Crap! My mistake leaked brake fluid.

Oops.

In my 2015 w/ Tow Package (electronic brake boost). Broke a rear wheel stud. Went to replace it and removed the drum. Popped the lug lose but it wouldn't drop out because it was hitting a brake shoe part.

No Problem! Methinks!

I hop in the cab, start the engine , move the shifter to N and shut it off. Hop out of the cab and LOOKIE! Brake fluid is pouring out of the rear brake!

I guess that'll happen if you step on the brake to start the truck with no brake drum on.

So, I checked the fluid, it's just above the min mark. Hosed down the axle/brake with brake cleaner.

What else should I check? Not sure exactly where the fluid leak was, but everything looks ok.

TIA.

 

I’d still bleed the rear brake. Check the shoe that it’s not contaminated w brake fluid.

 

You probably pushed the wheel cylinder pistons out of the wheel cylinder.

Provide pictures.

Like rnish said, look to see if you got brake fluid on the shoes.

You could fix it. Loosen the bleeder screw, put the CLEANED pistons back in, put the rubber boots on, put the little metal pusher things back in. You'll probably need to pull off the shoes and hardware to be able to get the pieces back in. Hope your brake fluid doesn't fully drain out causing abs air problems. Wash everything down thoroughly with brake cleaner. Put dabs of grease where they need to be. Reassemble, cross your fingers.

If you take pictures before you take everything apart, you'll have a reference on how it's supposed to go back together. Take plenty straight on, close, far, from both sides, close, far. Then look at the pictures, make sure you can see how every part goes on, what part goes on top or under the other parts. Drum parts can easily get installed backwards, upside down, in the incorrect order.

 

1. Reassemble the wheel cylinder.
2. Install shoes.
3. Jump in the truck and turn the key to ON - NOT START
The electronic ABS pump will come on.
4.Bleed brakes as normal.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 if needed.

If you can still see fluid in the reservoir, you probably won’t need to worry about the ABS module.
Step 3 above “bleeds” this for you.


Just be glad you have the Electronic Assist ABS.
Guys like me don’t have it, and it can be a nightmare to bleed unless you have a scan tool.

(Actually it’s not, if you have a gravel road you can use to activate the ABS. But the process is time consuming)

 

So the piston popped out of the on the right (rear) side. Here's a pic:



I wiggled and put pressure on the two brake pads and the piston popped back in. I then peeled back the rubber a little and it was filled with brake fluid. The other side was dry. I cleaned it up with a paper towel that I'd squirted with brake cleaner, let it dry, put the rubber back on and then hosed everything down with brake cleaner again.

After getting the lug back in I'll put the drum on and bleed the brake.

 

I popped a rear wheel cylinder in my Corolla once. I reinstalled like you did, cleaned it up, reinstalled the drum, bled the system, and it never gave me any problems. You can pull the drum in another week after you've driven it for peace of mind, and give a quick visual inspection.

 

I will be pulling it back off between now and Xmas. I need rear brake pads.

 

Got it all back together and bled it. Didn't see any bubbles and the Electronic Assist sure made it easy. So backing up and using the parking brake is supposed to adjust them? I didn't know that. I backed up several times with the brake and then the parking brake anyway. Seemed to work.

 

^Official procedure is to expand the shoes until they lock up the drum, then back down 15 clicks on the adjuster. The pain is doing this through the little slot on the backing plate. You'll need one screwdriver to push away the little no-back leaf spring and another screwdriver or spoon to turn the adjuster.

 

Backing up doesn’t do anything.
It’s all done via the parking brake.

I put the wheel on adjust them until I hear and feel a slight drag. Jump in the truck apply the parking brake a few times and recheck. I don’t back anything off. Like @3JOH22A said, that little hole is a bear to work with.

 

If the parking brake works well enough, leave it. When you service the brakes next time, you can use a shoe setting tool like the one linked by @03coma: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/weak-parking-brake-after-new-install.784459/#post-28061426