Drum brakes slow to work, choppy, need bleeding?

Asked by GuruNHJ7D Nov 02, 2019 at 08:25 PM about the 2007 Toyota Yaris Sedan

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I was replacing a rear wheel bolt on my 2007 Yaris
when my dad pressed the brakes to lock the wheel
in place.  Later when putting things back together
he had to turn some little gear in the brakes as we
couldn't get the wheel disc/rotor back on because
the drum brakes were too tight.

Now the brakes have to be pushed far in before
they work well, and it's almost a little choppy when
braking.

Is there a way to fix this?

Thanks,
Michael

1 Answer

157,505

Hi Michael, the little gear is the adjustment for the brake shoes. It's called a star wheel. To properly adjust the shoes spin the tire as if the vehicle was going in reverse. Turn the star wheel, using a flat blade screwdriver or similar tool, until a heavy drag is felt on the wheel. Then turn the star wheel the opposite direction until the tire just spins freely. Repeat this at the other wheel. There's an access hole on the back of the wheel assembly to get to the star wheel. It may be covered by a rubber plug. Simply remove the rubber plug. Put the rubber plug back on when you're done. Hope that helps! Jim

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