rear drum question

[breakdirt916]

how do you adjust rear drum shoes if the star wheel is spun all the way down?

how do you make them push against the drums less?

I replaced the shoes and hardware kit on a '97 camry yesterday, except when I went to put the drums back on, I had to slightly squeeze the shoes together to get the drum to fit. Now I feel the shoes are pressing too tightly against the drums. To give you an idea on how tight they are: you can rotate the wheel by hand, but you need a little bit of muscle with one hand, and can do it easier with too hands. When you let go of the wheel, it stops spinning immediately.

also, if you go ~40mph and slam on the brakes, you can get the rears to lock up partially/intermittently

thanks in advance

[Ericthejet]

Did you do the install correctly?

Are those the correct rear shoes for that car?

[breakdirt916]

Did you do the install correctly?

as far as I know
-pull off wheel, pull off drum
-unhook spring from front shoe
-remove the spring loaded guide pin from front shoe, unhook from lower anchor spring, remove front shoe
-remove the spring loaded guide pin from the rear shoe, remove shoe
-unhook (from the rear shoe) the spring that attaches to parking brake part
-remove the c-clips that attach parts to the rear shoe
-clean everything in brake cleaner; make sure star wheel spins freely
-replace shoes, replace all parts with hardware kit
-re-assemble in reverse

go for drive and slam on brakes going in reverse and forward; test for general operation

Are those the correct rear shoes for that car?

yes, they matched the shoes that were already in there

any other tips?

[TimD]

So your saying you loosened the adjustment all the way and its still too tight? If so I'd say screw it, just drive for a little while and it should wear into spec.

I ran into the same thing once, think it was also on a camry. Not sure what the problem is, maybe the cheap replacement pads are just slightly too large.

Also check to make sure the parking brake adjustment isn't preventing it from closing all the way.

[Sheppo]

Using the star adjuster back off the brake pads until you can turn the wheel easily with one hand. Then do the other side. Sounds like you have them too tight.

[Ericthejet]

Are the shoes rubbing the rust ring on the braking surface?

[breakdirt916]

Using the star adjuster back off the brake pads until you can turn the wheel easily with one hand. Then do the other side. Sounds like you have them too tight.

the star adjuster was spun all the way so the shoes were already backed off as much as they could go

So your saying you loosened the adjustment all the way and its still too tight? If so I'd say screw it, just drive for a little while and it should wear into spec.

I ran into the same thing once, think it was also on a camry. Not sure what the problem is, maybe the cheap replacement pads are just slightly too large.

Also check to make sure the parking brake adjustment isn't preventing it from closing all the way.

yes, that's correct: the adjustment was loosened all the way and it was still too tight

if I couldn't figure it out I was just going to drive it until it wore into spec, hahaha, but I got it to work, see below

Are the shoes rubbing the rust ring on the braking surface?

this might've been the case

I ended up bringing the old drums over to NAPA and had them run them through a lathe to "turn" the drums (and smooth out the surfaces of it). After I put it back on the car, the drums went on with very little effort, and they dragged MUCH less than they did before. There was just enough drag that there wasn't any play between the shoes and the drums, but not so much that I had to muscle the wheel to turn it.

I took the car out, slammed on the brakes in drive and reverse a few times, then took it for a road test. The tires would squeal a little under emergency braking, but overall I'm happy with the results. The brake pedal resistance is "firm" and the entire braking system "grabs" aggressively enough to satisfaction.

thanks for the responses guys

[Ericthejet]

Glad it worked out for you.
Time for a panic stop?

[RandyO]

are your shoes cut for the same radius as your drum?