Drum brake questions

What is the effect on braking and general safety when a drum approaches
its wear limit ?

Has anybody ever tried rehabilitating a worn drum by having it
built up with weld then machined to dimension again ?

Is this a reasonable and cost effective thing to try or is it unwise
to even consider it ?

Thanks

Rob Kleinschmidt

 

not a brake drum expert but used to weld for a living...i would guess
that the intense heat from the welding needed to build up the surface
would make the metal too brittle and prone to cracking....but i will
let the ones that are more knowledgable answer for certain..
JT

 

Not a lot on braking efficiency. But once it's on the limit, the safety
issue becomes huge.

Not a good idea.

No and yes.

 

Nobody's mentioned what happens when the little actuator cam rotates far
enough to get wedged. My buddy tells me it locked his back wheel until he
was able to get off and un-stick it by hand. He's a firm believer in
keeping drum brakes within spec, and I myself believe in learning from the
mistakes of others. I'm cheap like that.

I would think a better way would be to heat the wheel hot enough to get the
old liner out and drop a new one in, but by the time you factor in what it
would take to gather up the equipment to do it right and add in the risk
factor of getting it right the first time you try it by yourself, I would
think a used wheel with low miles would be the way to go.