Ray,
I was able to check the drum brake lining thickness which was adequate.
After following your adjusting wheel instructions,
I find the pedal travel is more than 6 clicks. I guess this means the
parking brake cable has stretched over time.
However, in trying to adjust the parking brake cable where it meets the
parking brake pedal under the dash,
I notice there is no means for adjustment. However, if I follow the parking
brake cable under the car towards the rear,
there are 2 cable adjustment points where the cable from the parking brake
pedal meets 2 cables: one coming from each rear wheel.
One adjuster is on the cable that originates from the parking brake pedal.
The other adjuster is on a cable that seems to balance the tension of the 2
cables going to the rear parking brake drums.
This cable starts at one rear wheel, goes through a "U" shaped yoke that is
attached to the aforementioned parking brake pedal cable,
and ends up at the other rear wheel.
These adjusters both have adjusting barrels with locknuts. Should I perform
the adjustment at these points?
Thanks,
Eric
Post by Ray OPost by I have a 2000 RX300 with approx. 105K. Parking brake will no longer hold
the car on a hill. I have performed four wheel brake pad replacement
every 40K or so. Do you know if I can adjust the parking brake myself?
Eric
Whether or not you can adjust the parking brake yourself depends on
whether or not you can adjust drum brakes.
The parking brake is a drum brake located inside the raised part of the
rear rotors. First, check parking brake lining thickness. To do this,
remove the rear calipers and remove the rear rotors. The lining thickness
on the parking brake shoes should be between 1 and 2 millimeters thick.
If they are less than 1 mm thick, replace both shoes on both sides. As
long as the vehicle has not been driven with the parking brake on, the
shoes should last a long time. If you need to replace the parking brake
shoes, the procedure will be pretty much the same as on a late-model Camry
http://oregonstate.edu/~tongt/camry/index.html
If lining thickness is acceptable, replace the rotor and caliper and
temporarily install the lug nuts to seat the rotor. Orient the black
rubber circular plug at the bottom 6 o'clock position and remove the plug
and turn the adjusting wheel behind the plug until the rotor locks, then
back off 8 clicks. Next, check the parking brake pedal travel - it
should be 3 to 6 clicks. If necessary, adjust the parking brake cable
where it attaches to the pedal. There is a lock nut that you need to back
off so you can turn the adjusting barrel.
--
Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)