Moved to Brake Forum

etcthorne · #1 (**permalink**) 08-09-2007, 12:20 PM

54,000 miles - I'm one of the easiest people on brakes there ever has been. I know the sound is coming from the rear if I step on the brakes a little harder than normal. Am I looking at getting new brake shoes in the rear? Or, is it just a dissassemble and clean them thing? I use my parking brake all the time to make sure they stay in adjustment.

Thanks.

Big_Al1 · #2 (**permalink**) 08-09-2007, 12:59 PM

Probably should just take apart and clean rear drums tend to collect brake dust and they will start to squeal mine did this at about 15k had them clean and its all good.

cupidstoy · #3 (**permalink**) 08-10-2007, 01:11 PM

here is what you need to know about the 04 rear brakes.

Toyota Tundra Brake FAQ - Maintenance and Adjustment

using the parking brake, will NOT keep them in adjustment.

read and learn, grass hoppa.... ;-)

Sandinmytires · #4 (**permalink**) 08-10-2007, 08:26 PM

Here I go with another grease question. The FAQ calls for "Lithium soap base glycol grease" and "high temperature grease". Can somebody translate that into plain English? Don't need a physics lesson, just tell me what to buy off the shelf at Advance Auto.

cupidstoy · #5 (**permalink**) 08-11-2007, 09:21 AM

my local autozone, pep boys, etc. carries a spray lithium grease. i would think that would work fine for the lithium/glycol application. the high temp stuff is similar to caliper grease and is very thick and has a high melting point. most auto parts stores can sell you a small tube of caliper grease.

i believe the reason they spec it this way is the lithium based product tends to stay put when it dries and the high temp stuff won't liquify as the system heats up and then end up all over the pads.

probably the most important take away is to use a product that stays well coated on the parts to inhibit corrosion and has a high melting point and good lubricating properties.

06grnmstr · #6 (**permalink**) 08-11-2007, 09:33 AM

I can't even get the dam* drums off of my 06....is there a secret?

douggytundra · #7 (**permalink**) 08-11-2007, 05:01 PM

You need to thread bolts into the open holes on the drum housing which forces the drum outward and off. Hope this helps.

Big_Al1 · #8 (**permalink**) 08-11-2007, 05:10 PM

does anyone know what size bolt

etcthorne · #9 (**permalink**) 08-13-2007, 06:12 AM

FIXED!!!!

Jacked one rear wheel up at a time, removed wheel and drum (thank God for those little threaded holes that enable you to put bolts in and back the drum off!!!!). Sprayed an entire large can of brake cleaner in each and it's drum - very dirty.

My son (mechanic - normally I don't trust him to work on "My" stuff - but he's been going to school, working in a garage, and has 3 of his ASE certs done), watched and instructed me. He walks over after I got done cleaning and snapped the adjuster about 8 clicks - he says "watch and learn grasshopper" - SMARTA$$!!!!!

He had me put the drum back on (it almost fell off when I was removing) and it was all I could do to get it back on by hand over the shoes. He said it was perfectly adjusted if you can barely get it to go back on by hand - there should be resistance as it goes back on. Anyway - got everything assembled, wheels torqued to spec, and went for a test drive.

First of all, e-brake now only takes 5 clicks until fully engaged, it was going almost to the floor. Braking is vastly improved and it seems the pedal now engages almost a full inch higher than it used to.

Better yet, after about 20 minutes of hard driving and hitting the brakes fairly hard, the glaze was removed from the drums and the squeaking is gone.

Guess the little SOB knows what he's talking about sometimes.

etcthorne · #10 (**permalink**) 08-13-2007, 06:17 AM

Forgot to mention - he's been working in various garages for about three years and has never seen a Tundra come in for anything - luck of the draw maybe.

My drum shoes were in almost new condition/thickness. The fact that I have 55K miles on my Truck makes me think they were not adjusted correctly at the factory. Either that, or I just didn't pay attention to something I should have. In hindsight, my clue should have been that I could mash the e-brake all the way to the floor.

He also said I caught the misadjustment in time to save extra wear on my front brakes. He said people generally don't adjust their drums nearly enough, and he's seen this many times.

Tundradrenalin · #11 (**permalink**) 08-13-2007, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cupidstoy

here is what you need to know about the 04 rear brakes.

Toyota Tundra Brake FAQ - Maintenance and Adjustment

very nice write up and easy to follow.

etcthorne, cleaned the rear drums and adjusted the e-brake, that's it? how many hours was the father/son duo at the task?

This feels like good preventative maintenence. Nice job.

etcthorne · #12 (**permalink**) 08-13-2007, 08:52 AM

About 45 minutes total. I'll be doing this yearly now.

Picasso · #13 (**permalink**) 08-13-2007, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by etcthorne

He walks over after I got done cleaning and snapped the adjuster about 8 clicks - he says "watch and learn grasshopper" - SMARTA$$!!!!!

LMAO

Quote:

Originally Posted by etcthorne

My drum shoes were in almost new condition/thickness. The fact that I have 55K miles on my Truck makes me think they were not adjusted correctly at the factory. Either that, or I just didn't pay attention to something I should have. In hindsight, my clue should have been that I could mash the e-brake all the way to the floor.

He also said I caught the misadjustment in time to save extra wear on my front brakes. He said people generally don't adjust their drums nearly enough, and he's seen this many times.

I doubt this was a factory issue. From all of the posts on this board and from my own experiences with my truck, it appears that our rear brakes need to be manually adjusted about every 6 months or 5k miles, which ever comes sooner. I overhauled my rear brakes just a few months ago and my truck has already started to nose dive when I brake. Not looking forward to adjusting the starwheels in 100+ degree temps.

Good post on your brake fix.

Paul