Rear Drums

[SMB]

Hey all,

On my 1997 Camry, the rear drums are so rusted that sometimes while making a left turn, the drum would touch the dust shield (Not sure about the name) and I can hear a grinding noise from my rear right wheel.

The shoes are still good but I am planning to replace the drums and shoes in the next few weeks.

My question is can rusted drums affect MPG? I am thinking that there is a little friction in the rear.

Now I never turned the wheel with my hand to see how fast the wheel is turning and then comparing both rear sides.
My usual commute is about 99% city and I am getting between 18 to 19 MPG which is normal for this car, I think.

This Sunday, I will be driving to Akron and I will calculate my highway mileage since I never did.

Thanks in advance.
SMB

 

[mechtech2]

If a drum brake is hitting the dust shield, the bearing is bad.

Out side rust is one thing. Inside rust is another.
99.999 % of the time, the area where the shoes contact the drum is smooth and shiny.
Rust can indeed cause dragging brakes, but for other reasons. Parts are stuck . Or maybe the shoe is falling apart.

 

[SMB]

Thanks for your reply. Yes it's only rusted on the outside of the drum. The inside has no rust.

How can I check the bearing?

 

[deeter16317]

Jack the wheel of the ground and try to shake the tire in and out...if it moves on the axle (not the axle moving on the suspension), the bearing is bad.

 

[mechtech2]

Wheel bearings can be quite bad and still not be loose.
But yours would have to be loose to allow moving the drum into the backing plate.
You should be able to feel this looseness by hand, if it is the problem.

 

[SMB]

I just checked the wheel and it did not move at all. It's stable.

I turned the wheel with my hand and I can hear the grinding noise but I hear it every 2 seconds and then goes away.

It's not a very loud noise and it could not be heard while the car is moving.

 

[JustinH]

Wheel bearings can be bad, and not have any play in them at all.

I had a front wheel bearing in my saturn go bad last month, it had absolutely no play but it was grinding all the way around.

 

[mechtech2]

Maybe all you need to do is to bend the backing plate back.
It may have gotten whacked.
Knock off the loose rust on the drum.

And keep an eye/ear on things.

I painted my drums with Rustoleum spray, and they look brand new 7 years later.

 

[JTK]

I've had old, worn out drums get out of round to the point they cause the shoes to wobble and tap the backing plate under light braking. This happened to my 2001 Ford Windstar. I did the shoes, wheel cylinders and hardware thinking the OEM drums were good enough to keep. No go. Had to change the drums too. Got the lowest price (by far for some reason) from Carquest at the time. They were under $30 a pc IIRC.

Joel