Simple things you hate doing?

[Eddo Rogue]

Bad backing plates? I dont recall an issue.

Possibly lol were still pretty green back then as 11th graders. Or it could have been because it was a ranchero.

 

[MikeG]

If water gets in a drum brake, goodbye to much of any braking ability.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

If water gets in a drum brake, goodbye to much of any braking ability.

Thats true of any braking system.

 

[fastpakr]

Not in the same way at all.

 

[8thTon]

4 drums on my first car, a '66 Mustang. I was a senior in high school in '81 when I found out about brake fade, trying to bring it down from over 100mph because there was a long line of stopped traffic in front of me. IIRC the brakes got it down to about 50 before they were gone.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Not in the same way at all.

Semis run drums and arnt super affected by water. No more or less then disc

 

[Dirtman]

Drums have huge surface area but tiny fluid volume so brake fade is massive. Plus when on the front you had to keep them adjusted fairly often (it's just normal maintenance on front drums). Rear drums can go all out of whack and you'll probably never notice but not the fronts.

As for water, I've had drums that could be swamped and not care and had drums that would rust over during a humid night and lock up instantly for the first 5 miles. My cavalier was especially bad, after a rainy or humid night it was basically standard procedure to apply the parking brake slightly and drive down the street to clear the rust off the drums otherwise they locked solid for the first few stops.

But in this one instance I agree with rusty, drums work just as well as discs if you keep them maintained and understand not to do a 100mph stop in traffic. Though you could probably put DOT 5.1 fluid in them and reduce a ton of fade. Go nuts and flush them with DOT 5 and you'll never get any fade.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Semis run drums and arnt super affected by water. No more or less then disc

Air vs hydraulic too though.

The best brakes I have been around are disks running in oil. The pads can be gone and you will not notice a difference... until the hydraulic filters plug with steel filings and you lose hydraulics (which is needed for the brakes, clutch and steering)

Toyota touts running drums in the back of the Tacoma because they are more resistant to sand intrusion... which I think is BS but that is their angle.

 

[Dirtman]

I grew up driving on the beaches and in the pine barrens (all sand trails). Trust me, drums don't keep sand out, they keep it in. Drums are not sealed and sand finds it's way in but never seems to find it's way out. Discs are much better in sand, sure they are completely exposed but all the sand that gets on them also just falls right back off.

 

[MikeG]

Drum on semis are open (the backing plate does not completely cover them so that the pad thickness can be inspected without taking the system apart). SOP for commercial truck roadside inspection. For disks, all it takes to clear any water off of them is a couple of revolutions (if not just one) with the pads applied. That is NOT true if you get water in drum brakes and there's no easy way for it to get out. And air keeps the brakes off, not on. Run out of air and the system doesn't fade, it locks up, guaranteed. Totally different than (mostly) enclosed hydraulic drum brakes.

Discs cool off WAY faster.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Drum on semis are open (the backing plate does not completely cover them so that the pad thickness can be inspected without taking the system apart). SOP for commercial truck roadside inspection. For disks, all it takes to clear any water off of them is a couple of revolutions (if not just one) with the pads applied. That is NOT true if you get water in drum brakes and there's no easy way for it to get out. And air keeps the brakes off, not on. Run out of air and the system doesn't fade, it locks up, guaranteed. Totally different than (mostly) enclosed hydraulic drum brakes.

Discs cool off WAY faster.

I get all that. But what im saying is truck brakes are basically the same as car drums, minus the backing plate and engagement system.

Air or hydrailic makes no difference in effectiveness when wet.

 

[MikeG]

Not having water trapped in the drum is what makes the difference, when wet. THAT is one of the problems with drum brakes on cars / light passenger trucks.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I grew up driving on the beaches and in the pine barrens (all sand trails). Trust me, drums don't keep sand out, they keep it in. Drums are not sealed and sand finds it's way in but never seems to find it's way out. Discs are much better in sand, sure they are completely exposed but all the sand that gets on them also just falls right back off.

Toyota guys eat that crap up. Toyota just thinks of everything...

I get all that. But what im saying is truck brakes are basically the same as car drums, minus the backing plate and engagement system.

Air or hydrailic makes no difference in effectiveness when wet.

Amount of force does make a difference.

Soak your brakes in oil and how do they work?

How do tractors get by with having brakes than run in oil? Have absolutely no performance difference when worn to steel on steel? Mo powa!

 

[snoranger]

And air keeps the brakes off, not on. Run out of air and the system doesn't fade, it locks up, guaranteed. Totally different than (mostly) enclosed hydraulic drum brakes.

Sort of... air releases the spring (parking) brake, but air is also used to apply the service brake.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I love how this turned into a drum brake debate lol