[Fockus]

I've read (can't remember where) that Ford says the rear drum brakes on our Foci's should not be machined ... when they get worned, you have to change them. But the mechanic at my Ford dealership says I need to have my drums resurfaced. WTF ... who do I listen to?

 

[Jibberish18]

That's a new one.

 

[blueSVT2911]

Just buy new ones if you really need them. They're mad cheap. How many miles are on your car?

 

[Fockus]

My Car has 56,500K Miles. I bought it used 15K Miles ago so I don't know if the rear drums have evr been changed or machined (I highly doubt it).

Anywayz ... someone is full of [censored] ... and it's either Ford themselves or my freakin' dealership. Any thoughts???

 

[zetec2000]

I would replace the drum. As stated, they are dirt cheap, and resurfacing them will thin the walls and make your shoes wear funny for a while.

Get new shoes/ drums while they have it apart and be done w/ it.
The machining is because they make more money for shop services than for parts replacement.

 

[Fockus]

So what is the cheapest place to get OEM Focus rear drums online?

 

[Just4Looks]

www.Fordpartsonline.com
and www.focuscentral.com
I beleive both of these have drums cheap.

 

[CharlesWA]

My experience with Focus Central rear drums, as posted in the rear drum seizing thread...

Be careful with those... I don't know if they're take-offs or what. I bought a pair from them a good while ago (summer last year maybe?) and had several problems. They were supposed to have ABS sensor rings on them. One did, one didn't. They were supposed to have bearings in them, one was fine, one was missing half the bearing.

Plus, you'll need to get new dust caps from Ford, no biggie, just would have been nice if they'd thrown in a pair. Ultimately they did get me fully functional drums, but I missed a track day in the process (a pre-paid track day, making the drums VERY expensive

).

 

[Fockus]

Thanks for the info ... I was planning on getting new drums from Focus Central (they are like $39.00) but I might get them from FordPartsOnline (they are $76.24 though). But after reading about your story ... I don't think I wanna take that chance.

Does BatInc.net sell drums. I hate the fact they don't have an email address to contact them.

 

[CharlesWA]

Well, here's the thing... The Focus Central drums DID come with bearings installed as well as ABS sensor rings (just a few hoops that I shouldn't have had to jump through). Make sure you get those from the other places, or factor that into the "real" price (of course if you don't have ABS then the sensor rings aren't an issue). If you order from Focus Central I'd make a point of getting the order-taker to inspect the drums before shipment and ensure that the bearings and rings (if needed) are in fact there. You shouldn't have to do all that, but it might be worth it based on the price difference... I believe retail for a bearing and sensor ring was over $100 (just for one side). Keep in mind that was RETAIL though. Needless to say I don't shop with that dealer, they just happened to be on the way.

 

[Just4Looks]

Charles is correct. DEFINATLY make sure the bearings are pressed in. If not, count on $90+ extra per drum. The bearings are 60 from a dealership and getting someone to press them in is about 15-30 bucks. If you can. Get them off FordPartsOnline. They include the bearings and are hellified cheper than Ford. Have fun getting them on, i had a lovely time getting the passenger side to slip over the new shoes.... I made a couple new 4 letter words while doing that as well.

 

[Fockus]

Thanx for your help guys. Just one question. I called my Ford dealer and buying the drums from them would be the same price as buying from FordPartsOnline (that's cause I live in Canada). But my Ford dealer said their drums do come with the bearings pressed in ... but no abs sensor ring. They say I'm supposed to take the ABS sensor from my old drums and just re-use them. What do you all think?