One rear drum brake shoe shows uneven wear right in the middle of the shoe. On the image below, the worn side has twice lower thickness than the good side. Why is that? Would you recommend replacing the shoes and hardware? Normal thickness is 4 mm, min is 1 mm according to the repair manual. The lowest thickness I measured is about 2 mm.
Extra: The drum is visually good. The parking brake does not fully hold (even after the adjustment of the brake shoe clearance): the car sometimes slowly creeps forward in Drive with the parking brake applied.
Car: Toyota Yaris 2007 with 170k miles.
I had the same issue on a jeep Comanche I ended up having to replace the line and drumb to get the emergency brake to work and ware pattern is normal
Thank you. I'm new here so I appreciate the help.
Uneven wear is completely normal for drum brakes. Think about it ...
The drum is rotating towards towards the cylinder on one side, and away from it on the other.
In fact this is a desired characteristic because it aids with braking. We call it "self-energizing".
Anyway yours are overdue. Replace the shoes and yes it's standard practice to do the hardware as well. It's very inexpensive, it helps everything go together easier, makes the brakes work better, and you don't have to worry about problems with rust or worn out springs.
and by the way this tool makes installation a breeze ($7)
Thanks. I go ahead and replace the shoes and hardware. I use locking pliers instead of the tool above. Thanks!