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How to Change Rear Drum Brakes on a Ford Taurus One of the most important safety features on your car is the braking system. As time goes on and the miles add up, you add to the amount of wear on your brakes. When the brakes wear down, this can lead to reduced performance or even complete failure. Therefore, it's important to keep your brakes well-maintained, whether it's as simple as replacing the brake shoes or a more complicated repair, such as replacing the brake drums. Things You'll Need Jack Bricks or wood 12 mm open-end wrench Pliers 3/4-inch lug wrench Flathead screwdriver Small sledgehammer Brake cleaner Drum brake spring tool New brake shoes New brake drums Removal Put the car in park and raise the rear with a jack. Wedge a brick or sturdy piece of wood in the front and back of the front tires to help prevent the car from rolling while it's jacked up. Use the 12 mm open-end wrench and pliers to disconnect the parking brake cable at the...

How to Release a Stuck Parking Brake In many vehicles, the parking brake can get stuck if left engaged for a long period of time, or if subjected to overzealous application. If you feel the unmistakable drag of a seized parking brake when you're in your vehicle, try to determine the location and cause of the jam. There may be rust or corrosion, and problems can occur in the cable, the lever or the brake assembly. Things You'll Need Jack Hammer Penetrating rust remover Screwdrivers Wrenches Instructions Agitate the brakes physically by applying and releasing the brake a number of times. Or shift alternately into drive and reverse to lurch the vehicle back and forth. Or bounce the car up and down near the seized wheel. Support the car securely on a jackstand. Remove the wheel to gain access to the seized brake. Take care not to damage any parts as you tap the brake assembly with a hammer to free the pads from the disc or drum. Test the parking brake cable to see...

How to Change Front Brake Pads on a 2002 Toyota Echo In terms of safety on the road, the brakes are one of the most essential components of vehicle operation. The front brakes bear most of the load of stopping the vehicle, and therefore the brake pads will need to be changed more frequently than in the rear. On the 2002 Toyota Echo, brake pad replacement is simple, and for someone fairly familiar with routine car maintenance, the job should only take about an hour using common tools. Things You'll Need Ratchet and socket set Tire iron Jack 2 jack stands Replacement brake pads Brake grease Bungee cord or length of wire C-clamp Instructions Loosen the lug nuts on the front tires. Jack up the front end of the vehicle and set the jack stands under a secure part of the Echo's frame. Lower the car on to the jack stands. Remove the front tires. Locate the two bolts in the rear of the brake caliper holding the brake caliper in place. Remove them using the ratchet ...

How to Adjust Toyota Tacoma Drum Brakes You can adjust the drum brakes on your Toyota Tacoma right from your home garage, saving yourself time and money. There are adjusters on the rear brakes that keep the shoes in the proper place as the shoes wear down. But if you replace the shoes or drive off-road, the adjusters may need to be manually adjusted to ensure that the shoes stay in the correct position, allowing the brakes to function properly. Things You'll Need 4 wheel chocks Lug wrench Jack 2 jack stands Flat-head screwdriver Ignition key Instructions Position wheel chocks behind and in front of each of the front wheels. Loosen the lug nuts on the rear wheels using the lug wrench, but don't remove yet. Raise up the rear of the vehicle using a jack and slip jack stands under the vehicle next to each of the rear wheels for support. Lower the Tacoma onto the jack stands. Remove the rear lug nuts and wheels and set aside. Find the brake adjuster, which is...

How to Replace the Rear Brake Shoes on a 2001 Toyota Corolla The rear drum brakes in your 2001 Toyota Corolla work by pressing a pair of brake shoes against the inside of a drum to produce friction and slow the car. Toyota recommends inspecting the shoes for wear every 15,000 miles. Unlike many cars, the 2001 Corolla doesn't require you to remove the wheel hub to work on the brakes, so you won't need a torque wrench for reassembly. Expect to spend about 20 minutes per wheel. Things You'll Need Lug wrench Jack Jack stand Needle-nose or brake spring pliers Flat-head screwdriver Torque wrench Instructions Loosen the lug nuts and raise the rear wheel off the ground with a jack. Support the vehicle with a jack stand. Remove the lug nuts and wheel. The lift point is on the rail along the bottom edge of the body panel ahead of the rear wheel. If you have two jack stands, lift the vehicle at the point directly between the rear tires to lift both whe...

How to Adjust Toyota Echo Rear Brakes On Toyota Echo models equipped with drum type rear brakes, it's occasionally necessary for owners to adjust the brake shoes. The system consists of a complex series of springs and levers that automatically adjust the brakes as you drive the car, but sometimes the brakes fall too far out of adjustment for the self-adjusting feature to work properly. An example might be if you replace the shoes entirely. Afterwards, you will need to set the initial adjustment. Fortunately this is a fairly easy task. Things You'll Need Automotive jack 2 jack stands Flat blade screwdriver Instructions Raise the rear of the car using the automotive jack. Securely support both sides of the car with jack stands. Ensure the parking brake is released. Locate the inspection port on the inside of the brake drum and wheel assembly. The drum is protected by a backing plate, and the inspection hole is located towards the bottom of the plate. Spin t...

How to Adjust Ford Drum Brakes Many times restoring proper brake pedal height and parking brake function is just a matter of adjusting the rear drum brakes on your Ford vehicle. As the brake shoes wear, the distance between the shoe and the drum increases. This causes the brake pedal or parking brake lever/pedal to move farther before the shoes make contact with the drum. Adjustment of the Ford drum brake system is well within the average home mechanic's ability. Things You'll Need Floor jack Jack stands Wheel chocks Lug wrench Drum brake adjusting tool Instructions Place wheel chocks behind the front wheels to prevent vehicle movement when the rear wheels are off. Raise the rear of the vehicle with the floor jack, and place jack stand under the frame. Lower the vehicle onto the jack stands to support the weight of the vehicle. Never rely on the floor jack alone to support the vehicle. Remove the rear wheels and place them, along with the lug nuts, out of the wo...