CowboyTaco's 2011 DCSB TRD Sport

[PSU Taco85]

The drums do minimal braking, I just went with aftermarket on rock auto I it was way less than that. Raybestos pads have been holding up just fine. If you need the rotors then maybe add a little more in but I did my rear brakes with the hardware kit for under $50. I'd replace that gasket, just get it from the local dealer they are cheap and usually in stock

 

[Anathollo]

I think I need to plan on replacing the drums and shoes in the rear.

( x2) 2005-2023 Toyota Tacoma Brake Drum (Rear) 42431-04061 | Toyota Parts
(x1) 2005-2023 Toyota Tacoma Drum Brake Shoe 04495-04010 | Toyota Parts
(x2?) 1993-2023 Toyota Drum Gasket 42444-35050 | Toyota Parts

Folks on TW say that you don't need to worry about replacing springs or hardware. I'm looking at a little over $237 if I go the McGeorge route. That assumes shipped and no tax.

I could alternatively go with the PowerStop kit for $180 that includes all the hardware as well. More Information for POWER STOP KOE15389DK

NAPA parts appear to be more expensive than OEM, so I'll pass on those.

Any recommendations?
Do I need that gasket (at under $2, I don't see why I wouldn't)?
Anything else I need to plan to replace?

I'm overdue on changing the brake fluid, so I figure that will happen afterward.

How many miles do you have on your truck? They probably just need to be adjusted. The auto adjuster gets clogged up with brake dust over time and stop adjusting the shoe tension. Just stick brake clean line into the adjuster window, hose it down and stick a flat head in there to adjust the shoe tension on the drums.

@kidcatcher just replaced his drum brakes and he's close to 300k miles.

 

[Anathollo]

The drums do minimal braking, I just went with aftermarket on rock auto I it was way less than that. Raybestos pads have been holding up just fine. If you need the rotors then maybe add a little more in but I did my rear brakes with the hardware kit for under $50. I'd replace that gasket, just get it from the local dealer they are cheap and usually in stock

View attachment 54567

I used to think the same thing until I drove around without the rear drums working. I damn near blew through the first stop sign I pulled up to.

Also the autozone brake shoes and drums for the Tacoma are trash. My autozone pads crumbled apart with less than a 100k miles on them. I would recommend sticking with OEM.

 

[PSU Taco85]

I used to think the same thing until I drove around without the rear drums working. I damn near blew through the first stop sign I pulled up to.

Also the autozone brake shoes and drums for the Tacoma are trash. My autozone pads crumbled apart with less than a 100k miles on them. I would recommend sticking with OEM.

Interesting, I use EBC greens in the front so I think they have alot more stopping power than the OEM front pads. My first sign of the rear brakes going out was a loud squeak and metal on metal LOL. My OEM pads only lasted 40k so I figured it was worth the gamble to change them with something new, then a few years later the wheel bearing seal trashed the other shoe so I've replaced them twice since I've had the truck. Drum brakes suck no matter what brand you put in IMO, might as well let the floorboard rot out and Fred Flintstone it and have better luck to stop

 

[CowboyTaco]

How many miles do you have on your truck? They probably just need to be adjusted. The auto adjuster gets clogged up with brake dust over time and stop adjusting the shoe tension. Just stick brake clean line into the adjuster window, hose it down and stick a flat head in there to adjust the shoe tension on the drums.

@kidcatcher just replaced his drum brakes and he's close to 300k miles.

180k. There is a very loud noise that comes from the drums when the truck first starts to move each day. Not really sure how to describe it...sounds kind of like someone filled a glass with water and is doing their finger around the lip of the glass. Its loud enough that you can hear it from inside the other side of the house, but goes away after a few moments.

I used to think the same thing until I drove around without the rear drums working. I damn near blew through the first stop sign I pulled up to.

Also the autozone brake shoes and drums for the Tacoma are trash. My autozone pads crumbled apart with less than a 100k miles on them. I would recommend sticking with OEM.

Not really considering any value brands. That's why I'm leaning heavily toward OEM. I kind of feel like that first ones lasted 13 years and 180k. That's a reasonable service interval IMO. Not trying to replace them every year like the last Duralast part I purchased with a lifetime warranty.

 

[Anathollo]

Interesting, I use EBC greens in the front so I think they have alot more stopping power than the OEM front pads. My first sign of the rear brakes going out was a loud squeak and metal on metal LOL. My OEM pads only lasted 40k so I figured it was worth the gamble to change them with something new, then a few years later the wheel bearing seal trashed the other shoe so I've replaced them twice since I've had the truck. Drum brakes suck no matter what brand you put in IMO, might as well let the floorboard rot out and Fred Flintstone it and have better luck to stop

Yeah I drove a few miles down the road to a shop to have them bleed my brakes because I couldn't get the air out of them and when I got out of my truck, you could smell the front brakes because they had been working overtime to stop the truck. The shop also had a helluva time getting the air out of my brake system as well but they finally got it done.

 

[tx_shooter]

Overall good timing as I need to service the drums on the Tacoma soon ish.

 

[CowboyTaco]

Overall good timing as I need to service the drums on the Tacoma soon ish.

More Information for POWER STOP K15231DK36

$414 with a $75 instant rebate and a 5% discount code (shipping not included). Shipped w/ tax to me comes to $387.27. I now that more surface area is better than slotted/drilled rotors and those things are only insta-cool....but I've never had them before, so I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to "testing" them so that I can have some first hand experience.

I do like the idea of using all new hardware.

They have just the rear kit for $179, but the rebate does not appear to apply to it.

 

[CowboyTaco]

Got rid of a cow patty on the LCA.

Apparently, I didn't tighten the clamp enough and it slipped off. This allowed the grease to escape the boot and fling everywhere.

