Cheap Parts Quality Question

[Mariposa Mike]

Going thru the brakes on my 66 Charger I found that one front drum was turned beyond legal limits (.120 thousand) of .090 thousand inch. The other front drum is turned about .020. I have pulling to the right on the better drum. It has been replaced and the other has not. So...looking to replace the bad drum to maybe eliminate the pulling issue which I was not able to do with adjustment. When looking at prices for 10" drums on line I see a great difference in price and brand selection. NAPA has a couple at $164 and $227. Checking with Rock Auto they show two much cheaper. AC Delco $35 and Raybestos $37. I have all new shoes/cylinders and brake lines so the shoes are not arced in to better fit the worn drum yet. I figure now is the time to change that drum or both front drums to make sure I have equal braking.

Can these cheaper drums be anywhere as good as the expensive ones? Interchange numbers listed are different and I do not know what the original MOPAR number is for my car. The ACDelco lists an OEM interchange for 19176960. The other has numerous numbers beginning with 0, 2 and 3.

Specs listed appear to be correct. Other than paying additional for shipping these would be much less expensive than the NAPA products but those might be made in China as well. The NAPA drums show a balance weight on the drum for the cheaper one and no weight on the $227 drum but also no country of origin.

Has anyone used the Raybestos or NAPA gold? And are the cheaper ones the way to go?

 

[#41]

I used a cheap set of 11-inchers from China and while they were machined for a smooth, round, braking surface..... they were not cut centric to the hub. How they made them this way I cannot fathom. It took a bit of head scratching to figure out why I was getting a pulse at the pedal. I was able to have them corrected on a brake lathe (at my expense). So.... I will not be buying cheap drums any more.

 

[threewood]

I would venture to guess that they all have a high likelihood of being made in China.

 

[33 IMP]

IF you have someone locally that has the machine and the know-how to still turn drums..... I'd buy the cheapies and plan to have them tuned up.
Brake parts simply can't be complete garbage, or the lawsuits would be epic!

And I agree with Threewood!

 

[Mariposa Mike]

The Delco drum "looks" more like the remaining original except no outer spring around the drum but in the description it mentions they follow the OE design making them the ideal premium aftermarket replacement for your GM or non-GM vehicle. AC Delco 18B2 for anyone who wants to see the picture and description. I now know many of the drum brake parts were standard for other brands but not sure about these.

 

[Don Frelier]

Ac Delco used to be top quality replacement parts.
Probably not anymore, but then again they might be just fine.

 

[MWbirdLOVER70]

Going thru the brakes on my 66 Charger I found that one front drum was turned beyond legal limits (.120 thousand) of .090 thousand inch. The other front drum is turned about .020. I have pulling to the right on the better drum. It has been replaced and the other has not. So...looking to replace the bad drum to maybe eliminate the pulling issue which I was not able to do with adjustment. When looking at prices for 10" drums on line I see a great difference in price and brand selection. NAPA has a couple at $164 and $227. Checking with Rock Auto they show two much cheaper. AC Delco $35 and Raybestos $37. I have all new shoes/cylinders and brake lines so the shoes are not arced in to better fit the worn drum yet. I figure now is the time to change that drum or both front drums to make sure I have equal braking.

Can these cheaper drums be anywhere as good as the expensive ones? Interchange numbers listed are different and I do not know what the original MOPAR number is for my car. The ACDelco lists an OEM interchange for 19176960. The other has numerous numbers beginning with 0, 2 and 3.

Specs listed appear to be correct. Other than paying additional for shipping these would be much less expensive than the NAPA products but those might be made in China as well. The NAPA drums show a balance weight on the drum for the cheaper one and no weight on the $227 drum but also no country of origin.

Has anyone used the Raybestos or NAPA gold? And are the cheaper ones the way to go?

How about @mobileparts

 

[matthon]

Can these cheaper drums be anywhere as good as the expensive ones?

I always ask my self the opposite, can these expensive parts be better than the cheaper parts?
The answer always seems to be more expensive is just that.
Finding old parts and/or parts cars has become my first attempt.

 

[WileE]

The Delco drum "looks" more like the remaining original except no outer spring around the drum but in the description it mentions they follow the OE design making them the ideal premium aftermarket replacement for your GM or non-GM vehicle. AC Delco 18B2 for anyone who wants to see the picture and description. I now know many of the drum brake parts were standard for other brands but not sure about these.

Do yourself a favor. A big favor. Contact Craig at mobileparts. He's here in this site. See post #7

 

[Mariposa Mike]

I forgot about @mobilparts. I will ask. Private message sent.