ok so today im driving to work and BANG!!!!!!!!!!!1 I LOST A WHEEL HAD TO CHASE THE f**ker DOWN THE STREET luckly noone was hurt, however i lost my drum somewhere in the process? and the bottom of the brkake is scraped down will i be able to put a new drum on?

 

OK, it sounds to me like you need to get someone else to work on your brakes for you- and double check everything when they are done....anyways, it probably depends on how bad the backing plate and hub are damaged. Your drum must have been pretty loose to begin with, if it just flew off when the wheel went, so maybe that was some of your soft pedal problem from before. Since you lost the old drum, and need a new one anyway, my suggestion is to get one and try it out. My guess is you'll have to replace more than the drum for everything to work right, but hard to say without seeing it.

All this is assuming of course that the reason the wheel went was due to the lug nuts coming off, and not because of some other major part failure.

 

how did you loose a wheel did you tighten the lugs down at all

 

Glad to hear no one was hurt. Sounds like some shoddy repair work.

On the good side, now is a great chance to do a rear disc conversion.

 

yea deffinitly wish i had rear disck brakes, how much is the conversion? yea the guy who did my rear brakes is gonna die!!! the damage is not that severe the backing plate is not that bad i found the drum which was down the street, and it has a chip out of it but not bent so i put it back on then drove it home. ill post pics soon

 

I highly recommend scrapping that drum, if it's got a chip in it. the first time you get it hot enough that it does any real braking, it's going to crack and be completely ruined.


rear disc conversion will cost $2-400, depending on where you get the parts.
see my website FAQ for instructions.
http://www.mattblehm.com/faq/rear_disc_conversion.html

 

Oh man, I feel your pain! What caused the drum to fall off - loose lugnuts? You were lucky it didn't pull brake shoes off as well!
Change that drum asap...

So did you manage to fix your brakes in the end? If so, did you figure out what the problem was? (other than your useless bush mechanic buddy...)

 

yea i guess it was loose lugnuts that made my wheel fall off! yea the guy who did my rear brakes has been eliminated! yea the shoes look ok but i had trouble getting the drum back on? it seemed like it wouldnt fit? it does have a chip out of it and i dont plan on using it but i had to put it on to get the car home, the backing plate is a little bent on the bottom but it doesnt look to bad(as the drum still fit back on) my friend tat was riding behind me says that my tire was wobbleing while i was driving?? tomorrow morning the car is going to a brake shop, i called today and i spoke to a mechanic there and he says that there has to be a leak somewhere in the lines thats my prob???? who knows, but im really starting to think twice about my realationship with my max!

 

I say you also take the car back to the original mechanic and let him pay for the damages the car sustained from the wheel falling off. that's a new drum, 5 new wheel studs, rear shoes, and 5 new lug nuts.

that's absolute minimum.. he should also be responsible for the labor required to replace all of those parts. If he doesn't pay up, take him to small claims. it's his job to do things right, and if he can't even torque lugnuts, then he shouldn't be in business-- ESPECIALLY after all the BS he's put you through with the brakes.

 

i agree thats his responsibility. mostly and respectable mechanic will honner that policy.