stewartfan

What's up! So I've looked around and have found a few threads about this, but nothing that actually answers the question. What size do our cars take as far as rear drum brakes?! There's either 7-7/8 x 1-3/8" or 8-21/32 x 1-3/8" and I've called my local auto parts store and they said I'd have to take them out and measure them. Everywhere I go online, I plug my car in and it gives me more than one size. Any idea what's the right size?

Also, I removed the drum today because I've been having a horrible noise come from my rear drums since I got the car about a year and a half ago (I know, it's about time) but I found that the shoe liner seems to be crumbling. If you run your finger along it, little chunks come off. I have a picture if that'd help, but I don't understand why this'd be happening. My uncle who's a mechanic, told me that they may have gotten too hot and "cooked them." I don't recall having done anything to cause this, and I think it was happening when I got the car, but the noise has just gotten a lot worse since then. Before, if I came to a stop a few times, the sound would go away. Any idea why this would happen, and how to fix it? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

ezone

199.9-200.0 mm (7.870-7.874 in.)

Can't say what's going on with lining coming off, I don't see that with OEM hardly ever here.
You got cheapo brakes?

Driving with the handbrake left on will definitely cook them. It happens to certain people more than others.


HTH

stewartfan

Ok thanks! Those are the size I ordered. I have no idea what brand were on there when I bought the thing, but I bought it from an older lady so that may explain them being cooked. Truthfully, I'd apply the handbrake for about 5 seconds while at about 25mph to get rid of the sound temporarily (yeah, not the smartest thing, I know. But it worked!). The ones I ordered this time were the Wagner thermoquiet, which I assume will be quality enough for drums, right?

ezone

No clue.
Back when I worked in an indy shop, Thermoquiets were used often, with good results.


Now I'm in a dealer.
I DO know that we always seem to get burned with aftermarket brakes on Hondas, usually noise complaints. No matter how many times we have to redo a brake job because someone whined about the price of factory parts, management/advisors never learn from the past.
Guaranteed to do it all over again.
/rant


On Hondas drum brakes, I'm used to seeing shoes last for nearly the life of the car here, quite often well over 200k on the original shoes. Seems like an easy 5 sets of front brakes to one set of rear shoes for the majority of customers I see.
(I also don't bother to try to recommend them until they hit 1/16 - 1/32".)

We don't even keep rear shoes in stock, they have to be special ordered or obtained from one of the other nearby dealers that keep them in stock. ("Nearby" is an hour away for us.)

HTH

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

stick with oem. if it lasts over 100k miles without issue, its worth the extra cost.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

i have a brand new honda OEM shoes for sale if you are interested.

stewartfan

Yeah, makes sense. I only paid $20 shipped for these though, so if I have issues a little down the road, I won't mind switching to the OEM ones if I have to.

How much?

Yeah, the dealer here said that they could order them and they'd be here by Tues and I'd be paying $92. Definitely not worth it if you ask me. We'll see how the Wagner ones do, and like I said, if they start being overly noisy I'll just find some OEM ones at a good price.

ezone

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

let me go get a pix of it.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Your dealership lets people bring in aftermarket parts?

ezone

Not very often.

There are occasions where we don't have the needed parts on hand, so they may be sourced from local parts stores.
This is when things seem to go downhill.

Same goes for when "aftermarket is cheaper!!!!!!" (on almost anything, it seems).....Yeah, there's a reason for that.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Sometimes aftermarket doesnt always fit right. That must suck as a tech to have to use low quality aftermarket parts.

ezone

Yeah, a big part of the suckage is because I'm not paid hourly, and nobody wants to compensate fairly for crap that doesn't work right the first time.


Parts that ALMOST FIT.
If I were an hourly employee, I could take all freekin day to modify and adapt as necessary to "make it work".

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

dealer here says the same thing. customers want cheap depo replicas and complain when they are sticking out not sitting flush with the bumper, then blame the dealer for bad install. they paid $18k+ for a new car but cant afford $85 for a tail light. its too much money lmao.

stewartfan

For the record, I only paid $3000 for my Civic. Haha

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah i meant the cars in dealer service. they are usually shocked when i bring my 10 yr old car for rare stuff like brakes, cause the average car there is only 1-2 yrs old. they dont see many old ones, prolly cause owners stopped caring.