new brake issues

I could use some advice. Just replaced my front rotors, pads, and lines on the front of a 2000 tacoma w/o ABS about 300 miles ago. This weekend I replaced my rear shoes and had the drums turned. Now my brakes seem weak. The first 75% of the pedal stroke does very little and then the last 25% it grabs. This is my first time doing brakes and am glad it will at least stop but I want it race ready. How long should the brake in period for pads and shoes last and does this sound like a brake in issue?

 

bump

 

Sounds like air in a brake line somewhere, and needs bleeding. Did you disconnect a hydraulic line during the process? Normally you wouldn't have to.

 

Did you adjust the rear drum brakes? Do a search and you'll find info on the star wheel adjuster for rear drums.

 

Thanks for the info.
I had to disconnect the rear lines because the project was part of a seal and bearing replacement due to a rear axle seal leak that ended up trashing my brake shoes. I did a bleed with one of those one man deals but the reservoir is pretty small so looks like I will do another bleed on all 4 since i'm there.

I have not adjusted the star wheel. Are the rears not "self adjusting"?

 

Lets us know how you fix this. I would guess a bleed would help matters.

 

Yes all rear drum brakes are self-adjusting. The 2nd gens self-adjust with the parking/emergency brake; the 1st gens may self-adjust the same way, or you may need to brake in reverse (main brake) and then brake going forward. Anyway, after a brake service sometimes there's a larger gap between the shoes and the drums , and the self-adjuster won't make a real difference without dozens of reverse stops or e-brake uses. It's better to close the majority of the gap by manually adjusting the star wheel, then the self-adjusters will take it from there. Search the forums for self-adjuster or star wheel, you'll see info on the plug in the backing plate. It's pretty easy, just don't over-adjust as this coulld cause the brakes to drag. Hope this helps, you'll get it figured out soon.

 

I read up on the star wheel and self adjusting feature yesterday and it sounds like that should work but when I pulled my emergency brake this morning (already at a stop) it came out way far, like 1.5'. So it looks like I will crank on the star wheel for a while after work and then let the self adjusting feature do its thing.

Thanks again.

 

You're welcome... to avoid over-adjusting, give the star wheel a few clicks then rotate the rear tire and feel/listen for brake drag. When it just barely starts dragging, that should be adjusted close enough for the self-adjuster to take over... and the pedal should feel much better. A bleeding never hurts though.

 

Adjusting the rear brakes is a pain. Very awkward with the access on top. I used the above method once to do the initial adjustment after replacing the shoes, and they were too tight. After a 10 mile trip, the brake drum on one side was very hot, I could smell it. I had to back it off some, which is even more of a pain to do.

 

Got the brakes in good shape. I had to adjust the star cog. Man that is a useful but ridiculous set up. Thanks again.

 

Any tips? Mine feel the same. I haven't touched my rear brakes but my pedal still feels the same. I've attempted bleeding with no luck. So thinking it's the same problem as yours

 

SpeedoJosh-Mine was the direct result of me replacing my rear brake shoes. I followed DGXRs advice and adjusted the star wheel. One of the nice things about the set up is you can watch the brake shoe move closer to the drum by removing the little round plug. Once the brakes started to catch then I drove it backwards and tried both the emergency brake and brake pedal to stop. I am not sure how much that helped but thought I should follow through. I will take it out today for a decent drive and check it like Tan4x4 said. I will keep some screwdrivers ready in case I need to adjust it again.
Good luck.