Brake Drum Servicing Tips
Thread Starter
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
Likes: 613
From: VA
William I have never heard of turning new rotors or drums before installation......kind of defeats the purpose of getting them if the old ones are still within spec.....problem I see, are those extremely cheap products....can almost guarantee within a year, you will have pulsation problems.....Even had them pulsate right out of the box......
But I will say this.....the main cause of pulsation is improper torquing of lug nuts after rotations.....and yes, if you drive like a madman like Mike use to, overheating those rotors/drums will cause pulsations, too.....we had one guy with a Buick Century, who had pulsating drums on a regular basis........how many people actually use their e-brake? Well, this guy did.....he would really apply his e-brakes to his hot drums, and that would cause the pulsations......finally convinced him to only use the e-brake when parking on a hill.....problem solved....
But I will say this.....the main cause of pulsation is improper torquing of lug nuts after rotations.....and yes, if you drive like a madman like Mike use to, overheating those rotors/drums will cause pulsations, too.....we had one guy with a Buick Century, who had pulsating drums on a regular basis........how many people actually use their e-brake? Well, this guy did.....he would really apply his e-brakes to his hot drums, and that would cause the pulsations......finally convinced him to only use the e-brake when parking on a hill.....problem solved....
I probably did not need new drums, but I only have one vehicle, and live in the boonies, so if I removed them and they had to be turned then I would have been SOL.
So while I had the money I ordered some quality OE AC Delco cast iron ones.
I should not have any issues with torque on the lug-nuts, I actually use a torque wrench and make sure they are torqued to 100 ft lbs.
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 2,878
Likes: 1,097
From: Worcester, Ma.
Yeah, if I remember right, GM came out with a TSB, stating the vehicles had to have the star pattern applied with a torque stick or torque wrench...then they revised it to eliminate the torque stick....
There were a lot of pulsations on brakes coming back after brake jobs were done......part of the problem was tire rotations, that were part of oil changes, you know, the "freebees" to get you on the lift, and search for other problems....well, most rotations were slam bam thank you ma'am.....over torqued with a gun, led to a lot of pulsations......always loved to see those competitor'* oil sticker reminders in the upper left corner of the W/*....
There were a lot of pulsations on brakes coming back after brake jobs were done......part of the problem was tire rotations, that were part of oil changes, you know, the "freebees" to get you on the lift, and search for other problems....well, most rotations were slam bam thank you ma'am.....over torqued with a gun, led to a lot of pulsations......always loved to see those competitor'* oil sticker reminders in the upper left corner of the W/*....
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 9,616
Likes: 594
From: western,ny state
i dont take the cars for any free anything anymore, the dodge dealer that had free oil changes did a 5 min nothing but even if you ask them to look at some thing. and the service manager says "they dont have time for that". last car i bought there. i used to take the cars to monroe for oil because half the time it was cheaper than i could get it other places. but it got expensive, they ruined one of my cb antennas and "lost" the oem bonnie sse tail pipes i had.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
Likes: 613
From: VA
I take my car to Walmart'* TLE only for wheel balancing, and rotation until I get a good floor jack again, of course I cannot do the balancing myself.
I stand near the bay and watch them when they do the work, luckily I have always had them put the nuts back on, torque to spec, then they move it outside and double check the torque, of course it is possible they may be over-tightening them before they use the torque wrench, next time I may back all the lugs off and make sure alla re to spec.
I stand near the bay and watch them when they do the work, luckily I have always had them put the nuts back on, torque to spec, then they move it outside and double check the torque, of course it is possible they may be over-tightening them before they use the torque wrench, next time I may back all the lugs off and make sure alla re to spec.
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Williamsburg, VA
This has been a helpful thread, as my '04 Venture LS is about to roll 200k and the linings back there are pretty thin. (I did the front pads & rotors and a fluid bleed/replace a 165k). I've done drums before on smaller vehicles and never enjoyed it, so this time I'll get the nifty tools and do it right.
QUESTION: should I do the rear wheel bearings, just on general principles? How hard is that job?
Thanks ~
QUESTION: should I do the rear wheel bearings, just on general principles? How hard is that job?
Thanks ~
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 9,616
Likes: 594
From: western,ny state
most gms have the hub units, and it can be simple or incredibly hard depending on the previous exposure level to salt. in the rust belt they fuse to the spindle and if you get the bolts out you can still be talking about a torch to heat the spindle and numerous different rounds and sizes of BFH
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
SSEimatt93
Detailing & Appearance
11
Aug 21, 2006 07:19 PM
