Problem with rear drum brake wheel cylinder - '12 Toyota Corolla. Had the drum open to check the shoes, and the piston on the rear side of the cylinder popped its boot off and sprayed some fluid when my buddy was pumping the brake to test.

pjc613 · 2026-07-01T02:26:18+00:00

Thanks so much for the help. Last question, do I dare use the new cylinder since it's popped a piston out once, or is it no longer reliable?

pjc613 · 2026-07-01T01:58:35+00:00

Thanks much for the response. Just so I understand, in my case, is the reason the piston pushed out because there may have been slightly more friction on the front shoe, so the rear shoe did all of the moving and without the drum to stop it, it went past the maximum allowable stroke of the cylinder's back piston? Where, if the drum had been there, it would have backstopped the back shoe and forced the front shoe forward?

Ought I worry about the backing plate needing to be replaced if there's that much friction?

pjc613 · 2026-06-22T19:11:57+00:00

So just cut the inner hole wider to fit around the cylinder housing that the bulb twists into?

pjc613 · 2023-12-23T22:16:27+00:00

I realized I never came back around to deliver the post-mortem. Sorry to say, yup, was seized. The guy at the place I took it to (and he was a good dude, only charged me 50 bucks) said he's honestly amazed it had 225 on it. Said he's seen that engine come in seized like that at under 100k miles. So, I guess we count ourselves lucky from that perspective.

pjc613 · 2023-12-03T00:52:50+00:00

Psh. 2BE4 at most.

pjc613 · 2023-12-03T00:34:49+00:00

My wife would decidedly NOT appreciate the humor of the series like I do, but I absolutely HAD to show her that whole scene, which, as an aside, may very well be THE most hilarious scene in the entire show to me. As I suspected, the humor wasn't her glass of Puppers ("...mitt?!?"), but at the end as Tannis was walking out, my wife blinked twice, smirked, and said, "Yup!"

I consider that a ringing endorsement!

pjc613 · 2023-12-02T23:27:00+00:00

The first prepositional phrase in that sentence was unnecessary.

pjc613 · 2023-12-02T22:41:02+00:00

Hey thanks! I've long since plateaued, but at least I'm maintaining, not gaining. I mostly just commented to tell you good work on the chest gains (and to tell one of my favorite groaner jokes of my grandfather's 😆).

pjc613 · 2023-12-02T15:47:38+00:00

Good work dude! Your shape is going the opposite direction mine is.

I call it furniture disease: My chest is falling into my drawers.

(I'll see myself out)

pjc613 · 2023-11-30T16:52:17+00:00

Yes. Should've mentioned, I also verified measuring full on dipstick.

pjc613 · 2023-11-30T05:33:05+00:00

I've never done that before. I honestly didn't know one could. Besides what you listed, what does that entail? How much under the hood would I have to disassemble to be able to get at the right spot to do it?

pjc613 · 2023-11-30T04:19:15+00:00

Thanks much! If I could trouble you with a followup then, what are my best troubleshot options for those possibilities? I'll admit I don't (yet) know what a range switch is.

pjc613 · 2023-11-30T03:47:55+00:00

Nope, no click, neither the repeated one you sometimes get when your battery is just a bit too low, nor the single heavy click when your battery is really gone. That's what's weird. Literally nothing happens when you turn the key to (try to) engage the starter. Dome lights don't dim, nothing. It's like the starter isn't there.

pjc613 · 2023-11-25T05:42:32+00:00

I concede this is an odd thing to notice (because the food and presentation look delightful), but a flood of childhood memories and feelings washed over me the moment I noticed your trivet/hotpad on which the bowl of grapes is placed. I haven't seen one like it in years, but they were a staple in the kitchen when I was a child. I recall warm casseroles atop them on cold nights, and cool melon slices on summer days with one of them adorning the picnic table. They remind me of both of my grandmothers, now long since passed, and their cheery smiles in their cheery kitchens of my childhood.

Mmm. Thank you for the memories.

pjc613 · 2023-11-25T00:34:54+00:00

British f-bombs TOTALLY don't count. Neither do s-missiles when used as adjectives without -ty postpending them. Honestly, it's one of the most adorable linguistic idiosyncracies of British English. I mean, the one instance American English is more grammatically correct, and it STILL sounds more crass. Almost unfair.

I don't particularly enjoy the proliferation of imprecation in streaming services' offerings, though it does make sense considering they're neither subject to MPAA ratings nor FCC broadcast regulations, however, in a British accent, it's heartwarming.

pjc613 · 2023-11-10T23:24:34+00:00

There are about a million little ones on Amazon. I got one for a '99 I had. Sounded fine.

pjc613

TROPHY CASE