New Rear Breaks are thumping?

Tuesday evening this week I had my rear brakes replaced with brakes and new “heavy duty” brake drums. I was told they would be grabby for awhile and would work out of it. I don’t think they are grabby, I hear thud, thud every time I go to apply the brakes. Is that normal? The brakes do stop the car fine. What is that thud noise?

It would help if we knew what you were driving.

If the vehicle made this noise before, then I’d say it’s normal, but if that were the case you wouldn’t be asking this question.

I’ve never heard of “heavy duty” brake drums, nor of new brakes being “grabby.” New brakes should operate perfectly, just as they did when the vehicle was new.

I don’t know what’s making the noise but I think you should take it back and ask the mechanic who installed the brakes what is making the noise.

1997 Cavalier, I am taking it back today at 3pm. I have had a brake job done before and I never had this happen. I wonder what the heck they did, I have had oil changes there for quite a few years. I thought I could trust them. Guess not.
Yes that was the wording on the receipt.
Exact words:
Rear Brake Job, Drum brakes
We serviced the break self adjusters.
We machined the brake drums.
We installed new “Heavy Duty” Rear Brake Shoes and
installed the brake drums. We adjusted the brakes and we
test drove. The brakes are working properly at this time.
No noise was detected at this time.
THOse are the exact words on the receipt. Sure the brakes work but how could they not hear those cluncks and thumping noise everytime you apply the brakes.
It went to them with a slight sweak when applying the brakes and leaves with this type of noise?@! Just because I am a woman doesn’t mean I am deaf.
Please tell me what they probably did to my poor little Cavalier!?
Laurie

I find it really weird that they would go to the touble to write “no noise detected at this time” and “brakes work good now” or something like that. I have never heard of anyone writing something like that unless they were troubleshooting for that symptom. It almost looks suspicious that they’d write that on the bill. I have done brakes for a lot of years and never heard of anything going “thud” after it had a brake job. And you got heavy duty brake shoes, not drums as your post initially says. That probably only means they are metallic instead of a softer material. For sure, take it back. It could be the brakes coming off the stops and hitting something due to being put together wrong. Brakes should not make any noise, with the exception of a high pitch squeeling or squeeking when too hard of a pad is used after a brake job.

Took it back and they tell me it just needed to be grease/lubercated! Yea, right, I thought, and I was correct as it started thudding again right after church yesterday. I am so provoked over this. I even printed out a 4 page e-book that told exactly how the brakes are suppose to work. Get this, he says I need a picture and I wouldn’t understand just words! HELLO!, but I have always been excellent in reading and comperhension (maybe not always spelling, LOL). I may have just a high school diploma but tested at college level in comperhension and reading. I called this morning and flat out told them, if they didn’t get it corrected this time, I want my money back and I will find someone who can get it right. I have an appointment for 3:30 Tuesday as he told me if I wanted an appointment today it would be at 9PM. Like, I want a tired worker making the same mistake again. I am hoping my Dad will be available to meet me there.
I had my home flooded this Spring and still am in the process of restoring it, living in a Fema Trailer right about 10 miles away from my home and the Service Station. I really find this so frustrating to be taken advantage of when I have such other problems to deal with. I didn’t ask for heavy duty brake shoes. Don’t you think I ahould have be given a choice? I had better luck at the dealership I bought the car new at. Guess I will go back, I’d rather pay a little extra and not have to go back 3 times. Thanks for listening.

take them with you on the test drive. make the noise happen with them listening. if possible make a sound recording with your phone.

now that your rear brakes work correctly it may be making something thump. it is possible that the rear end has a loose part (suspension or even spare tire or something in trunk) that is thumping, but earlier wasn’t being effected by the brakes.

but… they have to hear it to fix it.

out of curiosity have you had a flat tire lately?

No flat tire, yes I drove with them and they heard the noise, it happens when you apply the brakes not while just driving, it doesn’t happen when you back up.
After they lubicated it, it stopped for a few miles and then started again the next day. There was no rain or water it went through. It is not in the trunk.
This shouldn’t be rocket science, I would think an experienced, qualfied mechanic would have it figured out. I would not have to be going back again and again for a simple brake job, The car is only been owned by me, driven by me, no accidents, only has 38000 mi on it. Was not effected by the flood as I drove it out of the area 3 days before my home was flooded. This car was always in a garage till June of this year. It is well cared for and no I do not ride the brakes. That car is a gift from my late husband.

The problem appears to be fixed. I needed ceramic instead of metal on the rear brakes. There was a hard spot on the brakes that appears to have caused the problem.
Time will tell, so far so good. My Dad met me there, helps to have Dad take an interest. They replaced the brakes in less than a hour. No charge of course.
Laurie

I’m a bit dubious about some of this. Ceramic brake shoes? “They’ll be grabby for a while and would work out of it”?

Just wild guessing here, but my feeling is that the brake shoes (1 or both sides) could have been seriously out of adjustment or something was incorrectly done in one of the brake assemblies. After the re-do maybe they simply corrected the problem and are feeding you some fast talk rather than admit to a foul-up.
Just a possibility anyhow.