Brake drum backing plate

[beejaytx225]

Out of curiosity, how easy would it be to accidently bend a backing plate? Looks like pretty thick metal. I had to pry a rear drum off with a flat tip screw driver to replace all the pads, springs, cylinder ECT...now when the drum is flushed all the way back on it's very hard to spin by hand. If I pull it toward me (about a 1/4 inch) it spins no problem. The adjuster is backed all the way off so I'm not thinking it's dragging on the pads. Any ideas? Thanks.

[davelj]

I would think it is easier to bend the lip of the drum than the backing plate. Have you tried swapping the drums side to side?

[cstoyer]

Did you have the drum turned? Was there a "lip" on the drum from the old shoes? "Prying" the drum as you said would push the backing plate away from the drum so I don't think that would be an issue.

CStoyer

[beejaytx225]

Swapping sides only makes it slightly better. I'm gonna go through and scrub everything extra clean to get a better look at what I'm working with. Might end up just getting new drums as the old ones have a lip.

[sargentrs]

If you get new drums, be aware of where they're made. On my Fairlane, I bought new drums at my local parts store. Came in warped. Exchanged twice, both very poor quality and thinner castings. Made in China. Gave up and biught Raybestos from Rockauto. Made in Canada. As soon as I picked up the box I could the difference from the Chinese drums. Much heavier. Almost identical to my originals. Didn't even have them turned. Same with shoe. BrakeBest shoes cracked in the test drive. Exchanged for Wagner. Manufacturing differences like night and day. Wagner much heavier duty and better quality.

[beejaytx225]

Thanks sargentrs, I appreciate the heads up! I was honestly thinking of going with Rock Auto. All the local parts stores don't have them in stock.

[Jsupreme]

If you are prying against it , it is easy to bend the outer lip. I just did this. Spin it, see where it makes contact, or listen because if it's the back it will only make contact in one place. Take a mini sledge and just bump it back The drums are brittle and will likely crack before bending.

[beejaytx225]

I went through with a scrub brush and some dawn dish soap water and scrubbed everything down really good. Removed all the old grease from the leaking wheel cylinders and it seems to spin better. A little bit of drag on the new pads but I can still spin it by hand. Hope this does the trick!

[beejaytx225]

Sooooooo, came to find out I had ordered and installed the wrong pads. That's why it was dragging so bad. After getting the correct pads and new drums it works great! Thank y'all for the help!