Brake grinding noise and other related issues

Hello everyone I've got some issues with my brakes after doing a front brake job with OEM parts. I installed new rotors, shims, pads, springs, and clips and greased up all the appropriate spots with moly grease. Everything went together fine and the install was pretty straightforward. Also got the calipers torqued to spec.

Here's where my problems start.
1. Found out Passenger side stud was stripped/cross threaded so only 5/6 lug nuts on there.
2. Alignment seems a little off now. It's around 10 degrees to the right to drive straight. Is this because my passenger tire isn't torqued properly?
3. Got some slight grinding noise somewhere. I think it still grinds even if I press the brakes. Here's a video I recorded in an echoy parking garage. https://youtu.be/-RKKnaAsY30
I did some "bedding" and it got rid of some grinding or rubbing noise but some of it is still there.
4. At around 40 mph or higher speeds if I brake the whole truck rumbles and lurches sometimes. My previous brakes were warped and I experienced this too so I thought new OEM brakes would fix this.

Other than that my new brakes are smooth and a lot quieter than before.

 

Fix the stud and report back.

 

Will do! It's been busy at work lately so it might be a few days.

I've never changed a stud myself but it seems simple enough. Just hammer the old one out and put the new one in? Is a BFH recommended or do they come out easily

 

I think (but I'm not sure) that Timmy the Toolman made a video explaining how to replace a wheel stud.

 

@Timmah!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRYDIx6XfwQ

 

I use this tool to replace wheel studs:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...-sv3cHWAZFqemxH5Q89mODKGYiQGIuExoCjQIQAvD_BwE

Works awesome.

 

Hi everyone. I ended up getting around to replacing the stud. I cleaned up some brake dust while I was down there and relubricated all the pins and contact surfaces. Brake grinding noise seems to be gone.

I still have the problem of shaking when I'm braking. It's most noticeable when exiting the freeway 60+ mph or slightly present driving around town and braking at 35 mph. The whole truck shakes but my steering wheel still feels straight and doesn't move. I'm also getting uneven braking with the rotation of the wheels. Like half a rotation feels 100% braking and the other half of the wheel rotation is at 80% braking power if that makes sense.

Any help with the brake shudder issue? Is there a way to tell which brakes are causing it? My front end is pretty solid and I've done the 12/6 and 3/9 wheel test and there's no clunking.

 

Applying the parking brake only at speed can prove or rule out the rear.

 

Don’t lock the rear tires at high speed, but this is a good suggestion if done with care. Also, make sure no one is following too closely, since your brake lights won’t light up. If rear brakes are the culprit, could be out-of-round drum.

 

Thanks for the reply guys. On my drive home from work I pulled the parking brake at 30 mph and I immediately felt the uneven "pulsing" feeling when I was slowing down.

I had a local tire shop work on my drum brakes in late 2019. I believe they resurfaced the drums, put new brake hardware, and new shoes.

Should I get new drums or can they be resurfaced/turned again? I also noticed a slight "meow" or squeak whenever I release the brakes from the rear. Is that also part of the problem?

 

Buy new OEM drums from Toyota or have new ones from other sources checked for true by a brake shop.
Many members have found new drums out of round only after experiencing pulsing from replacements.
If you know new drums are round and still experience pulsing move on to testing for front rotor warp.

 

Would it be fine to slap on new drums on my current set up? I think the shoes and everything the shop put on are less than 10,000 miles ago.

Am I going to run into any clearance issues? The drums are adjustable with the little gear right?

 

10k is nothing on a rear drum setup; shouldn’t be much wear on the shoes. You want to adjust the shoes so the drum has a slight friction fit when installing. @timmah has a video on the process. Since the drums are the most expensive and the shoes etc are cheap, I would consider doing the job from scratch to ensure the tire shop didn’t screw something else up.

 

Yes, just inspect brake shoes and parts.
Use jack bolts to remove drums
m8 x 1.25 x 30mm alternate half turn tightening while turning drums.
You may have to back off the brake adjuster if the shop adjusted the shoes until slight drag. Rear brakes are self adjusting by using parking brake often. Don't adjust to drag.
It takes 2 screw drivers to back off adjustment. Turn the star wheel down (counter clock wise) while pushing adjuster plate away from Star.

 

Just one more update post from me.. I brought my truck back to the tire shop just to see what they had to say. They saw that my old drums were past their limit for resurfacing and recommended installing new drums for way more money than I was willing to pay.

I ended up going with NAPA branded brake drums since they were having a sale and coupon codes and I picked up a pair of them for basically peanuts.
Old drums came off easily and I turned the adjuster until the new drums were able to slide in. I cleaned up whatever brake dust I could and greased up the 6 metal contact points on the shoes.
I noticed that the driver's side adjuster was harder to turn compared to the passenger side. Is that normal or not really a problem?

Basically, after immediately installing the new drums my braking felt super smooth and perfect. However, after a week I started feeling "pulsations" again. It's not as bad as the old drums (probably just 25% strength in pulsing if that makes sense) but its noticeable. The parking brake test reveals some slight vibration at speed.

Is there a different issue I should be looking at or are the new drums out of round/bad?

 

A pulsing brake pedal indicates either rear drums are out of round or the front disks are wavy. I would think that because you didn't have a pulsing brake pedal right after you worked on the rear brakes but did have the symptom at a later date, there could be something still wrong with the auto-adjust mechanism on the rear brakes.

You should not hear any squeaking or other noises from the brake system if everything is working okay.

When you adjust the rear brakes, back off the adjustment and then start adjusting until you hear the slightest indication that the shoes are touching the drums. At that point the noise should either be there throughout a drum rotation. If the noise comes and goes as you turn the drums, the drums are out of round.

 

Properly functioning brakes (ok, serviceable brakes) sometimes make noise. Pads can rattle, vibrate and squeak, especially if more aggressive friction compounds are used. Temporary surface corrosion can make a grinding sound when applying brakes. If the shoes aren't perfectly centered, then a little build up of dust/dirt/corrosion could result in a high spot on the drum that just grazes one of the shoes. Doesn't mean the drums are out of round, necessarily. The pulsation in the pedal is more of a concern. Sounds like the auto adjuster on the driver side is sticky, which could have resulted in uneven wear. Maybe it will wear in. Given the effort of changing drums and adjusting the brakes, and the low cost of brake service parts (minus the drums, which were being replaced anyway), I would have recommended a complete rear brake job.