If you have your regular retainer/return spring tools for drum brakes, these won’t work.
I just did this. And it was hell!
But it’s inspired me to invent new tools to make the job a lot easier.
Tester
Aw, just when I thought I’d completed my collection…
would this have helped?
Is this for their rear disk brake system? Or a rear drum brake?
I am assuming @Tester is talking about the parking brake shoes that are inside the rear rotor’s hat . . . ?
I don’t know if that job could be any worse than the front drum brakes on some very early Subarus.
The brake drums/shoes were inboard and mounted on the transaxle with very little access.
I did several of these things back in the 80s and flat rate paid 8 hours for front brake shoes if that gives you any idea of what a pain in the neck it was.
Honestly, it would be easier to pull the transaxle and service the brakes on the bench.
Needless to say, telling someone that front brake shoes was going to cost them 8 hours labor seldom went over well. Rears were extra of course… 
At least with Toyota’s setup you won’t be doing it much. My 4runner now has 280k miles and the pads look fine. They are really used to just keep the vehicle from moving when parked. The only way that the pads would wear out is if you drove around with the parking brake on.
May I assume that some customers accused the mechanic of trying to gouge them . . . ?
@Tester was talking about parking brake shoes . . . presumably the kind that are inside the rear rotor hat. The inside of the rear rotor hat, in those cases, IS the parking brake drum
With all due respect, I believe you mispoke or at least, you misspelled or used the wrong word
The systems that use the rear caliper use the same brake pads as are used for regular driving. And they won’t last 280K miles. I don’t think you really meant that system . . . ?
I believe you meant to say “My 4runner now has 280k miles and the shoes look fine.” I’m going to assume your truck has rear rotors, but has the parking brake inside the rear rotor hat
Presumably you meant the shoes inside the rotor hat
When you used the word pad, I believe you actually meant shoe . . .
@db4690, You would be correct in assuming the customers thought that. Eight hours or not, I hated doing one of them.
Later Subaru drum brakes were very simple with only a couple of springs and clips. The older ones with the inboard brakes had a handful of springs, clips, levers, and washers and it all had to be accessed through holes barely large enough to get a hand through while working nearly blind.
Thankfully, those cars were somewhat rare and were not seen often.
@db2690
@Tester was talking about parking brake shoes . . . presumably the kind that are inside the rear rotor hat. The inside of the rear rotor hat, in those cases, IS the parking brake drum
Yes I know he was…Should have used the word Shoes instead of Pads…
My 4runner, wife’s Lexus and my Highland have that setup. Toyota has been building their vehicles that way for over a decade now.
Never had to replace them…Looks like a real bear. The design is the same as regular shoe brakes…but no room to work.
“4runner now has 280k miles and the pads look fine.”
“The only way that the pads would wear out is if you drove around with the parking brake on.”
Thanks to your added information, now I know what setup you have . . . but you used the word “pads” . . . which was somewhat confusing
Confusing, because there are vehicles out there that use the rear calipers and pads as the parking brakes.
Now I know that, in fact, your 4runner has 280k miles, the parking brake shoes look fine
And yes, the only way you could wipe out that shoes is if you drove with the parking brake engaged
Terminology can be a real bear
Terminology can be a real bear
I still use the word shoes for drum brakes…but many parts stores (ADAP, PEP-BOYS) use the word Pad for disk and drum brakes…Pads are becoming a generic term for either pads or shoes.
“Pads are becoming a generic term for either pads or shoes.”
Just because it’s a generic term, does NOT mean it’s correct usage
I could imagine scenarios when customers are sold the wrong parts, or are quoted a wrong price
I feel it’s best to just use the correct terminology, especially in this case
“I still use the word shoes . . .”
In that case, you’re contradicting yourself, because you yourself used the word pad, when you really meant shoes
I said this before and advised my ee Son (electrical engineering student) this Summer for his first real job in the industry . . . watch how stuff works and imagine how/who/why it was designed in the first place. Most engineers don’t have to work on stuff, they design it. Maybe a generalization, maybe not. But I’ll bet Tester thought about that a few times when he was doing this job, ok4450 too! Rocketman
Just because it's a generic term, does NOT mean it's correct usage
I never said nor implied that it was…just that it IS.
I helped one of my son’s friends replace the rear shoes on his 90-something Accord. I sent my son and his friend to the parts store of his choice to buy new shoes. The counter clerk at Peo-Boys didn’t know what shoes were. He told my son and his friend…they’re called Pads. Hard to correct stupid.
In that case, you're contradicting yourself, because you yourself used the word pad, when you really meant shoes
That was a slip…NOT the term I normally use. Why do you keep harping on it.
“Why do you keep harping on it.”
In my profession, using the wrong terminology can and does lead to misdiagnosis, ordering wrong parts, giving out bad quotes, etc.
I’ve been guilty of it myself
Just imagine if you were selling loose cigarettes in NYC and also in London, what a semantic debacle! Rocketman
@db460 has it right.
These brake shoes are inside the rotor hats for the rear disk brakes and are only used as the parking brake.
The tool shown would of been of no use.
Think of these brake shoes as being mini-shoes. That is once they’re installed, there’s very little space between the brake shoe and the hub flange. So you’ll be working thru a hole in the hub flange. And this hole doesn’t align with the retaining springs/pins.
If you look at the exploded view of the assembly, you’ll notice that the rear pin is bent. That pin must held in that position when installed so it provides clearance for the parking brake lever.
Now look at the spring and two cups for that rear pin. All the bottom cups have a bent tab on them. That bent tab must be inserted into hole on the brake shoe, while at the same time pushing the spring/upper cup down and rotating it 90 degrees to lock the spring.
So, you have to come up with a method to hold the two cups and the retaining spring together as you’re passing it thru the hole on flange and connecting it to the pin.
What I did was, took some silicone sealant and a glued the retaining spring and two cups together making sure that the bent tab was at the proper orientation on the lower cup relative to the position of the pin locks. Then with a needle nose pliers gripping the upper cup, I inserted it thru the hole, inserted the tab on the lower cup into the hole on the brake shoe, and then turn the upper cup 90 degrees to lock it onto the pin.
This did not succeed on the first attempt!
Remember! The hole in the flange doesn’t align with these springs!
So, dealing with straight front pin wasn’t bad. But when dealing with that rear bent pin, and the retainer spring/cups, it’ll test your patients.
It tested mine!
Tester
I’m sure those of you in the rust belt see the need to replace parking brake shoes more than those of us in temperate climates. Although I do see trucks used at the salt water boat launch that need shoes regularly.
I’m sure it was worth every bit of the 2 hours out of the labor guide to replace those.