Brake drums and resurfacing them

[Michael Garboski]

Ok so i have a dumb question for all you meachanics/techs Im looking to do my rear brakes on my Saturn Vue soon (replacing brake shoes, hardware, and possibly new drums). I was wondering what people usually do when resurfacing their drums.

Do you rotate between two pairs of drums or do you leave the car with the wheels chocked? Or do most of you have a brake drum lathe in your own home/shop?

What would you recommend for a DIY non-professional mechanic to do?

Thanks

Topic

[Frank Gonzalez]

I take my drums to O’reillys to have them turned. It cost $15 per drum/rotor to turn them. When drums or rotors are turned, a small amount of material is removed to make them true again. Sometimes it comes to a point in which drums have reached their maximum diameter or rotors have reached their minimum thickness, at that point they would have to be replaced. A shop or store will mic them before being turned and will tell you if they can be resurfaced or need to be replaced. Those numbers are usually stamped onto the drum or rotor.

By rotating the drums, do you mean swping them from side to side? If so, it doesn’t matter what side a just turned drum goes back on. You shouldn’t swap sides after the drums have been on the vehicle for a while without turning them first. Thats because drums and rotors wear to the brake shoes/padds.

And it would be a good idea to chalk both the front and back of both front wheels. Make sure the vehicle is on a level serface l. Do not set the park brake because you will not be able to remove the drums if the park brake is set. And set the rear of the vehicle on jack stands DO NOT LEAVE THE VEHICLE ON THE JACK!!!

As far as brake lathes, unless you are a shop or do lots of brake work at home, they are too expensive to buy. Be best to tske them to a shop or parts store to have them turned.

[Michael Garboski]

Yeah my question was mostly what do you do with your car while the drums are out of the car, and you’re resurfacing your drums at the store. I wasnt sure if you left your vehicle with it’s wheels chalked, or if you needed to swap between two pairs of drums (own 4 drums, keep 2 in the car, bring 2 into the shop to be resurfaced)

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[Erin]

Before doing any kind of brake work, just have the spare set of drums resurfaced and ready to go so when you do the brake job, you can just swap.

Suppose the spare set cannot be resurfaced. Now suppose you need the car, you have no other ride. Just put that set on temporarily while the non-spare (and hopefully resurfaceable) is in the shop. A couple days of driving on the spares should not hurt, but of course be real careful with braking. Also, if the spare set of drums is chewed to hell on the friction surface, do not use them at all even for a day.

Only AFTER you have a good set (new or reconditioned) of drums should you bother with new brake shoes and whatever other stuff you want to do. No use in ruining good shoes with bad drums

One thing with drums or discs – some people never even bother with a resurface. It is not the most professional way to service brakes but most brake jobs can at least get by. Pads and shoes wear out but drums and discs usually don;t unless brakes get worn metal to metal or end up warped from abuse (like riding the brakes)

[Michael Garboski]

Thanks,

That’s the info I was looking for.

[Author]

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