
Is brake drum important?
Drum brakes can provide more braking force than an equal diameter disc brake. Drum brakes last longer because drum brakes have increased friction contact area than a disc. Drum brakes are cheaper to manufacture than disc brakes. Rear drum brakes generate lower heat.
Where are drum brakes used?
rear axleDrum brakes are most often used on the rear axle of today's vehicles. They are also very common on trailers. Manufacturers don't use brake pads as the friction material in drum brakes. Instead, a drum brake system has a wheel cylinder with pistons that push brake shoes out against the inside of a spinning drum.
What is difference between drum brake and disc brake?
When pressure is applied to the brake pedal a caliper will squeeze the brake pads against the disc. Drum brakes are normal brakes whereas disc are for instant braking and locking of the vehicle. the stopping power increases with diac brake and the distance of stopping reduces compared to drum brakes.
What are the main parts of the drum brake?
Drum brake components include the backing plate, brake drum, shoe, wheel cylinder, and various springs and pins.
How do you check drum brakes?
1:192:23How to - Checking Drum Brakes // Supercheap Auto - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIf the reading is outside the manufacturers specification the drums will either need to be machinedMoreIf the reading is outside the manufacturers specification the drums will either need to be machined or replaced reassemble the drum break and repeat the procedure for the other drum brake.
How many brake drums does a car have?
Every car will come standard with two front brakes and two rear brakes, as well as a parking brake. Depending on your specific vehicle, all four of these brakes may be discs, or the front two may be discs and the rear two drums. Disc brakes require pads, while drums use brake shoes.
How long do drum brakes last?
between 150,000 to 200,000 milesDrum brakes are generally expected to last between 150,000 to 200,000 miles with proper care and maintenance. Their brake shoes generally need to be replaced about every 30,000 to 40,000 miles. Of course, the conditions your vehicle is exposed to over time will have an impact on drum brakes' wear, too.
Do brake drums wear out?
The housing of drum brakes is designed to be operable typically for around 150,000 to 200,000 miles, while the shoes are meant to last for 40,000 miles although they usually last the life of the vehicle if the car owner uses their brakes properly.
What are the disadvantages of drum brakes?
Drum brake disadvantages Under hard braking, the diameter of the drum increases slightly due to thermal expansion, the driver must press the brake pedal farther. Brake shoes can overheat to the point where they become glazed. Excessive brake drum heating can cause the brake fluid to vaporize.
How do you know if your rear drum brakes are going bad?
Symptoms of a Bad Brake DrumScraping or Grinding Noise. ... Low Brake Pedal. ... Soft Brake Pedal. ... Pulsation in the Brake Pedal. ... Mechanical Fade. ... Lining Fade. ... Gas Fade. ... Water Fade.More items...•
What causes brake drums to crack?
Cracked drums can be caused by excessive heating and cooling of the brake drum during operation. You will see a crack extending through the entire wall when inspecting your brake drum if yours is cracked. You should not operate your vehicle at all if you have a cracked drum.
Are rear drum brakes important?
The drum brakes on a car are an essential part of having maximum braking power. Over time, the drums and shoes on the rear part of a vehicle will have to do a lot of work and may begin to show some signs of wear.
Are drum brakes still used in cars?
Modern lightweight cars still have rear drum brakes since the majority of the stopping work is done by the front brakes. Although perceived as "ancient", drum brakes are sufficient for everyday driving and are easier to produce.
Do most cars have drum brakes?
2:336:57Why Some Cars Have Drum Brakes Instead of Disc Brakes - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd you're better off with this brakes in a bad environment than you are with drum brakes. Now asMoreAnd you're better off with this brakes in a bad environment than you are with drum brakes. Now as for cars the first real disc brake use was in 1951. And a British racing motor.
Why do Ford still use drum brakes?
Drum brakes are cheaper to manufacture than disc brakes, because there are fewer moving parts and because in the rear the parking brake (which often works by a drum-and-shoe mechanism even on four-wheel-disc-equipped cars) can share a drum with the "regular" brakes.
Do all cars have drum brakes?
Every car comes with two front brakes and two rear brakes. Older vehicles typically have drum brakes in both the front and rear. In contrast, modern cars tend to have either disc brakes on all four wheels or disc brakes in the front and drum brakes in the back.
How do drum brakes work?
