Rear drum brake troubleshooting

[4x4mike]

It seems that lately after getting off the freeway I smell my brakes. I noticed this a couple of weeks ago. It was after a long decent so I shrugged it off. Now today after about 20 miles on the freeway and then 2 more home I noticed the smell when I parked. I've narrowed it down to my passenger side rear brake. The drum is much hotter than the driver side. I pulled the wheel and drum and everything looks fine but there was a little bit of liner dust where as the other side had none. Nothing was leaking, burnt, etc. The drum was a little hard to pull off than the driver side but still came off without tools.

I'm thinking this is not so good so I'd like to fix whatever is going on. The 4Runner drives fine and brakes fine and I wouldn't have noticed anything if it weren't for the smell. I adjusted the drum again and put everything back together to see if it comes back. My last brake job was over a year ago and everything has been fine up until now. Fluid level is fine and again no leaks. I believe this is the side with the newer (2 years) wheel cylinder that I replaced when I did my first axle seal. Is it possible it is getting stuck? It appeared fine when I took everything apart and about the same as the drivers side cylinder.

Just wondering if I'm missing anything here and want to keep my brakes from burning up.

[corax]

Is it possible it is getting stuck? It appeared fine when I took everything apart and about the same as the drivers side cylinder.


Could just mean that it was doing all the work if the other side wasn't self adjusting properly. Did you lube up all the contact/pivot point in the drums and how has it been since you adjusted everything?

[4x4mike]

I did lube them up but it's been awhile. I wonder if I should do it again. There hasn't really been any event that would have changed things. The other side seems to be working fine.

[4x4mike]

I pulled the drums again last night to see more liner shavings on the passenger side. I'm thinking it has something to do with the e brake. I have a manual transmission so I pull it a couple of times a day when I park and maybe I'm pulling it too hard. If so how do you explain just one side getting tighter. There is an adjusting block on the drivers side drum area but I haven't played with it yet as I'm not totally sure it'll fix my problem.

For now I thinking I'm going to take it easy with the hand brake even though I've never had this problem since owning the vehicle. I'll try to see if I need to adjust the brake cable.

[corax]

I pulled the drums again last night to see more liner shavings on the passenger side. I'm thinking it has something to do with the e brake. I have a manual transmission so I pull it a couple of times a day when I park and maybe I'm pulling it too hard. If so how do you explain just one side getting tighter. There is an adjusting block on the drivers side drum area but I haven't played with it yet as I'm not totally sure it'll fix my problem.

For now I thinking I'm going to take it easy with the hand brake even though I've never had this problem since owning the vehicle. I'll try to see if I need to adjust the brake cable.


double check that when you pull the e-brake the lever in the back of the drums move the same amount and goes all the way in when the e-brake is released. When I first got my 'runner they were semi-frozen and keeping the brakes applied

[4x4mike]

The e-brake arms move the same on both sides. Without the drums on I yanked on the cable and the pads moved and the adjuster arm clicked. I think I'm pulling the handle too hard and when I do it clicks the wheel and tightens the brakes.

[TheDurk]

The free play adjustment on the bellcranks should be checked. If there is too much play on one side, the adjuster will go an extra click, and that side will be tighter. If one side has too little, that adjuster won't ratchet at all and that side will remain loose while the other tightens up. The procedure is in the FSM.

I have a manual, too, and I live in a hilly area so I use my e-brake aggressively. I don't have the problem you do.

[4x4mike]

I need a little clarification on the free play adjuster on the bell crank. Is that the auto adjustment wheel just below the wheel cylinder? And when you say play on one side. Do you mean adjustment of the brake liner?

[MTL_4runner]

I need a little clarification on the free play adjuster on the bell crank. Is that the auto adjustment wheel just below the wheel cylinder? And when you say play on one side. Do you mean adjustment of the brake liner?


Yes, turning the brake adjuster will take the play out of the bellcranks and shoes. The issue is that you don't want it too tight or it will cause unnecessary drag on the drums. My suggestion is to jack up each side with someone in the vehicle, have them tap the brakes, then try and turn each corner after. If you feel any sticking or the wheel is hard to turn, you've narrowed down the search significantly.

[CJM]

Lift rear up, put truck in neutral.

Spin wheel by hand pretty hard, it should spin maybe a full turn or so and it should then drag and then stop.

[SLC97SR5]

I use my e-brake extensivly DDing and coming down steep rocky slopes to keep the rear end from sliding past the front. I ended up having the exact same problem you are experiencing. I would adjust the shoes to spec, pull the e-brake handle and my adjustment would become too tight. I went through this for several months and even ended up cooking an axle seal.

My solution? I had warped the drums and there were high and low spots that when the handle was pulled the shoes would expand into the low spot and then hang up on the high spot.
It is about $10-15 to have each drum turned. Once I turned the drums, problem solved, good luck!

[4x4mike]

I never suspected this. Lately the brakes have been fine and not heating up so I've suspected I got everything adjusted correctly. Turning is easy and cheap so I may do it for piece of mind anyway. Thank you.

[MTL_4runner]

I usually don't recommend turning brake components (esp rotors) but if they are only out a very small amount it may be ok. I find it's better to just replace them in most cases if they have warped to any degree.