Rear Brake Adjustment

[calebm12]

As far as i know, the rear brakes on my 01 tundra have never recieved any TLC. Wanted to give them some this weekend. Was wondering if there were any good writeups on both cleaning and adjusting. I am kinda nervous to take everything off so could benefit from some clear instruction. I got the spring hold down tool....is anything else special needed for this???

Many thanks.
Caleb

P.S. Did the front brake upgrade by MEvang...and it turned out excellent!

[MEvang]

The rear drums may be rusted to the axle hub, this is very common. To remove them it's first a good idea to hit the hub to drum area with some PB Blaster or similar liquid rust cutter. Let is soak a bit.
If you look closely you'll see two threaded holes in the drum, these take a small metric bolt which I believe is a 8 x 1.25 mm but I'm not positive.
Use these two bolts to dislodge the drum from the hub. Never hit these drums with a hammer unless you plan on throwing them out, it will damage them.
You shouldn't have to remove any parts. Use some brake clean to clean the dust off the shoes and other parts. If you want to lube the backing plate the shoes can be pulled away with a screw driver and a small brush can be used to place some lube on the contact points.
When your ready to reinstall the drum line up the bolt holes to the marks on the hub. This will insure that the drum goes back on in the same position it came off and should help prevent a run out problem. If you find a paper shim on the inside of the drum and it is damaged it is best to remove all of it, clean the hub and drum well and use a thin coating of silicone brake grease to keep the drum from sticking.
It's best to adjust the brakes with the drums and wheels in place. You may want to do a test run, turning the star wheel a few clicks before the drum goes on. This way you can see how it works. Be careful not to over adjust as this can warp a drum. Adjust untill you feel a slight drag and stop.
Mike

[calebm12]

so let me get this straight?
1. i can apply silicone grease to the contact points of the shoes without even removing them?
2. the adjusting thing has be confused. so i click the start wheel a few times (clockwise), put the drum and wheel back on and spin the tire....it should move slowly than stop??? if not i go back and do the adjustment again? do the lug nuts and all have to be on during this process...seems like a lotta guesswork and work work. once i adjust one side is it a given the other side will be the same (i am guessing not)?

Sorry for the ignorance...just want to make sure i do it right.
And from what i gather i dont need any special brake pliers, etc!?

[Thepilot]

you can adjust them while driving- much easier than trying to get that wheel to be just right.

set the parking brake 3-4 clicks, now drive in reverse. while moving backwards firmly tap the brake pedal several times. This allows a sort of rocking motion between the shoes that allows the self tensioner to tighten. you'll notice a difference in pedal feel immediately.

give that a try, at worst you're out 2 minutes if it doesn't work. it wouldn't hurt to clean them if that's never been done, definitely lube after that.

[calebm12]

Actually DRIVE in reverse or just let the pedal up when in reverse..kinda let it creep??

are we talking like 15 mph or 3 mph

[robbob]

Driving in reverse to adjust parking brakes doesn't work on the gen 1 tundra's. The design isn't setup for that.

Either set/reset the parking brake a bunch of times and it should adjust the star... or with the rear end on jack stands and the wheel on turn the tire....use a screwdriver through the slot and adjust one click at a time until you hear/feel it start to drag. BIG NOTE: Don't over-tighten these or they are a royal pain in the arse to get loose/off. Dental pick works best if you overtighten, you can use it to push the catch off the star and turn backwards.

NOTE: There was a TSB on the rears at one point that called for the adjustment star to be replaced. I think it was to put finer threads on the screw and more points on the adjustment star. Supposedly to help the brakes adjust better. I had it done, but never noticed a lot of difference.

[calebm12]

i take it this is with the wheel on but the drum off??

[yspert]

i take it this is with the wheel on but the drum off??

please take it to someone who has done it before. let them show you and
then you can do it the next time. please. yspert

[calebm12]

yikes...its that difficult??

[yspert]

not hard to do at all. i just don't like people taking wheels
off of vehicles when they sound new to the repair.
a vehicle with a wheel off sitting in someone's driveway is
very dangerous. just having one jacked up is enough to
make me take notice. on the weekends, i will see someone
with a wheel off doing their brakes and you can barely see
them sitting next to the vehicle. just concerned. yspert

[calebm12]

appreciate that. just did the front brake uprgrade last weekend. new calipers, rotors, pads, bleeding. just the type that likes to get the lowdown before heading out there.
never worked on brakes before so you are right that i am new.....but safe!

[rambrush]

As posted use jack stands, block the front tires, then before taking the tires off shake the sucker and make sure a jack stand is not going to dance out at the wrong time.

Then take the tires off and remove the drums, you can take a lumber crayon and mark the tire location and the drum position if ya want it back like it was.

Take one side apart at a time if required, usually you can carefully move the shoe away from the backing plate and you should see some flat pads that the shoes rest on. I use hi temp white grease dosen't take much.

A thought is at the begining don't go blowing things off the dust is not a good thing. If you have air available you can hose things off into a catch pan. The powder brake dust makes a mess on porus concrete. Then use a air nozzle to dry things off. Brake cleaner is made for this and works great instead of a hose but use what ya have. just keep in mind the mess that drools off of the backing plate.

Usually on the brake adjusters I take them clear off and clean it, use a small amount of anti seize and put it back together again.
The other item is where the wheel cylinder pushes the shoes out, they get rusty and corroded. clean and lube.

Don't forget to take the pin out on the e brake on the axle and clean and lube it. it is on the axle and is a common problem on sticking e brakes. there is threads explaing it here as well.
On the adjustment of the star wheel be cautious and look while its apart to see how to push the plate out of the way so you can loosen it if you went to tight.

[MEvang]

not hard to do at all. i just don't like people taking wheels
off of vehicles when they sound new to the repair.
a vehicle with a wheel off sitting in someone's driveway is
very dangerous. just having one jacked up is enough to
make me take notice. on the weekends, i will see someone
with a wheel off doing their brakes and you can barely see
them sitting next to the vehicle. just concerned. yspert

Yspert is so right here, I don't mind giving advice but sometimes having someone show you the first time is so much better then trying to figure it out from what is said here.
You can get into big trouble here if you over adjust these things. Adjusting them takes little skill, doing it right takes more, getting them backed off takes a lot.
Mike

[MIKEGOUGH1]

Is my 05' DC considered generation 1? Will the backing up with the emergency brake on a couple of clicks and pumping the brakes adjust the rear brakes on my truck?

[MEvang]

Doesn't really work that way. Just applying the park brake will activate the adjuster if needed.
Mike