an overhaul but I mainly want advice on since I am replacing the passenger wheel cylinder (and some other parts that got messed up in the tear down) should I also replace the driver's cylinder or is just a rebuild of the driver's cylinder OK? The FSM recommends rebuilding the cylinders at the same time I assume to maintain similar performance of the brakes but I wonder if a new cylinder will be vastly superior than a rebuilt one and cause weird braking behavior.

Thanks for your thoughts

 

[Skellibert]

I would be inclined to do both side the same - that way you should be in sync for any maintenance along the way - both sides each time keeps everything even.
But I have no technical reason for it - it just seems logical to me....

 

[OSS]

Whatever you replace on one side, replace on the other. Brake shops don't like to work just on one side because the braking performance will invariably be different and the vehicle will pull to a side when braking - and the customer will come back complaining.
By the description of the carnage inside the drum, I'd say it has never been serviced before.

Brakes are the most important component on a car. Life & death. Never even consider rebuilding a hydraulic cylinder. Replace them all with Toyota parts... or plan on doing it again in a few years.

 

[Seth S]

When you took the rear drums off did you dial the adjusters back to make sure the shoes were retracted? or was there just a lot of rust build up that prevented them from coming off?

 

[EscapeWagon62]

Skipping way way ahead....when you put new shoes on use a ratchet strap around the outer circumference of the pads to hold everything tightly together. It’ll make getting the springs back on easier.

 

[60Works]

Skipping way way ahead....when you put new shoes on use a ratchet strap around the outer circumference of the pads to hold everything tightly together. It’ll make getting the springs back on easier.

Edit - apologies to Escape. Misread assembling 'springs' as 'drum'. Yes, the big spring is tight. Takes a good grip with pliers to get it onto the new shoes.

If you need a ratchet strap - then the shoes are not properly adjusted. Everything stays in place just fine without a strap.

 

[PBcuiser]

Thanks for the advice!

@OSS I agree with your advice to replace the same parts on both sides and to keep performance and maintenance intervals the same.
I am interested by your note not to rebuild the cylinders ever though - it seems like Toyota does sell a kit to rebuild them and people rebuild the front calipers fairly often which I cant imagine is that different from a theoretical stand point. Are there any inherent differences with the rear cylinders that make them more risky to rebuild?

@Seth S I tried to dial back the adjusters but couldnt get the passenger side to budge at all and couldnt even really see if the adjuster gear was accessable from the cutout in the backing plate - I was kinda just jamming screw drivers in there and feeling around ahah. I got the drivers side to turn a bit but didnt seem to make that much difference in loosening up the pads.

 

[Seth S]

There’s a couple good YouTube videos showing tricks for releasing the shoes. But sometimes the mechanism is stuck. And it can be trick to release them. But usually need one screw driver to push away the index arm and a second to spin the barrel. It’s a pain sometimes.

 

[PBcuiser]

There’s a couple good YouTube videos showing tricks for releasing the shoes. But sometimes the mechanism is stuck. And it can be trick to release them. But usually need one screw driver to push away the index arm and a second to spin the barrel. It’s a pain sometimes.

It was hard to figure out if I was actually correctly depressing the index arm - probably just comes with practice. Got a lot to learn with this rig

 

[Jaric00n]

I just did mine before shipping off for paint
do both sides
and enjoy

 

[cps432]

I had a caliper fail on my mustang in the middle of a cross country trip. It was replaced only on that side. It pulled really hard every time I braked to the point it was kinda scary. I changed the other one immediately after I got home and it was fine after that. Think of brakes as a single balanced system rather than 4 separate points. A failure in one can cause a failure it all as you experienced. So you replace everything, especially when parts are cracking and breaking down like that!

 

[60Works]

Yes, Toyota sells cylinder rebuild kits. It's not worth your time and the old cylinders are probably rusty and pitted inside. They will be leaking again in a few months. New OEM cylinders are available (Advics) and are cheap.

 

[OSS]

When a hydraulic cylinder goes bad (clutch, brakes) the inside bore of the cylinder almost always is pitted with rust. It rusts because DOT fluid attracts water and almost nobody changes the fluid out every few years with fresh - so water accumulates in the fluid and rusts the steel bore.
Rebuild kits just contain new seals which will be sliding on the imperfect pitted bore so the sealing action won't last long as the rough surface grinds down the sliding rubber seal.
Rebuild companies like Cardone, re-hone the inner bores of the cylinders to a like new surface, then install correctly sized seals. That's why professionally rebuilt hydraulic components are virtually like new, whereas a guy in his garage installing a rebuild kit will be doing it again not too far down the line.

 

[g-man]

Check out this thread about shimming the parking brake lever. rear brakes over adjusting..... | Page 3 | IH8MUD Forum especially pg3 post 44.

Also couple questions about your brakes. Was the master cylinder down on fluid? Mine were gray and greasy looking and the brake material shavings were there. I wasn't sure if it was the axle seal (gear oil) or the brake fluid. I had plenty of brake fluid in the MC. But My wheel cylinders had no fluid dripping off them but the pistons kind of fell out very easy when I went to check them. I replaced both the brake cylinders and the seals.

 

[PBcuiser]

@g-man - MC level and fluid color seemed fine before the loss of brakes but level was down after the pedal went to the floor which leads me to believe the wheel cylinder blew out but I also didnt see any fluid dripping from the drum.

@OSS - thanks for the explanation, makes a lot of sense. Whats your take on rebuilding the front calipers though? Seems like something a lot of guys (or gals) on here do with out much issue.

 

[ChaserFJ60]

Getchu some brake drum pliers, itl save you a few choice words from exiting your mouth hole

 

[OSS]

Remanufacured front disc calipers (which will look brand new and perform like new) are really really inexpensive.