Rear drum backing plate damage

[exjeep]

Sorry but new here and learning.

New to me, 06 TJ (68K miles) started pulling hard to the right when applying the brakes hard, otherwise drove straight with no hands on the wheel. Had a tire store check brakes when buying 5 new tires. They said front starting to get close and rear were fine. I replaced the front disc pads. <50 miles later, I took the Jeep to a reputable shop and they said the problem (pulling hard to the right) is that the rear backing plates were damaged, the shoes were twisted and the drums were damaged. There was literally zero noise coming from the rear drums which is odd if the shoes were digging into the drums.

Something isn't adding up. Has anyone ever seen this? I do know the TJ was used as a TOAD by the previous owner. I will ask the shop for all the old parts and can post pics later.

 

[sab]

If it were my TJ, I'd be doing the brakes myself to understand what's going on. When I do take a vehicle to a shop, if I don't have a previous relationship, I start with zero trust for their capability, and they build from there. More often than not these days, they absolutely suck, and I never go back. They are used to dealing with people who don't understand the basics, so they take all kinds of advantage of their customers. I'm nearly always appalled at both their diagnostic conclusions and their repair estimates.

To answer your question, yes, I've seen seriously messed-up drum brakes. I've not seen the exact example of what you describe, but I wouldn't say the explanation you were given is implausible. However, just getting the parts back wouldn't be enough for me. I would have insisted they show me what they found, on the vehicle, before repairs commenced.

 

[exjeep]

If it were my TJ, I'd be doing the brakes myself to understand what's going on. When I do take a vehicle to a shop, if I don't have a previous relationship, I start with zero trust for their capability, and they build from there. More often than not these days, they absolutely suck, and I never go back. They are used to dealing with people who don't understand the basics, so they take all kinds of advantage of their customers. I'm nearly always appalled at both their diagnostic conclusions and their repair estimates.

To answer your question, yes, I've seen seriously messed-up drum brakes. I've not seen the exact example of what you describe, but I wouldn't say the explanation you were given is implausible. However, just getting the parts back wouldn't be enough for me. I would have insisted they show me what they found, on the vehicle, before repairs commenced.

Thank you Sab. Lesson learned and I will do the same as what you mention in the future.

 

[CharlesHS]

Sorry but new here and learning.

New to me, 06 TJ (68K miles) started pulling hard to the right when applying the brakes hard, otherwise drove straight with no hands on the wheel. Had a tire store check brakes when buying 5 new tires. They said front starting to get close and rear were fine. I replaced the front disc pads. <50 miles later, I took the Jeep to a reputable shop and they said the problem (pulling hard to the right) is that the rear backing plates were damaged, the shoes were twisted and the drums were damaged. There was literally zero noise coming from the rear drums which is odd if the shoes were digging into the drums.

Something isn't adding up. Has anyone ever seen this? I do know the TJ was used as a TOAD by the previous owner. I will ask the shop for all the old parts and can post pics later.

Not to dispute what the shop said they found, but I would need to see pictures of what the shop was describing to believe what they reported.
I have never found a problem such as the shop described unless there was another catastrophic occurrence to cause this problem.

 

[mrblaine]

Sorry but new here and learning.

New to me, 06 TJ (68K miles) started pulling hard to the right when applying the brakes hard, otherwise drove straight with no hands on the wheel. Had a tire store check brakes when buying 5 new tires. They said front starting to get close and rear were fine. I replaced the front disc pads. <50 miles later, I took the Jeep to a reputable shop and they said the problem (pulling hard to the right) is that the rear backing plates were damaged, the shoes were twisted and the drums were damaged. There was literally zero noise coming from the rear drums which is odd if the shoes were digging into the drums.

Something isn't adding up. Has anyone ever seen this? I do know the TJ was used as a TOAD by the previous owner. I will ask the shop for all the old parts and can post pics later.

Pretty common to get a minor gear oil leak that saturates the shoes. When that happens, they grip really well to the inside of the drum. If you then drive off or attempt to with the parking brake heavily applied, that will bend the anchor pin and distort the backing plate. Not hard to check, pull a drum and look at it.

 

[exjeep]

Not to dispute what the shop said they found, but I would need to see pictures of what the shop was describing to believe what they reported.
I have never found a problem such as the shop described unless there was another catastrophic occurrence to cause this problem.

First picture is the backing plate. What is doesn't show that when flat on the concrete, it wobbles back and forth. In other words, won't lay flat.

Second picture is one of the shoes from the driver side rear of the wrangler. This particular shoe had nothing left and was beyond the rivets.

Third picture is the drum on the driver side. It is hard to see but the grooves into the drum are very deep.

The drum, backing plate and shoes weren't in to bad of shape on the passenger side of the Jeep. The shop said they hadn't seen this happen before. They said upon initial examination, the shoes were twisted and the backing plate was bent. Everyone from my Jeep friends to the shop can't understand why replacing the drum on the rear fixed the problem with the pulling hard to the right when stomping on the brakes. (rear straight axle) I also don't understand why I never heard anything in the 400 miles I have driven it since purchasing earlier this year.

Thank you!