Mechanics: drum brakes, part 1

Self-tutoring about mechanics: the tutor begins about drum brakes.

During an auto repair saga, I’ve had to disassemble, then reassemble, a parking brake which is a drum brake. I’ve studied drum brakes but never worked on them. Therefore, I had a lot to learn.

While disc brakes have generally supplanted drum brakes on cars, drum brakes hang on as parking brakes in some models. Moreover, some enthusiasts who work on 60s models cars, for instance, sustain an affinity for drum brakes.

Two advantages mentioned about drum brakes are that they are lighter, and that they don’t drag the way disc brakes can. The reasons drum brakes are lighter, as I understand, is that disc brakes require a rotor which is typically heavier than a drum; the caliper of a disc brake may also be heavier than the shoes of a drum brake. The reason drum brakes don’t drag like disc brakes might is that drum brakes have return springs which retract the braking surface when the operator stops applying it; to my knowledge, disc brakes don’t have a retraction mechanism.

Moreover, drum brakes may actually stop a car better. The reason for that is for another post.

Source:

YouTube: Drum Brakes Made Simple – R&R Tips And Tricks That Make The Job a Snap

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.