What are the worst brakes you've ever seen? (photos encouraged)

[TN_Project_Jeep]

Curious about horror stories of the worst brake issues you've seen while doing brake jobs. Redoing the brakes on my recently purchased 2003 TJ with 240,000 miles. The drum on the driver side still had the keepers on it which I found odd since those usually get pitched on the first brake job and never replaced. Upon removing the drum, it became clear that the drum may have never been off in nearly a quarter-million miles. Pictured below are the shoes. Literally zero brake surface on one shoe and only partial remaining material on the other. I'm putting in all new components - all the springs, etc., new drum, and replacing the cylinders as well. I've never encountered brakes so neglected but I'd bet some of you have. The passenger side had definitely been changed but I posted about 2 weeks ago about how on that side a wheel stud had fallen out inside the drum and damaged the drum, shoes, and broken a spring. Turns out the passenger side is also completely missing the parking brake spreader bar that goes toward the top of the shoes. It blows my mind that somebody can keep a vehicle running for a quarter-million miles (so they must be doing some maintenance!) but completely neglect other maintenance items that are so fundamental like the brakes.

 

[Chris]

Let's ask the brake man himself, @mrblaine. Surely he's seen something even worse.

 

[KennethS]

No pictures, but I saw a car in the grocery store parking lot with a totally rusted right rear rotor. Looked as if the pads hadn’t touched the rotor surface in many years. Stuff doesn’t rust here in the desert.

 

[Cooper Smith]

Curious about horror stories of the worst brake issues you've seen while doing brake jobs. Redoing the brakes on my recently purchased 2003 TJ with 240,000 miles. The drum on the driver side still had the keepers on it which I found odd since those usually get pitched on the first brake job and never replaced. Upon removing the drum, it became clear that the drum may have never been off in nearly a quarter-million miles. Pictured below are the shoes. Literally zero brake surface on one shoe and only partial remaining material on the other. I'm putting in all new components - all the springs, etc., new drum, and replacing the cylinders as well. I've never encountered brakes so neglected but I'd bet some of you have. The passenger side had definitely been changed but I posted about 2 weeks ago about how on that side a wheel stud had fallen out inside the drum and damaged the drum, shoes, and broken a spring. Turns out the passenger side is also completely missing the parking brake spreader bar that goes toward the top of the shoes. It blows my mind that somebody can keep a vehicle running for a quarter-million miles (so they must be doing some maintenance!) but completely neglect other maintenance items that are so fundamental like the brakes.

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Mine didn't look too much better. Foot went to the floor one night coming home, found brake fluid pouring out of one of the drums. Took the drums off, and low and behold the rear brakes were about done. Springs broke apart from rust, hardware was seized, etc. I have no idea how the parking brake worked. Despite the drums being disintegrated, ironically, the adjusting mechanism under the tub for the cable was perfectly fine. I was actually able to return the one I bought because I assumed it was rust-welded.

I hate rust belt drum brakes. I've never removed a drum off of a rust belt vehicle and felt relief. I always pull the drums and inspect now after purchasing a drum brake equipped car.

 

[mrblaine]

Let's ask the brake man himself, @mrblaine. Surely he's seen something even worse.

I don't see much from neglect. I do see more than I'd like from folks installing stuff wrong. Had a gent install pads backwards with the metal backing plate against the rotor. He managed to somehow shear off the friction layer and then squirt that out between the rotor and the caliper pistons destroying the pistons in the process and tried to play it off as me sending out a defective caliper. Oddly I could never get him to send over all the pics I asked for.

 

[John Cooper]

We had a service call early one morning about axle/rearend noise. Tech got to the location and found all the front and rear axle disc brake pads gone and the pistons all the way out into the rotors.

This was on a Class 8 day cab fuel hauler truck with a full load of fuel in the trailer

 

[NWPA Jeepy T]

Pulled these off my wife's 99 camry. That caliper years ago. Caliper has been replaced.

 

[macleanflood]

Well I'm installing a Black Magic Brakes big brake kit in my 97.

I think I might have had a problem with the old stuff...

-Mac

 

[TN_Project_Jeep]

To add insult to injury, the PO had run something into the right rear hard line next to the splitter block and kinked the line. Apparently when I took the line off the piston, the twisting pressure finished it off. No rust on the hard lines. Just physical damage caused this issue. So now have to replace that as well.

 

[MikekiM]

 

[Apparition]

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[ColoJeep]

We had a service call early one morning about axle/rearend noise. Tech got to the location and found all the front and rear axle disc brake pads gone and the pistons all the way out into the rotors.

This was on a Class 8 day cab fuel hauler truck with a full load of fuel in the trailer

I had a rental P-30 class A motorhome chassis with 4 wheel disc. come in and one side on the rear would lock up if you braked hard. What I found was really something. The side that didn't lockup was missing the wear surface of the rotor , just the hat was on the hub. But it gets better ! the caliper was tied up to one of the exhaust pipes with a coat hanger and the piston was forced back into the caliper , there were no pads at all , however someone put a piece of quartz rock into the caliper and the piston had it locked tightly in place . the rock kept the piston in place . I was somewhat impressed by the roadside " fix ".

 

[KennethS]

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That’s awesome. Some people should not be allowed to touch tools as they have absolutely no clue as to how things work.

 

[ColoJeep]

That’s awesome. Some people should not be allowed to touch tools as they have absolutely no clue as to how things work.

Also referred too by the term full metallic pads .

 

[KennethS]

I worked at auto parts stores in high school and college. Let’s just say I have seen more things than the average person, and I am not surprised/shocked by any of this. And people back then seemed to be more savvy than the present generation, which is very scary.

 

[TheBoogieman]

A few days ago, my wife said the rear brakes in her WJ were making scraping noises. I had to replace the rotors too.

 

[TJ Jim]

A few days ago, my wife said the rear brakes in her WJ were making scraping noises. I had to replace the rotors too.

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Which wife?

 

[TheBoogieman]

Which wife?

The one that won't leave.

 

[XCRN]

Ive had pad material separate and caliper pistons crack. 2 different corners on the same Jeep.

 

[mrblaine]

Ive had pad material separate and caliper pistons crack. 2 different corners on the same Jeep.

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You can pretty much figure for the vast majority of the time if you can see the chip in a caliper piston through the window in the bridge, it was done with a tool of some sort trying to pry the piston back.