Thankfully, I already had the Cardone replacement ready to go. Now I just need to get new grease and repack the OEM one. This time, I'll get the clamp tight enough.

No more cow patty.

 

[CowboyTaco]

Back on the topic of drums, I pulled the rear passenger side drum off to inspect. I've never messed with drums before, but I'm thinking the shoes have enough life that I don't really need to do anything. Anyone with a trained eye, please add insight and educate me.

Am I good, or should I replace the shoes (or more)? I didn't get pics of the drums, but the contact surface looked smooth and shiny. No grooves or cracks that I could tell.

After cleaning:

 

[Anathollo]

Are the pads the same thickness all around? It's kind of hard to tell from the pics (on one pic it looks like the top of the pad has nothing left but the bottom still has plenty of meat).

 

[CowboyTaco]

Are the pads the same thickness all around? It's kind of hard to tell from the pics (on one pic it looks like the top of the pad has nothing left but the bottom still has plenty of meat).

I didn't measure with calipers, but to the naked eye....yes. They looked fairly uniform in wear. I'm probably going to pull the driver side off tomorrow to inspect / clean that one too.

 

[CowboyTaco]

Not very exciting, but I replaced the windshield wiper blades yesterday after a light rain.

 

[tx_shooter]

I need to get a set of wipers ready for end of August. The summer heat usually cooks and destroys a set of wipers.

 

[CowboyTaco]

I need to get a set of wipers ready for end of August. The summer heat usually cooks and destroys a set of wipers.

Maybe that's what it is. I don't feel like it's been that long, but I can't remember the last time I replaced them either. All I know is that it was time. Sam's seems to have the best deal for relatively decent blades. I'll grab a set or two whenever they are on sale.

If you go to Sam's, get the ones in the blue package. Those are good, and the same price as the ones in the red package. The ones in the red package suck. Come to think of it, I haven't seen the red packaged ones in a while. Probably because they were awful.

 

[Anathollo]

I didn't measure with calipers, but to the naked eye....yes. They looked fairly uniform in wear. I'm probably going to pull the driver side off tomorrow to inspect / clean that one too.

Looks like you enough meat to last you awhile then. It's up to you if you want to replace them but I'd spray them down with a bottle of brake cleaner and adjust them. Then go for a test drive to see if that helped any.

 

[tx_shooter]

I tend to do a yearly bulk maintenance order from Rock Auto. The wiper blades are usually $1 to $3.

 

[CowboyTaco]

Well, it's time to replace my battery again. Apparently, the battery warranty now only applies to the original purchase date. So even though the battery is less than 2 years old, it does not have a warranty.

I think I'm going to go back to a flooded lead-acid battery. It's $120 and carries the same warranty as the AGM at $200. This is for the Sam's Club Duracell batteries. I've also considered the Odyssy Extreme AGM, but $400 for the same 3 year warranty is a bit steep. I get that the quality might be better. However, I haven't done the Alt-S circuit mod to allow for proper charging of AGM batteries. I'm getting about 2 years out of them vs. the 5-6 that I got out of the OEM (and replacement Toyota Tru-Start) batteries.

So it seems logical that I should get the $120 option instead of the $200 or $400 option that requires a vehicle modification.

THIS IS YOUR REMINDER TO CHARGE YOUR BATTERY BOOSTERS / JUMP STARTERS

The Nexpow that I got on Amazon is useful maybe 1 time if it was charged within the last 2 months. The NOCO that I bought and put in the family hauler went for about a year before being pulled out and has been used to jump my truck 6 or 7 times and still showed to be about 75% full. I charged them both up today.

The batteries at Sam's go on sale starting Friday....so I'm holding out with the jump starter until then. LOL.

Also, noticed this when jumping the truck one time.

TW research indicates that this is a fairly common problem and that the valve cover gasket may not have been properly torqued at the factory. It looks like the proper torque spec is 80 in/lbs. I'll see about tightening them when I replace the spark plugs in less than 2k miles.

 

[CowboyTaco]

New battery is in!

I decided to go back to Sam's and was ready to purchase the 27F flooded lead acid battery. History tells me that it is the better choice for my truck. I happened to ask the guy at the counter if he could go off the sticker on the battery since I couldn't find my receipt. He said "sure, no problem."

I was fully prepared to buy a new battery since the last guy told me that it was only off the original purchase date. So I traded my AGM battery in for a lead-acid. I was going to get another AGM so that I wasn't losing value, but then he told me that I'd get money back if I went with the cheaper battery. Cha-ching!

So not only did I get a battery without having to pay anything, I walked out with a $63 refund! I had the dude walk me out to the truck and gave him a $20 tip.

 

[CowboyTaco]

Did my 180k service yesterday.

*Mobil1 full-syn 5w-30 oil.
*OEM filter (was the last from a case).
*Mobil1 syn 75w-90 in front and rear differentials, as well as transfer case.
*Lucas grease in every zerk (2 front driveshaft, 3 rear driveshaft, upper ball joint in the BDS uppers).
*Denso/OEM Spark plugs.
*Tightened/torqued the valve cover gasket. It was indeed loose.
*5 tire rotation.
*Engine air filter (thought I had an OEM one on hand, ended up putting the clean AEM reusable back in).
*Cleaned throttle body.
*Cleaned MAF sensor.
*Topped off coolant.

I did all the oil stuff and tire rotation first. While I had the skid plates off, I did an undercarriage wash with the pressure washer. It looked much better afterward. I let it all dry while I did all the stuff under the hood, and wrapped it up by reinstalling the skids.

I could be forgetting something, but I think that is everything.

Coming up / to-do:
*Kenwood 1000W single channel amp and Kicker subwoofer.
*Drain and fill coolant
*Evap canister
*Front brake lines and fluid flush