DIY: How to Adjust the Parking Brake on a Toyota Tacoma (VIDEO)

Video tutorial on how to adjust the parking brake on a first generation Toyota Tacoma. This tutorial includes adjustment specs for the bell crank, parking brake leaver, and drum shoes (star wheel adjuster). If you found this video helpful, please don't forget to drop a like and consider subscribing

https://youtu.be/GAS-bkj50is

 

So I jacked the truck up this morning, wheels are still on. Spun the wheel & am getting 3 1/2 rotations. My guess is that is too many? At least that’s under adjusted. Funny how with the wheels on the grabbing seems way less.

Anyway, I have an appt, so mainly wanted to make sure that since last night I, yes, repeatedly pulled on the parking brake after I was back on all 4’s, that the wheels still moved.

As I walked in the house last night after pulling on the parking brake, I had an afterthought (TW members’ words coming back to me), & I said to myself, self, ya shouldn’t have done that, or at least not yet.

So my guess is I have a little more adjusting to do. However 1st I will see how everything feels.

Hopefully this is clear as I have to get going so am updating quickly.

 

Kristi,
I replaced my brakes with a kit a while back. Adjusted per youtube vids, believe it was toyotamaintenance (youtube channel). Short time later I had one rear side heating and dragging. Pulled wheel & drum, backed off adjustment a little and noticed a good bit of brake dust. Ended up having to do that a couple times till everything settled in. No issues since and parking brake holds fine. My theory is shoes were not settled in correct position on that side during the initial install and were hitting drum slightly wrong, wear there created some dust which sort of dammed things up inside the drum and made it worse. Noticed a little uneven wear on one end of one shoe so that's probably what happened. All that relates to the parking brake adjustment since the parking brake picks up where the brakes leave off. You should be able to check the parking brake hold by stopping on a hill, putting in neutral or out of gear and applying parking brake. If it holds, it holds. Maybe something in all that helps. Good luck.