Getting ready to perform the clean and adjust rear brakes maintenance. I took a digital caliper and measured my rear drum brake thickness. The thinnest measurement I got was 3.19 mm. I looked up the specifications and rear shoes brand-new are 4 mm. Minimum thickness allowed is 1mm. I have 95K on my 2008. Since my brake shoes are showing close to brand-new measurements does this mean my rear drums are out of adjustment or is this normal? XT1080 ?
Normal, because the friction brakes are very gently used in normal driving, with the rear brakes even less used than the front.
Thanks fellas. How OCD do I need to get on "slight resistance when spinning the tires" when adjusting the star wheel? These drums are self adjusting, right? XT1080 ?
According to the service manual, you should adjust the brake shoe clearance with the wheel installed using only 2 lug nuts. It says to remove the access hole plug from the backing plate and to turn the adjuster to expand the shoe until the drum locks. Then rotate the adjuster by 8 notches to obtain the proper clearance. Don't forget to reinstall the plug into the backing plate.
Interesting. I know the service manual is never wrong, but if you adjust it all the way until the drum locks how do you then rotate the star wheel 8 clicks in the opposite direction when it's only meant to rotate the one way? In order to rotate to make the adjustment loose you would have to take the drum cover off and lift up the adjustment arm and spin the star wheel in the opposite direction. Something you can't do from the access hole in the back. Xoom ?
Yes, the rear drums are self-adjusting when you back up and apply the brakes. If necessary, use one screwdriver to move the adjustment arm out of the way while you use another screwdriver to make the star wheel 8 clicks loose from the drum-locked position.
Just tried this method. The only problem is you can't count the 8 clicks loose because it only clicks when tightening. You definitely have to move the adjustment arm up and out of the way in order to rotate the star wheel in the opposite direction. XT1080 ?
Is that what you ended up doing? The service manual indicates you need to rotate the star wheel 8 notches which it seems you're forced to determine by sight. I suppose a person would become adept at it after a few brake jobs. I'm sure that Toyota mechanics know of an easier way.
