Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

Well, I've got two options. Wagner drums for about $15 cheaper overall; BD60764, or Beck/Arnley 083-2110 premium drums for the higher price.

I have a set of new Wagner "Thermo Quiet" brake shoes to install when I replace the drums, and it's mainly about getting a new set of shoes in there. I had the current drums machined last year while installing what was in hindsight 'incorrect' brake shoes. They work, but they are designed funny(long story short) and now I have the correct shoes to use. Out of concern over the drums being out of round, I wanted to go ahead and purchase brand new.

Is it worth it for either brand or the other? Gotta buy a replacement jack, btw, as the old one was stolen and a replacement Torin had to be returned, so I can't pull the rear drums off to inspect yet for surface feel. They had about a 1/4 of an inch in thickness left after machining them last year, and looked fairly hefty to me, but I'm not sure which brand they were themselves etc.

Any opinions on the replacement brand, old drums? Thanks!:thumbup:

Re: Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

The 1st gen CRX HF aluminum drums are the lightweight favorites but are hard to find and expensive.
The Insight was equipped with aluminum drums as well, I imagine they might be more readily available but probably no less expensive. Also not certain they're a direct swap.
Last I looked, quite some time ago, Napa offered an $85 finned aluminum drum.

Re: Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

If you have the doughs, nothing beat genuine OEM Honda.

Re: Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

The reason I ask about Beck/Arnley is that they are OE for some Japanese and Asian fleet vehicles, IIRC. I can get the Beck/Arnley premium grade(not standard), for $50 total including both drums. I wonder if the standard vs premium allows for more re-surfacing? Basically, the Honda's will cost me at least twice that amount. I've heard good things about the Beck/Arnley brand, not sure of it's app for drums on a Honda Civic was all, really.

My other question deals with choice of drum compared to choice of brake shoe. I suppose since the drum itself should last 2-3 brake shoe changes that it doesn't matter what 1 set is made of. I have Wagner Thermo Quiet shoes ready to go in, which is why I was considering the Wagner product. Both drums of their's can be had for about $15 less than B/A.

I've still got to replace my jack so I can inspect the current one's. They look like a 'standard' drum as it is. I believe B/A would be an upgrade and perhaps even the Wagner offering, over what is on the vehicle currently.

Re: Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

the starting size and machine-to spec is the same. the difference is usually in the outside diameter (drums) or inside (disks) IE how much meat there is. more meat absorbs more heat without warping. for brakes I go with heavier rotors/drums. At work I've had cheap rotors warp the first stop before even returning the car to the customer. We warrantied those back to the supplier and got a different brand which were much thicker faces to the naked eye. OD thickness was the same but much smaller air gap between the faces. never came back the whole time I was working there. This is one area I'll take the extra pound.

Re: Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

^Thanks. I'll re-check the outside diameters and review my options.

Re: Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

I went ahead and purchased the Beck/Arnley brand Premium drums for each wheel. Seems to be close to Honda in quality/OEM replacement instead of hit/miss aftermarket.

I also got replacement Wheel Cylinder's for each wheel, also B/A, as well as a hardware kit to replace the springs, etc. Current adjusters seem to work fine so I'll clean them up and re-use them.

Will post about experience after installing them, for now I'll push these further. May not change until after the summer.

Re: Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

are the current wheel cyl functioning good and not leaking???

usually replacing them introduces a whole new bag o worms haha dont ask how i know.

Re: Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

Well, the passenger rear wheel cylinder had been gouged on one side at the seal and it needed replacing before(just the kit with the seals). It doesn't seem to re-seat well/flush inside of the cylinder like the other side that still is clearly sealed.

I don't understand why it would be a problem, though. If I replaced it quickly(ASAP) after pulling the old one(remove the bolts first) away from the brake line and installing the new wheel cylinder, in position already at least, for the brake line to immediately re-hook up, and then bled any excess air out of the system after re-installing both drums?

Re: Rear Brake Drums for the VX, help deciding?
 

hehehehehehehehe sounds easy on paper dont it?

most likely you wont be able to get the brake line out of the old one short of twisting the line till it kinks, then you gotta replace the line which can be a major pain in the butt. if you wanna try still soak the lines in WD 40 or some kinds penetrating oil at least a week ahead of time every day, liberaly coat them threads and line. Then when the day comes use a good line wrench and SLOWLY work it back and forth dont keep turning one direction. tapping on the threaded nut may help too..

least it sounds like yours bolts on unlike my chevettes which has this snap ring thing that the new ones wont work as they were made wrong so ya gotta file them down a tad and rebend them to make em work haha