Drum brakes slow down the car by pressing a brake shoe against the inside of the drum brake, the rotating component that spins with the wheels. The drum is made from an iron alloy that is specially formulated to be extremely long-lasting. The brake shoes consist of a friction lining bonded to a metal backing plate.
Why do drum brakes have a wedging action?
But, because of the wedging action, the shoes must be pulled away from the drum when the brakes are released. This is the reason for some of the springs. Other springs help hold the brake shoes in place and return the adjuster’s arm after it actuates.
How Do I Know if it is Time to Replace Brake Shoes?
You can do a visual inspection of the friction material on your brake shoes through the rivet holes in the shoe body. If the shoes are not at least 2 or 3 millimeters thick, they should be replaced.
How many shoes are in a brake cylinder?
The nibs rest against the support pads of the backing plate to which the shoes are installed. Each brake assembly has two shoes, a primary and secondary.
How many types of drum brakes are there?
There are three types of drum brakes depending on how the brake shoes are pressed onto the drums; leading/trailing shoe type, twin leading shoe type, and duo-servo type.
What is brake lining?
Brake shoes fitted with brake linings (friction material) that press against the drums from the inside to generate braking force (decelerate and stop) are set inside of the drums.
What are brake shoes made of?
Brake shoes are typically made of two pieces of steel welded together. The friction material is either riveted to the lining table or attached with adhesive. The crescent-shaped piece is called the Web and contains holes and slots in different shapes for return springs, hold-down hardware, parking brake linkage, and self-adjusting components.
How does a brake drum work?
The brake drum is fixed to the wheel and turns with it. On braking, the wheel cylinder forces the fixed brake shoes apart and presses them against the brake drum, thus slowing it down. When the brake is released, the return springs move the brake shoes back to their original position. WORKING PRINCIPLE.
What is a drum brake?
A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of shoes or pads that press outward against a rotating cylinder-shaped part called a brake drum. The term drum brake usually means a braking system in which shoes press on the inner surface of the drum.
What is pneumatic assisted drum brake?
Pneumatic assisted: The third type – pneumatic assisted Drum-brake system; actuated by air-pressure, which works on the same principle of that of the mechanical Drum brake system. It is also operated by a bigger size cam or the ‘S’ shaped cam and is popularly known as the “S-Cam” brake system.
What happens when you press the brake pedal?
When you press the brake pedal, the oil in the brake master cylinder multiplies the hydraulic force sent to the wheel cylinders. Thus, it causes its pistons to push outwards. The pistons, in turn, cause the brake shoes to expand and rub against the drum.
What is hydraulic drum brake?
The hydraulic Drum brake system such as in cars is a bit superior to a mechanical one. In this design, the hydraulic wheel cylinder replaces the cam. In the hydraulic system, instead of a cam, the wheel cylinder’s pistons push the brake shoes outwards. The brake shoes fit on the anchor plate or braking plate.
How do brake shoes work on a two wheeler?
When you press the brake pedal, the cam turns. Thus, it causes the brake shoes to expand outwards and rub against the drum.
Why does the brake pedal stop rotating?
The friction between the brake linings and the drum causes the drum to stop rotating, thereby the wheel to stop. When you release the brake pedal, the retracting springs bring the brake shoes back to their original position. This results in a gap between them and the drum and to again spin it freely. 2. Hydraulic:
What is a brake drum?
A brake drum is a cylindrical drum that is attached top the inside of a car’s wheel, and so rotates at the same speed as the wheel. The drum surrounds a set of brake shoes that are coated in materials that generate friction.
Why does a drum expand when braking?
If the drum is subjected to a long period of hard braking the heat generated can cause the drum itself to expand, meaning that the brake shoes have to be pressed farther outwards to press against the drum’s inner surface.
What happens when you push your brake pedal?
When the brake pedal is pressed, these shoes are pushed outwards against the inner surface of the brake drum, generating friction and so slowing the car down.
What are the downsides of drum brakes?
Another downside of the drum brake is its relative complexity. They take more time to underdstand, and due to the number of moving parts they contain, take longer than disc brakes to service and overhaul.
When were drum brakes invented?
Drum brakes have been around since 1900, when they were used on a Maybach vehicle, although the idea wasn’t patented until 1902 by Louis Renault.
Does water affect brakes?
Unlike a drilled disc brake, there’s nowhere for the water to go, so it will continue to affect braking performance until sufficient heat is generated to vapourise the water. Only then will full braking be resumed.
