How to Replace the Rear Drum Brakes on a 2005 Toyota Matrix

The 2005 Toyota Matrix was available in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions, and was equipped with a 1.8-liter, in-line four-cylinder engine that produced 170 horsepower. The Toyota Matrix was a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors. The General Motors version of the Toyota Matrix was the Pontiac Vibe. The rear drum brakes on the 2005 Matrix are a complex set of brake components and springs. Drum brakes are usually removed to replace the brake shoes or drums, but wheel cylinders and hardware may need replaced as well.

Instructions

Loosen the rear lug nuts on the Matrix. Raise the rear of the car with a jack under the axle beam. Place jack stands about six inches inward from the back of the tires to allow access to the brake backing plate. Lower the car onto the jack stands. Remove the lug nuts and wheels.

Remove the brake drum. If the drum is stuck, remove the oval-shaped rubber stopper from the backing plate with a flat-head screwdriver. Insert the screwdriver through the hole in the backing plate, and push downward on the self adjuster wheel. This will retract the brake shoes from the drums. Tap the sides of the drum with a rubber mallet and wiggle the drum from side to side, if necessary.

Remove the return spring between the shoes, wrapped around the self adjuster wheel. Use pliers to pull the spring free of both shoes. Remove the two circular hold-down springs and clips for the forward mounted brake shoe. Use a pair of needle-nose pliers or a nut driver to turn the circular clip at the end of the spring to align with the flattened tip of the pin. Remove the front brake shoe. Remove the self adjuster wheel and bar from the assembly.

Remove the hold down spring and pin for the rear shoe with the pliers or nut driver. Remove the parking brake cable from the rear shoe with pliers. Remove the rear shoe from the brake assembly. Remove the anchor spring from the rear shoe. Remove the C-clip that holds the parking brake lever on the rear shoe with a flat-head screwdriver. Remove the parking brake lever from the rear shoe.

Check the seals on either end of the wheel cylinder at the top of the brake assembly. If the seals are wet with brake fluid or look dry and cracked, replace the wheel cylinder. Remove the brake line from the rear of the wheel cylinder with a line wrench. Remove the two bolts that hold the wheel cylinder to the backing plate. Install the new wheel cylinder. Tighten the mounting bolts snug, then turn the wrench about 1/4 turn farther. Install and tighten the brake line to the wheel cylinder so that it is snug.

Install the parking brake lever and C-clip onto the new rearward shoe. The rear shoe is fitted with a small metal tube to hold the parking brake lever. Install the shoe onto the backing plate. Insert a new hold-down pin through the rear of the backing plate and the shoe. Install a new hold-down spring clip, the spring, then the second clip onto the pin. Turn the outer clip so it forms a "+" shape with the flattened end of the pin. Install the adjuster assembly on the rear shoe in the recess provided in the shoe.

Install the front shoe onto the backing plate and align it with the self adjuster assembly. Install the pin, clips, and hold-down spring for the forward shoe. Make the same "+" sign with the outer clip and the pin to lock the spring in place. Install the anchor spring between both brake shoes with needle-nose pliers. Install the return spring between both shoes.

Place a tape measure across the opening on the inboard side of the brake drum, to measure the distance between two sides of the drum. If the measurement of the drum gap is equal to or greater than 9 1/16 inches wide, then replace the drum.

Install the brake drum over the new shoes. Use the adjuster wheel to accommodate the size of the new shoes inside the drum if necessary. Install a single lug nut onto one of the lug studs, to hold the drum in place. Turn the self adjuster with a flat-head screwdriver to adjust the shoes outward to the drum, using the hole in the backing plate. Remove the single lug nut from the face of the brake drum when you are finished with installation.

Repeat steps 2 through 8 to complete the brake shoe and wheel cylinder (optional) replacement on the other side of the Matrix. If you replace either of the wheel cylinders, you must bleed the brake system. This is outlined in Section 2. If you did not replace the cylinders, move directly to Section 3.

Open the hood. Check the brake fluid level and make sure the reservoir is filled to the "Full" mark. Fill the reservoir with fresh brake fluid if needed. Ask your assistant to sit in the driver's seat of the Matrix.

Ask your assistant to pump the brake pedal on the car until it is firm, then hold it with the weight of his foot. Open the bleeder screw while he is holding the brake pedal down and tell him to slowly push the pedal to the floor. Close the bleeder when the pedal is to the floor. Repeat this step three times, or until no bubbles come out of the bleeder screw. Check and fill the brake fluid reservoir. Repeat for the other side, if applicable. Install and tighten the reservoir lid.

Install both rear wheels on the Matrix and tighten the lug nuts snug with a tire iron.

Turn one rear wheel with your hand. If the rear wheel does not make a complete rotation then the brakes are over-adjusted. If the rear wheel makes more than one complete rotation, then the rear brakes are under-adjusted. Use the self adjuster wheel through the rear backing plate to adjust the brakes in or out. Turn the wheel again to test your brake tension against the drums. Repeat this step on the other side of the car to make the final rear drum adjustment.

Raise the Matrix off of the jack stands with your jack. Remove the stands from beneath the car. Lower the car to the ground. Tighten the rear lug nuts to 80 foot-pounds with a 1/2-inch-drive torque wrench and wheel socket.

Sit in the driver's seat of the Matrix. Pump the brake pedal several times. This will seat the brake shoes against the drums for initial braking.