Rear drum brakes

[ephandra]

I was wondering if anyone knows how to take off the rear drum on a 99 Camry

[Mike Gerber]

Chock the front wheels. Jack up the rear of the car. Put it safely on jack stands. Remove the rear wheels. Release the emergency brake. Pull off the drum. If it is hard to pull off, thread 2 bolts in to the female threaded holes near the center of the drum. Using 2 wrenches (use can also use 1 and alternate between the 2 bolts) tighten down the bolts until you hear a slight pop. This will be the drum releasing from the bonds of rust that were holding it to the hub. The drum should now pull off easily.

Mike

[Brian R.]

If you have trouble pulling off the drum, you may have to back off the adjusting star wheel a bit through the hole at the bottom inboard side of the backing plate. Do this before you figure you have to use the bolts to push it off.

[mstrader]

How about any helpful hints on putting the drum back on, i.e. the pads seem to want to push out making it hard to re-place the drum. After replacing all the hardware it was difficult for me to get the drum back on and I had to do so by turning the drum a bit and lugs went on in the holes beside where I wanted them to go. Since it was so late I just left it and will have to take drum back off and turn tonight. Thanks in advance.

[Mike Gerber]

mstrader,

First, make sure the emergency brake is off. Sorry if that sounds obvious, and I don't mean to be a wise guy, but I have seen it left on many times. After that, turn the adjusting star that Brian mentioned above so that the shoes back off a bit. Then the drum should go right on. You then may have to adjust the shoes back up using the same adjusting star until there is a slight drag felt as the shoes touch the drum. Put the drum on and hold it on with 2 lug nuts and spin it a bit as you are adjusting the shoes outward.

Good luck.

Mike

[mstrader]

Thanks, I'm reading after the fact but may take rear wheels off again and adjust the star gear slightly tighter just so I know that I'm getting maximum braking. I originally took on the task b/c didn't have much parking brake at all. After removing left rear wheel found that adjuster had come off b/c C-washer broke and spring had come off therefore backing the star adjuster off didn't do me any good I just had to pry/beat drum off. You've made some good points that will make it easier for the next person to do this common task. Thank you.

[rum runner]

I bad cases where drums were stuck (on American cars) I would spray the drum well with WD-40 and let it sit overnight. Next day use a propane torch and heat up the drum. Tap it with a ball ping hammer. Works every time.

[PaulVT]

I'd like to thank Mike Gerber for his great advice on 2-13-05. I too had a problem figuring out how to remove the rear drums on my 2002 Camry LE. For those of you wondering, the required metric bolts (for my car) are 8mm 1.25 pitch. A few turns with moderate force should release the stuck drum. That pop that Mike describes is pretty loud!
Thanks again Mike.

Paul

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by PaulVT

I'd like to thank Mike Gerber for his great advice on 2-13-05. I too had a problem figuring out how to remove the rear drums on my 2002 Camry LE. For those of you wondering, the required metric bolts (for my car) are 8mm 1.25 pitch. A few turns with moderate force should release the stuck drum. That pop that Mike describes is pretty loud!
Thanks again Mike.

Paul

Hello,
on my 1989 camry when I had the drums and rotors off I used a grinding wheel (with my cordless drill) and ground down the metal on the rotor and on the drum where it meets the hub. I ground them down just enough so they could come off without the need for the 2/3 bolts thats normally needed to remove them. No, theres no slop the way they fit now. I'm all for close tolerances, but thats a little too much.
On my 1985 camry I owned in the past the threads stripped on 2 of the holes on the rotor. it took me around 2 hours just to remove a rotor. no more problems as far as that goes.

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

[Mike Gerber]

PaulVT,

You are welcome.

Joet/Camry,

Unless you REALLY ground those areas down, the rust will form again and expand a bit as it forms. Your drums/rotors will eventually rust themselves again to the hubs. There are 2 things you can do for this. One is to clean all the rust off again while you still can get the drums and rotors off and spread a bit of antiseize compound on the areas of the rotors/drums where they make contact with the hubs and also on that area of the hubs themselves. Makes removal much easier the next time. Just be sure not to get any antiseize compound on the pads/shoes and also the braking area of the rotors/drums. Once this stuff is on your fingers, it can get on everything.

The other thing is to drill and tap new threaded holes for the bolts in the rotors/drums where the threads are stripped (if you still have that 85 Camry). I had to do this recently for a friend with a Mitsubishi, when we bought aftermarket rotors that didn't have the threaded holes. We just put the drums back to back with the old drums and marked the areas where the holes needed to go. We then center punched, and then drilled and tapped the needed holes. It took a bit of time but it will be worth it the next time those drums have to come off.

Mike

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

PaulVT,

You are welcome.

Joet/Camry,

Unless you REALLY ground those areas down, the rust will form again and expand a bit as it forms. Your drums/rotors will eventually rust themselves again to the hubs. There are 2 things you can do for this. One is to clean all the rust off again while you still can get the drums and rotors off and spread a bit of antiseize compound on the areas of the rotors/drums where they make contact with the hubs and also on that area of the hubs themselves. Makes removal much easier the next time. Just be sure not to get any antiseize compound on the pads/shoes and also the braking area of the rotors/drums. Once this stuff is on your fingers, it can get on everything.

The other thing is to drill and tap new threaded holes for the bolts in the rotors/drums where the threads are stripped (if you still have that 85 Camry). I had to do this recently for a friend with a Mitsubishi, when we bought aftermarket rotors that didn't have the threaded holes. We just put the drums back to back with the old drums and marked the areas where the holes needed to go. We then center punched, and then drilled and tapped the needed holes. It took a bit of time but it will be worth it the next time those drums have to come off.

Mike

Hello Mike Gerber,
thanks for the information. You have provided many people with great advice on this forum.
Yes, I did grind down the areas on the rotors and brake drums enough so even if their was more rust in that area where they meet the hub it shouldn't effect the removal of the drum/rotor. I made sure before I reinstalled them I applied antiseize compound on the hub where metal touches metal to reduce/eliminate any future rust.
as far as the 1985 camry goes,it was a great car. only reason I sold it was because I inherited my 1989 camry (my current car) from my dad when he bought a brand new 2003 camry.Thanks Dad.

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

[Mike Gerber]

JOET/CAMRY,

Thanks for the compliment.

Good job on using the antiseize compound.

My wife and I had an 86 Camry, almost identical to your 85. It was the best car we ever owned. That 2SE engine in those generation 1 Camrys will just about run forever, given a bit of TLC. I wish I could buy that car new today.

Take care.

Mike