Where did this weight come from

I agree with this.

It might be difficult, but being persistent most of the time will get Toyota to cover their ass.

A call to Corporate might help as well if they really resist.

 

I guess I don't use my brakes enough. I've got a 2003 with original drums and the dealership keeps telling me they are still in spec everytime I take them in.

 

I agree. Not worth the effort of trying to weld it on. Those are spot welded. If you try to mig or arc weld it, you will add additional metal, which will add additional weight and then the drum will STILL be out of balance.

Go back to the dealership and be polite about it, but don't talk to the service advisor who helped you, ask to speak directly with the service manager. Show him(her) the same piece that you showed the advisor and tell them what you finally found out. Tell them that you think it would be only fair that since the initial diagnosis was incorrect, that they replace that drum at no cost to you, and inspect the other drum just to be sure that it is ok.

 

I see that you have figured out the problem. Let me suggest something to everyone. In the beginning the dealer did a wrong diagnoses for your problem and put rotors on the vehicle. Always tell them that you want the old parts before they start work. That way like in this case if the rotors are not actually bad you have something to show that they replaced parts that do not need replacing. Just a thought.

 

If the dealer doesn't come through, I'd get a new drum and new shoes and do both sides of the brakes on the back. Might as well refresh it all while you're in there.

Meant to add that I wouldn't weld onto the existing drum. I'd be afraid of warping it and as poster before said: you be adding metal, even though very little, and the balance may be off. If would also require a good bit of cleanup to get a good weld. How much does a new drum cost? Looked t up, $60 ish plus shipping.

 

Agreed. I believe the drums are still cast, and then machined. Welding on cast is sketchy at best unless you have some serious skills.

 

Did the extended warranty cover the warped rotors?

One lesson here, buy good tools, a torque wrench and learn to work on your vehicle. Akibono (sp?) pads and replacement rotors for your truck would be around $160. Satisfaction of doing the job yourself, priceless.

 

The rotor and pads were after market but 5 weeks old, I did them myself. Truck road great, I told them I didn't think it was the problem 3 times, they swore that it would be fixed by replacing the rotor, boy were they wrong.

 

Update: I'm in a Prius today, the dealer gave me a free loaner while they continue to diagnose.

I did a temporary repair to the drum with a 1 oz steel weight and some jb weld, also did a static balance with a bubble balancer just to double check it, no difference trick still shimmies, has to be something in the front end.

To answer the question, rotors were not covered by my warranty because they were after market, advanced auto parts actually gave me a refund for the rotors, I was extremely surprised and greatful for that. $165 back in my pocket.

I will post any new info I get from the dealer

 

I do all my own work for the most part, I only had the dealer doing the job because of the warranty, and I wanted them to assume the responsibility of the problem, which now they are.

 

All good news! It's nice to see you're not getting raked over the goals.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the drum weights, I lost mine a long, long time ago and wasn't fortunate enough to find them in the driveway. I don't know as if they make a whole lot of difference.

 

So here is the update
Rear drum weight had nothing to do with the shimmy i was feeling. At first i was told by the dealer there was nothing wrong. But I insisted, and made someone take a ride with me out on the highway. Went for a 30 minute ride, and the shimmy drove the shop manager crazy 5 minutes into the ride. This is was yesterday afternoon, they did a road force balance on all four tires, found each one was at least 2oz. out of balance, and had to remount one of the tires to the rim, in proper position for optimal balance. Picked the truck up this morning and drove 40 miles to work on the highway no shimmy at any speed, even pushed her to 90 just to put it through the paces.
Apparently the dealer usually get $189 for this balance, but didn't charge me anything because of the rotor issue and the back and forth. I feel like they made good on there end, and am quite happy to have my truck back!

Thanks to everyone for the first step in this process finding out where the weight came from!

 

All ends well and everyone is happy!

Group hug?

 

can you give any more info on the TSB for the driveshaft?

My drive shaft just broke. The U-joints broke....which then broke everything while my dad and mom borrowed my truck to drive to Ohio to work on their old house.

I spent 1600 bucks getting it all fixed but if there was a TSB for the weights falling off....I might have an arguement

 

The drive shaft weight TSB will not help you if your u-joints broke. Its covers vibrations from shaft imbalance. The u-joints failing is due to lack to greasing them, or checking them if they are the non grease-able type.