Brake drum "fusing" with brake shoe???

Question

I took my car into Pep Boys because I needed a simple brake job. After a couple days I decided to move my car somewhere else after a whole series of events that I'll spare getting into for the moment. Needless to say I felt they were being dishonest and giving me the run around. My car was running and drivable when I brought it in, but I had to have it TOWED somewhere else because the car wouldn't start and they tore up my break system in the rear.

My question is: is it possible to have the brake drum "fuse" with the brake shoe? I was told this happened by two guys at Pep Boys. When I called around to a few other places they said, "No, it's no possible because it's a moveable part connecting to a non-moveable part, so if it happened you wouldn't have been able to drive it to Pep Boys in the first place." Another person told me that they've only heard it happening on VW Bugs.

I have a 2003 Saturn, could this have happened to it?

The assistant manager is the one who told us this and the manager is fully aware of what's going on because he has already contacted corporate to cover his ***. Were having the Better Business Bureau and The Bureau for Automotive Repairs come out and investigate our car and all the parts they took off.

Answer 1

Nice bubble.

It's highly unlikely your brake drum fused with the brake shoe. If it did ... your car wouldn't have been able to move and you wouldn't have been able to drive it to Pep Boys.

I've sat in on a few of these chains ..... esp. when women are bringing their car in for service ... tires ... brakes etc and .... they try to tell many women the car is unsaf to drive because it needs major work.

Your 2003 Saturn should not need major brake overhaul under normal circumstance .... just replacement of front brake pads or rear brake shoes ( normally).

Funny thing is ... many dealers are hiring women service writers ,,,,,, because they are better at selling the job. That's the key ... selling you work that will maximise their sales. Normally, it seems many service shops shoot for a $500 to $1000 repair bill.

Hope your next service shop is a better experience.
Wish ya luck ......

Answer 2

Another Pep Boys Horror story . To try to answer your situation if I can. If yor brakes get extremely low and you have drum brakes on the rear they have to back down the adjustment to get drum off. Sometimes the wheel studs can rust to drums where they pass thru. All of the above are no problem to get apart if they are qaulified.
If you have rear disc brakes it could be possible that the caliper mounting screws are rusted and seized . . Again if they are qaulified should be no problem.
On a lot of newer cars if you dont disconnect the ABS brake system on vehicle before changing brakes it could cause major and expensive problems

Answer 3

Yes it is possible. I have pesonally worked on two vehicles where the brake shoe caused the rear brake to lock up because it rusted to the drum due to water contamination inside the drum.

But that is not what happened in your case because you were able to drive the car in.

What may have happened is the shoes were damaged when the drums were removed. This is very common when you get a good sized rust ridge that builds up along the inside edge of the drum. Sometimes shoes can be damaged trying to remove the drum when this happens.

But then, they should have told you this up front.

So what's really going on? I dunno.

Answer 4

If you ran metal to metal on the rear and youre wheel cylinders rode all the way it is possible, but that would mean youve been hearing noise for days and not doing anything about it. But getting the BAR was a smart idea, maybe they can explain to you what happened you shoulda had the pepboys manager show you the brakes in person

Answer 5

Doesn't sound feasible to me, if you drove it in. I would suggest talking to the manager and letting them know you are taking them to small claims court.

Answer 6

I'll don't get your point ?