2005 Corolla Drum Brakes

You could try several sizes to see what works. Normally the drums will pull off when you have all the lug nuts removed. It may require some pursuasion (as in tapping with a rubber hammer or some prying with a screwdriver). It is possible to use the brake shoe adjustment wheel thru the little hole in the back to loosen the brakes and the drum will pull off easier. I had the problem on my 1994 brake drum that would not come off. After much prying I finally got it off. I think my drums have been turned down to the limits, since even with new shoes, proper adjustment, and full fluid, the brake shoes travel too far when stepped on. I think I may have to replace the drums soon. Hope this helps.

Your 2 for 2, ha. I just saw the adjuster trick in the manual... I will try again tomorrow.

You could try several sizes to see what works. Normally the drums will pull off when you have all the lug nuts removed. It may require some pursuasion (as in tapping with a rubber hammer or some prying with a screwdriver). It is possible to use the brake shoe adjustment wheel thru the little hole in the back to loosen the brakes and the drum will pull off easier. I had the problem on my 1994 brake drum that would not come off. After much prying I finally got it off. I think my drums have been turned down to the limits, since even with new shoes, proper adjustment, and full fluid, the brake shoes travel too far when stepped on. I think I may have to replace the drums soon. Hope this helps.

proper adjustment is the wheel making 1-2 rotations before the shoes stop it from spinning. if its not that tight then its too loose and they'll never feel right. if the rear brakes are too far in then that will delay the activation of the front brakes and result in poor stopping, you'll have very excessive pedal travel. dont worry about the drag on the drums, that will go away in about a day or 2 and then they will spin freely with the shoes riding just a hair above the drum surface like it should be.

 

i had this same problem at school when i used a drum brake adjustment guage which set them too far in, i found that i could get better results with the 1-2 rotations method. with the wheel off it'll be really hard to move the drum around and it'll feel like its way too tight, dont worry when you put the wheel on it'll spin about 1-2 times and it'll be perfect.

also make sure to clean down the shoes and drum surface with brake cleaner and let it all dry.

Since my brake pedal has too much travel in it would you recommend I adjust the brake shoes more? I always thought that if you could not get the rear drums off the car with the shoes adjusted to what feels good at the pedal, that the drums probably were turned down too far? I feel that if I adjust the rear brake shoes out a little more (to get that 1-2 times on the spin) that they will be out too far. Maybe I should check into getting different drums? I could check the junkyards (new ones are way too expensive for me), but I don't know if they would be worn as well. I guess I will check the specs and then bring the measuring tool with me to see if I can find a good set.

If it's anything like older models, I think it was a 7 or 8mm fine thread.

Do what I did - go to the local hardware store and buy one of every size that looks close. It cost almost a whole dollar, but it was better than beating on the drum with a mallet.

If it's anything like older models, I think it was a 7 or 8mm fine thread.

Do what I did - go to the local hardware store and buy one of every size that looks close. It cost almost a whole dollar, but it was better than beating on the drum with a mallet.

I keep a supply of various size hardware in my garage and could just keep trying until I got the right size. If anyone finds out for sure, let us know. What happens if you try removing the drum using the bolts and the shoes are stuck on the drum? I have seen the shoes catch on the brake drum and be pulled out when the drum was being removed. I don't think that under normal conditions that is supposed to happen. I may re-evaluate my brakes the next time I check them.