DIY Rear Drum Brake Adjustment/Parking Brake W/ PICS Inside

[auxmike]

Nice job, but might have missed a few things;
You should add to make sure the tranny is in "P" or in gear on a 5 speed to avoid the car rolling away.
Also,chock the wheels and use jackstands.
Twisting a screwdriver between the drum and backing plate is a good way to BEND up the plate.
I would'nt use water to clean the braking system components, never heard of that way.

[YarisSedan]

Originally Posted by auxmike

Nice job, but might have missed a few things;
You should add to make sure the tranny is in "P" or in gear on a 5 speed to avoid the car rolling away.
Also,chock the wheels and use jackstands.
Twisting a screwdriver between the drum and backing plate is a good way to BEND up the plate.
I would'nt use water to clean the braking system components, never heard of that way.

Actually I would assume most people would know better than to leave the car in neutral while jacking up the car. If the car is automatic chocking the wheels is not nessisary if the vehicle is parked in a level surface and thus why i suggested to jack the car only a inch above the ground. Twisting the screwdriver between the backing plate wont bend the backing plate. You are prying on it ever so gently. Even if you used it as a pry bar and pryed it you still wont be able to bend it. That thing is solid. Maybe if it was the backing plate on a disk brake system then yeah you could bend it possibly. But still you could just bend it back by hand if it was that easy. And using water is a safe way to clean the brake dust off. its not very efficient but most shop professional brake cleaners that roll up to the car and run solvent over the brake system and collect it into the container is a mixture of part water and part solvent.

The reason i dont suggest a solvent is because it will clean off the grease that is lubricating the backing plate and you may have squeeking after the service is performed. My profession during the day is a mechanic so i woudlnt suggest anything that would be harmful to your car or what tricks mechanics do on a daily basis.

I am just providing my own DIY to help forum members. If you dont agree with it then you may post your own version. This is my first chance to give back to the community.

[auxmike]

I still don't recommend prying anything against a stamped steel backing plate.
I've done it in the past and bent the plate so it rubbed the drum casting. A real PITA to bend back in proper shape too.
Heck, I've seen drums on so tight they required a torch to CUT them off!