ok to reuse old drums with new shoes?

[jks67ss396]

About to place the order for everything needed to rebuild rear drum brakes.

Ive always either bought new rotors/drums or had them turned when i did new pads/shoes.

But ive recently read where more and more folks say that if the rotor is good, that turning them isnt needed just because of new pads. just scuff them up with sandpaper to remove the old material

I havent seen the same thought applied to old drums... is it possible to use them with new shoes or prep the surface of the drums with sandpaper?

Im leaning toward having the drums turned/resurfaced, but wanted to run it by you guys .

thoughts?

thanks!

[Special-Ed]

turn them and reinstall...

[Terry Crist]

You should have the new shoes turned to match the old drums or have them both turned to match each other.

If the radius of the drums and the shoes do not match then you are going to have a loss of brakeing because only part of the brake shoe is going to be touching the drum.

[BMERDOC]

Originally Posted by Terry Crist

You should have the new shoes turned to match the old drums or have them both turned to match each other.

If the radius of the drums and the shoes do not match then you are going to have a loss of brakeing because only part of the brake shoe is going to be touching the drum.

Wow, just wow! I forgot all about re-arching brake shoes! I wonder if anyone still does that? I'm sure there are some old guys still doing it and still have the equipment. I wouldn't depend on the local chain stores to even know what that is! LOL!

Turning rotors is frowned upon because it takes metal off the rotor and with less metal there is less ability to dissipate heat which will in turn cause warpage. The problem with drums is that they form a lip and make it nearly impossible to get the drum back on with new shoes. You can just have the lip removed if you want. I priced out having my drums turned and the local Goodyear store wanted $30 per drum to turn them! I must have been a while since I last had some turned because I was expecting the usual $8.00. I've worked at my BMW dealership for 17 years and we've never had a brake lathe.

[jks67ss396]

For 30 bucks each, I can get new ones from RockAuto

If i get new drums and new shoes, the radius of each should be parallel, right?

[66Submarine]

FWIW, I don't turn them. IME, without abuse drums shouldn't develop a ridge for a very long time. Even when you have one with a ridge you can just back up the adjuster to take them off/on; no big deal. I dislike the fact that needless turning reduces the amount of iron available to heat up to stop, and shoes take much longer to seat. Lose/lose, IMO.

New drums and shoes should match AFAIK. I think some have complained about the concentricity of the Chinese drums, though. You might check your current drums and see what the diameter is. I just use a tape measure. (For a half ton in the era I deal with) 11" is "standard", 11-1/16" is .060 over, etc. It's not rocket science.

[Terry Crist]

Originally Posted by BMERDOC

Wow, just wow! I forgot all about re-arching brake shoes! I wonder if anyone still does that? I'm sure there are some old guys still doing it and still have the equipment. I wouldn't depend on the local chain stores to even know what that is! LOL!

Turning rotors is frowned upon because it takes metal off the rotor and with less metal there is less ability to dissipate heat which will in turn cause warpage. The problem with drums is that they form a lip and make it nearly impossible to get the drum back on with new shoes. You can just have the lip removed if you want. I priced out having my drums turned and the local Goodyear store wanted $30 per drum to turn them! I must have been a while since I last had some turned because I was expecting the usual $8.00. I've worked at my BMW dealership for 17 years and we've never had a brake lathe.

I guess I am showing my age there