I am working on a '76 Chev Malibu that needs rear brakes. Choices are limited but I can get a set of remium Wearever shoes an drums cheaper than Raybestos. The guy at Carquest says he only carries Wearever because they give him the fewest complaints.
I have never used this brand before, any opinions?
Wearever Brake Shoes/Drums
- Thread starter Oldswagon
- Start date
I put Wearever pads on my 2000 LeSabre 2 weeks ago, and I am quite satisfied with them.
Previously had Wagner Thermo-Quiet and was disappointed with their performance.
Originally Posted by Oldswagon
I am working on a '76 Chev Malibu that needs rear brakes. Choices are limited but I can get a set of remium Wearever shoes an drums cheaper than Raybestos. The guy at Carquest says he only carries Wearever because they give him the fewest complaints.
I have never used this brand before, any opinions?
Quote
Lol.. he only carries Wearever bc thats their house brand...….
My 92 Toyota pickup needed rear brake shoes, and I bought a set of Wagner Z505(QuickStop) from Amazon. Could not install one side because the pin that holds the brake lever was cocked sideways, or the hole was off some how or another. Tried to drive it home, and it would not seat far enough, so that I could install the C-washer.
Ended up buying O'Reilly BrakeBest Select shoes that are semi-metallic. The linings were a good bit thicker than the Wagner shoes too. No experience with the Wearever shoes, but I can say the O'Reilly premium are top notch.
Get coated drums if any are available. And replace the wheel cylinders too 
[quote=Oldswagon The guy at Carquest says he only carries Wearever because they give him the fewest complaints[/quote]
My Carquest guy assured me that they had an exclusive contract to get only high quality Chinese drums and rotors. I bought 2 rear drums for my last Caravan and had to exchange one due to a hard spot on (I think) on the braking surface that caused noise. Those drums performed well. I think that Chinese rotors and drums manufacturing has improved since 10 years ago and I agree with everyone above.
Originally Posted by Oldswagon
I am working on a '76 Chev Malibu that needs rear brakes. Choices are limited but I can get a set of remium Wearever shoes an drums cheaper than Raybestos. The guy at Carquest says he only carries Wearever because they give him the fewest complaints.
I have never used this brand before, any opinions?
Thank you for the replies. It sounds like based on what you are saying there isn't much difference between the brands for the brakes available for a car like this. I also checked RockAuto and Amazon and the selection for a car of this age was relatively limited. I found Raybestos, Centric, Monroe, and Wagner along with a few other white box specials.
If there isn't much difference in the quality amongst these Brands, I will likely just go with the Carquest WearEver parts. If I factor in the shipping from the mail order places , the Carquest Parts were actually the about the same as the mail order suppliers. For what it's worth, I have dealt with this Carquest for many years and they used to carry all different brands but only recently switch to WearEver as there only non special order brand. They also have been really good to me for warranty issues over the years.
The only reason I'm doing a brake job on this vehicle is because it needs to pass a safety inspection and the current brake shoes are worn unevenly. The upper portion of the leading shoe is worn too far to pass inspection. The brake drums are the original GM parts and should pass but with the new shoes I figured it was time to replace them. There isn't enough material left to machine the original drums.
Aftermarket brake drums from China are extremely problematic. At least in my experience. The rotors are fine.
With aftermarket drums, regardless of brand, I usually have to order 2-4 pairs before getting 2 drums which are machined correctly. I have had issues with shoes clicking due to a rough finish or the drums being out of round.
If your existing drums are in good condition I would HIGHLY recommend installing new shoes only.
Originally Posted by The Critic
Aftermarket brake drums from China are extremely problematic. At least in my experience. The rotors are fine.
With aftermarket drums, regardless of brand, I usually have to order 2-4 pairs before getting 2 drums which are machined correctly. I have had issues with shoes clicking due to a rough finish or the drums being out of round.
If your existing drums are in good condition I would HIGHLY recommend installing new shoes only.
Originally Posted by Oldswagon
Originally Posted by The Critic
Aftermarket brake drums from China are extremely problematic. At least in my experience. The rotors are fine.
With aftermarket drums, regardless of brand, I usually have to order 2-4 pairs before getting 2 drums which are machined correctly. I have had issues with shoes clicking due to a rough finish or the drums being out of round.
If your existing drums are in good condition I would HIGHLY recommend installing new shoes only.
For whatever its worth,
installed
05/27/2016 84,325 Brake pads front Wagner ThermoQuiet QC787 Ceramic Disc Brake Pad Set
06/05/2016 84,512 Brake rotors front Carquest Wearever Brake Rotor - Front Part No. YH145287
current miles - 115,069 = 30,557 miles later.
Starting to feel pulsation when braking...........It is likely warping rotors.
I'm looking to replace rotors and pads. May go with Raybestos and Akebono or Honda and Akebono.....
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