Certainly it is wise to “pace yourself” realistically @db4690. That’s one of the talents necessary for success in so many fields. And I wonder if the inclinations and talents that we have are inherited or learned. But those who are lucky enough to be self motivated and realistically aware of their abilities and opportunities and are eager to take advantage of them in working hard and smart are often more successful than those who aren’t. But that’s not a shocking realization for you I 'm sure.
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These were factory new drums and that is why I figured I might be missing something myself, gave up, and went to the shop. Apparently the first set was equally bad to the last set as swapping them made no difference.
The mechanic did say this was the WORST one he had driven and indicated it would have probably ripped the rear end off the truck if left like this. He has been around a while so that is saying something. I might call him and see he has an idea of how much was cut. He did indicate it was very obvious when put in the lathe that there were two high spots on each drum. I am guessing the other two were much the same. If this happens again, I feel I should take them back to Oreilly and have the new drums turned for free.
The mechanic said many feel having new drums and rotors turned isn’t that rare these days. I figured I was buying something in spec since it was new in the box, all shiny, and you could see it had been turned at the factory.
The first rotors that I bought requiring turning were from NAPA and there was a notice in the boxes notifying mechanics that a final turning might be needed.
And part of being aware of your abilities also means knowing what jobs to accept and which ones to turn down or refer to somebody who’s better able to do it . . . for various reasons
it’s better to stay busy doing stuff you’re good at and you know you can do correctly and in an efficient manner . . . versus struggling through something you shouldn’t have taken on in the first place
I realize learning also comes into play . . . I can learn certain things
But I also know there’s certain things I was never good at in the past, am not good at now, and won’t be good at in the future
I’m not all negative, though . . . there’s plenty of things I’m good at that other guys aren’t, or maybe don’t even understand
Sounds like the guy had to cut them a lot . . . probably at least 0.020"
It also sounds like that particular O’Reilly . . . maybe all of them, for all I know . . . needs to talk with their supplier(s)
if this happens a lot, they could be in danger of losing customers
I for one am not going to keep frequenting a business that regularly sells me bad parts. It’s too much of a hassle
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Yes, I had spent enough time dealing with this. This is mostly a farm truck so not essential on a daily basis. I am also classified as essential at the current time and provide services that allow people to work from home so have been busy. It was best for me to defer this problem to someone who could get it solved quickly and relatively cheaply.
I don’t know where these drums were made but I guess they came from a crap run or something. These 7 lugs aren’t real common so maybe they sat around a while. Someone also said that they might have been stored up on edge and that metal creep can cause them to go out of round. How long would it take for brake drums to creep in this manner? Is this just nonsense? I have always heard to hang cam/crankshafts for this reason as well.