8 replies to this topic

[Phil Hackett]

I do the light maintenance on my cars and the picture below is so maddening. I replaced the rear brakes on the 93 Chevy Caprice today and while test driving and applying the brakes I felt both a "clunk" and the brake pedal surging towards the floor. I still had brakes but something was very "off" about how they worked. This clunk came from  the right rear wheel and about the time the clunk happened the left rear wheel started squealing and locking up....

 

I gingerly get home to inspect and I found nothing odd about the left rear wheel's brake. However, the right rear wheel had a nasty surprise I have never seen before. It seems these premium brake shoes have a problem.

 

I'm going to have a professional service this. Drum brakes are the most retarded design and should have been replaced by discs in the 1950s. Any beancounter who claimed disc brakes were "too expensive" should have been shot.... I HATE drum brakes.

 

Enjoy my Saturday afternoon surprise (NO! Not that kind!):

 

[Samiam]

Only buy riveted brake shoes. 

[John Luongo]

at that location, the frame looks good. never saw new brake shoes come apart exactly like that, unless severly over heated or a caustic degreaser released the bonding agent. a chemical degreaser that strong enough to release the shoe bonding agent would likely melt your fingernails. what did the friction surface of the drums look like? discolored, out of round or blued from heat? what did the original shoes look like?odd wear pattern or just wore out? brake cylinder locked up? otherwise, failure could be due to cheapened assembly methods at the factory. find out if others have experienced the same issue from the same date and lot number. check for product recalls or TSB. interesting problem. glad you made it back home safe.

[Sloter]

As stated above "Use only riveted shoes"! I highly recommend any time you do brakes, use OEM parts. I have seen so many issues with non OEM brake shoes and pads. I have 28+ years in the automotive field.

 

Bob

[Phil Hackett]

at that location, the frame looks good. never saw new brake shoes come apart exactly like that, unless severly over heated or a caustic degreaser released the bonding agent. a chemical degreaser that strong enough to release the shoe bonding agent would likely melt your fingernails. what did the friction surface of the drums look like? discolored, out of round or blued from heat? what did the original shoes look like?odd wear pattern or just wore out? brake cylinder locked up? otherwise, failure could be due to cheapened assembly methods at the factory. find out if others have experienced the same issue from the same date and lot number. check for product recalls or TSB. interesting problem. glad you made it back home safe.

 

Everything looked good... no sign of overheating, the drums are round, ect. I was going maybe 30mph when this happened. I'm glad it wasn't an emergency stop on the freeway!

 

I follow a number of auto repair/hot rod channels on YouTube and there are universal complaints about the quality of parts nowadays even down to the OEM level. One channel was forced to use Dorman (which he hates) as a last alternative because everything else he tried (for that particular repair) failed, didn't fit, was packaged wrong, or generally was bad out of the box. I'm not too surprised this happened to me and my car.

 

As for the condition of the frame: it's a SoCal car from the beginning and has been garaged (although the paint would say different) most of its life. The car is rust-free and the only body damage is on the lower right quarter panel where someone "swiped" it in a parking lot.

[Alchemist]

Hi Phil,

 

Summit offers a disc brake conversion:

https://www.summitra...SigJ6tKo9UifrsF

 

as well as Class Industries - should you consider doing a disc brake conversion:

https://www.classici...RATl3jH773gsMOk

 

Ernie

[John Luongo]

buying OEM is good advice, along with using riveted linings. when relining rear brakes on class 7 and 8 trucks, we used 164 brass bolts to secure the new brake blocks to the brake shoe table. replacement parts quality is even more critical when buying aftermarket electronic parts for your car. the pricing is attractive, but they may not be made to the same electronic tolerances to be compatible with your cars system. if your investigation reveals a recall on those shoes, i would request a refund. if they arnt receptive, let them know copies of the accident report, body shop estimate and ER services bill will be forth coming. stay safe.

[Phil Hackett]

buying OEM is good advice, along with using riveted linings. when relining rear brakes on class 7 and 8 trucks, we used 164 brass bolts to secure the new brake blocks to the brake shoe table. replacement parts quality is even more critical when buying aftermarket electronic parts for your car. the pricing is attractive, but they may not be made to the same electronic tolerances to be compatible with your cars system. if your investigation reveals a recall on those shoes, i would request a refund. if they arnt receptive, let them know copies of the accident report, body shop estimate and ER services bill will be forth coming. stay safe.

I was on a quiet street in the neighborhood when the linings decided to unline. As for a recall... I've never heard of a recall on parts (except OEM)... didn't know that was possible.

[John Luongo]

component reported failure rate has to be documented by the manufacturer. when the failure incidence reaches a specific percentage, NHTSA is informed and they decide on what action to take. before doing a compliance review on a motor carrier, we often would get a list of their equipment and check the NHTSA web site for critical or acute safety notices. often the carrier wouldnt even be aware of any component issues. if crashes were involved, we checked for safety notices/recalls first and how those issues may have impacted or contributed to the accident. (safecar.com) NHTSA web site. some manufacturers will implement their own "silent recall", where they are seeing a component failure rate trend. they will send you an advertisement for $50 oil change and free safety inspection. good deal. when you get your car sometimes they will say. "your front brake lines looked worn so we changed them at no cost". in actuality, they wanted to get you into their shop to replace the brake lines before NHTSA got involved. an email sent to the brake lining manufacturer is a legal document and they cant/shouldnt ignore it. parts are designed and built to a price point to be competitive. stay safe