Rear Brake Noise

[Griffithjag]

Hey, guys. I have a 2004 Yaris sedan and have had on and off issues with rear brake noise at slow speeds--usually around 5-15 mph.

I've taken it to the dealership and a private mechanic and no one knows what the problem is. Both the dealership and the mechanic tightened the hand brake and cleaned the brake dust out of the drums and the problem stopped for a few months each time. There has to be some correlation with the hand brake because, after messing with the handbrake (eg. using it to brake the car multiple times instead of the brake pedal), the noise went away for a time. The car stops well, it just makes an awful grinding noise on a regular, but inconsistent basis. Any help?!

[t-spiritpete]

Hello and welcome,

it's very hard to give a conclusive answer to this problem but I think cleaning the rust from the the back plates and inside the extreme edge of the brake drums may help but I think a new set of brake springs would help along with a new set of brake shoes.

The handbrake linkages should be cleaned and make sure everything is free and lubricated and the wheel bearings checked for excessive play.

I have attached a diagram similar to yours of the brake setup which details all the parts, click on the diagram to enlarge it.

Regards,

Pete.

[Madasafish]

I suspect that the shoes will have rubbed to the rear backplate and rusted so that free movement does not occur . Thus the auto self adjustment mechanism will not work properly...

A strip down and clean is usually given as the answer.. but with care a mechanic can carefully coppaslip all the moving surfaces on which the brake shoes move.

Personally I would go that route first.

Mechanics often take short cuts and cleaning is OK but if the places where the shoes pivot are rusty and not carefully treated with copper grease, they will corrode and prevent free movement.

(That is what I have done to mine)