Can water get into brake drums?
Drum brakes can also be susceptible to water ingress. If water gets into the drum it can end up ebing compressed between the brake shoe and the inside of the brake drum, and will have an adverse effect on the length of time it will take a vehicle to stop.
What is the Function of Brake Pad?
The brake pad has a mechanical structure that prevents the drum/brake disc from turning by rubbing against the drums/discs when the driver brakes. As a result of this friction, the vehicle slows down and stops because the drum/disc cannot turn.
Brake Pad Failure
The pads in the wheel system have the task of softening the force when the brake is pressed. Pads are parts that wear out very quickly. Therefore, they need to be checked frequently. Driving a car with the handbrake pulled up, excessive speed, sudden brakes wear out the pads over time. There are two types of brake pads, soft pad, hard pad.
Drum Brake Components
Besides brake shoes (brake shoe) and drum itself, there are still some main components of drum brake, which are as follows:
Drum Brake Parts In Detail
The four components above are drum brake components in outline, in addition to the four components above there are drum brake components in more detail, as follows:
What is the purpose of brakes?
It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction.
What is Brake system?
The brake system takes the kinetic energy of your moving vehicle and converts it to thermal energy through friction. Usually used for the back wheels (although some vehicles had four-wheel drum brakes years ago), drum brakes feature a hollow cylinder (the drum) attached to the axle that spins with the wheel.
What is Brake Fluid?
Brake fluid is a type of hydraulic fluid used in hydraulic brake and hydraulic clutch applications in automobiles, motorcycles, light trucks, and some bicycles. It is used to transfer force into pressure, and to amplify braking force. It works because liquids are not appreciably compressible.
What is disc brake?
Disc brakes consist of a brake rotor that is attached directly to the wheel. Hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder causes a caliper (which holds the brake pads just outside the rotor) to squeeze the brake pads on either side of the rotor. The friction between the pads and the rotor causes the vehicle to slow and stop.
What does it mean when your brakes are grinding?
The brake pads are what actually rub against the drums or rotors. They are made of composite materials and designed to last for many, many thousands of miles. However, if you ever hear a grinding or howling noise when you try to stop your car it likely means it is time for new brake pads.
What is the mechanical braking system?
The mechanical braking system drives the handbrake or the emergency brake. This is the type of braking system where the braking force applied to the brake pedal is transmitted through the various mechanical connections such as cylindrical rods, fulcrums, springs, etc. to the final brake drum or disc rotor to stop the vehicle.
What is the purpose of the speed sensor on an ABS brake system?
Part of the ABS brake system, speed sensors monitor the speed of each tire and sends the info to the ABS control module.

How Does The Drum Brake System Work?
- Brake Drums, as we’ve already mentioned, are cast iron containers that rotate with your wheels – in modern cars, this will almost always be the back wheels, if the car has drum brakes at all. Brake Shoes are the equivalent of brake pads in this system. When the brake pedal is used, they press …
Issues
- Brake drums can occasionally have issues that are characteristic of their hollow, enclosed design. 1. “Long Pedal” happens when abundant amounts of heat can’t be dissipated. This is likely to happen after excessive braking while going down a hill, for example. The heat from the friction will make the drum expand – something that almost all heated materials will do.As the walls of the …
Modern Use
- Though drum brakes aren’t used often in modern consumer vehicles, they are still installed under certain conditions. The majority of modern cars use disc brakes in the front and many have discs in the rear. Some lower end cars have drums for the back wheels instead. Brake drums are much more effective as parking brakes than their disc relatives, and can be more cost effective. Large …
Manufacturing
- Drum brakes are less expensive to manufacture. Drum brakes are often used in lower end cars primarily as parking brakes in the rear wheels, while disc brakes are used in the front. In many cases, this helps with the bottom line.
Safety
- Safety is a huge one. Drum brakes being better parking brakes is another reason why you may still see them on the back wheels of some less expensive cars. The shape of the brake drum and brake shoes creates something similar to a “self-locking” wedge – meaning that trying to turn the wheels after the brakes are engaged will only make them hold tighter. Drum brakes can also pro…
Longevity
- Drum brakes, with their enclosed environment, are less likely to corrode or contact with damaging material and may end up lasting longer than disc brakes used in a similar environment. Keep in mind, though, that that majority of braking power comes from the disc brakes in the front, so this also plays a factor in a disc brake’s potentially shorter life span.