When to change rear brakes?

Checked it prior to bringing it in. Wasn't blocked. It was a good opportunity to extend the breather though.

No leaks anymore.

 

Just turned 250,000 on my 2007 4x4. Surely it's time to change the rears. I will have a look next time I rotate the tires.

 

Changed mine at 130k. They were rusted so bad that when I pried them off the edges flaked to pieces. Also had missing pins and cracked pads. Would definitely check at 100,000 and every so often after that.

 

Rear shoes should last 2x the front pads.

Rear drums should last 2x or 3x front rotors.

Does not mean they are maintenance free though. They should be serviced annually just like the front. More often if driven in salt or mud often.

 

Definitely. Don't just assume they're good because they're still working. Here's mine at 130000 miles. PA winters destroyed them.

 

What's the thread size on the drums for the jack screws?

 

I don't know the size for the jack screws, although I'm sure someone will chime in. I used a combination of hammer, pry bar, and drill with wire brush around the hub and it finally let free. I was a little cautious of using jack screws because I didn't know what they would hit below the drum.

 

The axle flange is beneath the Jack screws. Last time I rotated the tires, I beat on the drum with the ball pein hammer but no dice.

 

I’m at almost 90,000. I’ve changed the fronts twice due to LOTS of stop and go rush hour driving. I checked the rears around 60,000 and they still looked good. I’ll be checking them again soon.

 

Drums can be bound / hard to remove due to the ebrake being engaged. Make sure it's released prior to any force being used.

Drums can also be bound by a shoe that is dragging or cocked. Sometimes backing off the adjuster will give some relief.

But the best practice is to pull them at least once a year (more in salt country) and clean, lube appropriate parts, re assemble and adjust.

 

I took some pics of mine when I replaced them. It didn't feel like I was stopping as good as it should, Advance wearever pads at about 45k miles..
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...e-reference-not-a-white-glove-service.547341/

 

Serviced mine at 86k miles - the insides looked good with minimal pad wear, and nothing needed replaced. The dirtiest part was the driver's side star-gear spreader. The grease/lube on all sliding surfaces was completely gone. I'm hoping this cleaning and lube takes care of this pulsating 'feel' throughout the cabin when braking, otherwise this rear-cleaning/lube will confirm the Brembo blank rotors I bought last summer are crap.

 

Check your inner and outer tie rods, upper and lower balljoints, play in those can translate to braking shake as well as tire wear and balance.

 

started to do drum brakes about 35 years ago, not much has changed
take a pic before you take apart, number things if needed

I have never done rear brakes on a taco yet, they seem to last a while

 

How do check those? I would assume you jack up the truck so the suspension hangs freely and grab and shake to see if there is play?

 

Anyone know how practical or sensible it is to try to swap those drums for some discs?

 

Lift the side you're going to check, grab the tire at the 3 & 9 o'clock position then push/pull. Excessive play here could be your tie rods. Grab tire at the 12 & 6 o'clock position then push/pull. Excessive play here could be your UCA/LCA. Use a pry bar wedged between your frame and UCA, checking both the front and rear UCA bushing for excessive play. Should be firm and not spongy. Check the LCA bushings similarly. The UCA ball joint and the LCA ball joint can be inspected for condition. If its cracked, worn, split or dryrot. I would suggest replacement. Bushings can be pressed out and new bushings pressed in, or your local auto parts store rents tools that might help you replace your bushings. There's pleanty of videos on the Tubes that could give you some insight as to what would be expected when doing any suspension work. I would suggest ChrisFix, but be weary of people that might give bad advise and I would suggest watching multiple videos.

Theres conversion kits on the market, but IIRC they are fairly pricy around 500+ and up depending on what you're looking for. See below for an example, this however, isn't the end all be all. There are others on the market, shop around. I believe some have swapped in the T4R brakes to work as a big brake kit with a few modifications. Check the search bar up at the top of this page and check.

http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/toyota-tacoma-rear-disk-brake-kit.html

-J

 

The drums love to rust to the flange on the axles so be prepared- mine took the simultaneous combination of a giant puller, some heat, and an air hammer to free. I tried the jacking screws first but no luck. There are some specialty tools for drum brakes that will make the job much easier and they're not that expensive- I'd recommend the large pliers that also helps slide on the springs as a minimum. Keep in mind there is a primary and a secondary shoe so take pictures as the front and rear shoes often have a different amount of friction material on them - arc length.