Brake problems questions

Quick background, I had brake work done on my truck 3 years ago by a dealership. Had them replace the rear drums while they were replacing an axle seal. The brakes were awful after that (stopping distance was terrible and the parking brake didn’t work at all). I went back and they supposedly fixed things but never gave me a reason why it was broken. Last summer I replaced my front brakes and took the rear drums off to check them because my parking brake wasn’t working. They looked ok, nothing obviously wrong. Now it’s gotten to the point that not only does the parking brake not actually hold the truck, the stopping distance is as bad as ever.

The brake lever feels tight and it has the right amount of clicks but it does nothing to hold the truck. I’m planning to go ahead and buy all new rear components but was wondering what else to do. How can the parking brake cable feel tight but the rears not actually work?

Second related issue is my front drivers caliper has a broken bleed screw. I initially thought I’d try bleeding first but found the broken bleeder screw. I’m guessing the dealer did it back then but not much I can do. Is there any way to fix it or do I need a new front caliper?

 

The bleeder screw is replaceable if you can extract it. Use an e-z out of the correct size and you can probably get it out that way. If you have to drill it out, you should remove that caliper so that you can completely and thoroughly flush out any metal shavings in the brake lines. ABS, etc...

TW member Crom posted all the sizes for the bleeder screws in this post:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-4x4-trd-off-road-with-speed-bleeders.368080/

 

Thanks for that link, that could very well be a big part of my issue. I bled the brakes but not with the key in. Still not sure if that will solve the lack of rear braking but worth trying before buying anything.

 

Can you pull a rear drum and post some pictures?

 

Did you adjust the rear drum brakes properly.

 

To continue use the story, I think the reason my parking brake doesn’t work is because it is frozen. I jacked the back end up and spun the wheels and with my girlfriend in the drivers seat the wheels stop when she hits the brakes. Pulling off the drums the shoes definitely move when the brake is pressed but nothing at all when the parking brake is set.

2nd issue, I found that my front calipers on both sides were frozen and one pad on each side was worn down. Along with the broken bleeder bolts I just went ahead and ordered new calipers. Now the issue is one section of the brake hose was so rusted that it snapped trying to unbolt it. So now I have to figure out how to get it removed so I can put the new hose on. Any ideas? I’ve tried deep creep and heat and it’s still stuck. I’ll post a picture in a bit but I’m out of ideas on what to do.

 

https://imgur.com/gallery/sDEZvxi

Here are a couple pictures. The hose end has the threaded fitting rusted inside it, the metal line snapped as I was trying to unscrew it. Both ends are rusted tight, they are currently soaked in deep creep and I’ll try again tomorrow.
Also, what is the size of the bolt that holds the metal bracket to the suspension? I stupidly lost it. It’s been a bad day