Brake drums

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I have read here a lot of times it is better to replace brake rotors because the cost of turning a set of rotors is not much less than the cost of a new set of rotors. Not many places will turn rotors nowadays and even so a turned rotor can be problematic and won't last as long as a new one. I did all new rotors, calipers and pads on my front brakes back in January.

I am wondering, does the same thing apply to the rear brake drums? Are they any better when turned, and are they more able to be turned because they do less of a percentage of the work to brake and stop the vehicle? Is a turned drum liable to have problems sooner than a new replacement drum? Or is it better to just replace the drums, for the same reasons it makes more sense to replace disc brake rotors?

I am planning on doing the rear brake shoes on my truck this Saturday. If they are still thick enough to turn, I can get the drums turned at 2 different garages near my house but I will just buy new drums if that is the better way to do it. I have not had it apart yet to measure the thickness of the drums yet.

If I can have the drums turned, I can do the whole job for about $60.00, including new shoes, new hardware and resurfacing the drums. Add another $100.00 if I need new drums. I have a 2001 Dodge Dakota with 135,000 miles on it and it still has the original brake shoes and drums on the rear. I haven't had it apart to check recently it but I figure it's about time. The last time I checked the rear brakes about 2 months ago, they had not much friction material left, and the leading shoes were not down to the rivets yet but still fairly thin. The parking brake is not holding the truck firmly any more. I can adjust it but I think it needs new rear brakes regardless.

Thanks for any help here.
 
I'd check the drums for cracks. If they pass, scuff them up with some 220 or finer grit sandpaper and reuse them. The rear drums on the Buick were fine at 85k miles when I did them. No cracks, scoring, and just a tiny wear ridge.
 
Agreed. It's a judgement call. If the drum wear surface isn't too bad, you can reuse what you have with new shoes. If it's bad, resurface if you have enough meat left. Otherwise you'll need new drums. Rear drums see much lighter duty than front rotors. So with 135K anything can happen - good and bad.
 
On most brake jobs, I roughen the drums up and use new shoes.
This is after cleaning and inspection, of course.
Brake shoes wear about 3 times slower than the front discs.
Cutting is rare, but sometimes done, esp on trucks.
Occasionally, new drums are required.

If you decide on new drums, it will probably be the last time you get them. $100 may be worth it.
I strongly suggest painting them [after a good cleaning] with Rustoleum spray paint in gloss black. A touch up here and there, and they will look new for 10 years. Don't worry about heat.
 
I ended up getting a new set of drums for my '88 Cherokee last year. The old ones were in tough enough shape (rust) that it was time to replace them. Wear was not the big issue, but overall integrity of the drum was.

+1 on painting the drums. I painted mine with brake caliper spray paint. Cheap, easy to do, and looks sharp if you can see the drums at all. In my case, I have realitvely "open" rims, and the glossy black is a nice touch rather than "rust orange".
 
Thanks. I plan on pulling the drums off on Friday night and checking the thickness with my digital caliper. It's a cheap one from HF but it should do well enough to tell what shape the drums are in. Then if they need to be turned I can run them down to the garage down the street first thing on Saturday so they can turn them for me while I do the new shoes. Otherwise I will rough them up with 220 grit and maybe some emery cloth and put them back on. The paint idea sounds good too.

Thanks for the info.
 
Turning the drums will make them more prone to cracking because they are thinner. So part of your decision is how much they need to be cut to clean up. Also, although it is not typically a problem with normal street use, turning the drum makes it's diameter larger and the brake shoes won't "fit" the drum as well as they ideally should. this is corrected by re-arcing the shoes to match the drums. We do it for customers with vintage race cars with drum brakes.
 
Years ago I painted the Neon's rear drums(after a good elecric drill wire brush session) with a can of semi-gloss black that was languishing in the carport closet. Looked *so* much better than rusty cast iron peeking through thes pokes of the nice alloy wheels.

If you can afford the extra $$, new drums would be nice, & should last the rest of the truck's life. Get 'em off the shelf & go, no waiting for the machine shop to finish(though the actual job takes little time, you may get "bumped" by something more profitable for them). You'd also have less prep work to do if you decide to paint 'em!
grin2.gif
 
Just put drums on a 2003 pontiac sunfire due to rust issues, and making a grinding sound.

The shoes were in great shape, the drums were rusty.

It needed a new hardware kit.

By the time I took the thing apart, I decided to just put in all new parts and call it a day, then bleed the system.

In most cases it isn't worth my time to monkey around with a brake system unless I'm going to replace everything with new.

The drums were 25 or 30 dollars each, the shoes were 14 dollars after rebate, the hardware kit was 5 dollars. All raybestos parts, but the shoes were monroe.
 
Thanks for the info here. I think I will just buy the new shoes and hardware at Autozone this week (and get another credit on my rewards card) and just hit my old drums with sandpaper and emery cloth and adjust the shoes out a bit if needed. I doubt the drums need turning.

I might look into painting the drums but you really can't see the drums behind my wheels anyway. I also now remember and realize I can't check the drums with a regular caliper, I have seen pictures of the one they use for it though.

Thanks for all the info.
 
I picked up new shoes, a complete hardware kit and a can of brake cleaner today after work at Autozone:



I know it's no big whoop, but I felt like posting the picture.

If I need to I will buy new drums on Saturday, they cost $11.00 less per drum at Advance, plus with their LC123 online purchase discount code a new pair of drums will only cost me $45.00. Not much more than turning the old ones. I may just buy a new set anyway, for my own peace of mind.

Thanks for all the help here.
 
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