Time to replace them on our 1995 Tahoe. Having been through hell with NAPA drums (two sets out of round) in the past, I'm wondering if anyone makes extremely high quality drums/shoes? It isn't so much the shoes I'm concerned about as the trueness of the drums and longevity. I'm willing to pay a premium for ones that last and stop smoothly. Any input is appreciated. Is there a reason I should not go with AC Delco?
Who makes the best brake drums/shoes?
- Thread starter derekjl
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swathdiver
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You should go with GM or AC Delco Original Equipment parts.
Generally I'd agree, but I've had hit/miss quality on the AC Delco stuff as well, even the "Professional" line. From my understanding, there are very few "GM" or "dealership" parts for these trucks now. Dealerships are using AC Delco parts that are technically aftermarket. I cannot find GM factory brake parts other than the front brake pads and rear shoes, the rotors and drums are no longer made. It also seems most parts are now made in China. Does anyone make brake parts that are actually made in the US, or at least North America?
swathdiver
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I too recently learned that AC Delco now had multiple levels of quality parts to choose from. My first choice is to go with items with the GM part number, then the AC Delco OEM which lists both part numbers. Then they have the professional grade and another one or two that I do not even bother with. When those are no longer available, my next option has been Bendix and have gotten very long life out of their products in my older minivans. More recently, I lot of folks are using Power Stop products to upgrade their brake systems and have been well pleased with them on this forum.
Danny3737
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I’ve been using Akebono’s and have been very happy with them
What did you go end up going with Derek? I need to do my rears also and have bought everything but the drums. I went with AC Delco's Professional line for the shoes, adjuster kits, spring kits and wheel cylinders.
I was thinking about the Professional Delco drums but two of three reviews on Amazon kind of scared me into looking for other alternatives. At $75 a pop for the 11" ones I don't want to worry about machining them for another $15. I might bite the bullet and just get them.
I was thinking about the Professional Delco drums but two of three reviews on Amazon kind of scared me into looking for other alternatives. At $75 a pop for the 11" ones I don't want to worry about machining them for another $15. I might bite the bullet and just get them.
Has anyone tried the Duralast drums? They're $57 a pop and I know I can get them to check they're true and round while I pick them up. They carry the same 2 year warranty as the Delcos also. I know a lot of people and shops go with the Duralast pads and rotors and don't have any complaints.
I actually haven't gotten the parts yet, but I will most likely go with AC Delco Professional. The funny thing is, when you go to a Chevy dealership and ask for new rear drums, they will give you the AC Delco "Advantage" ones, not the Professional line. The Advantage part is the only one with a "GM" part number. So technically the Professional parts are aftermarket, but made by the OEM, if that makes sense. The OEM GM brake shoes are still made, however they are about 3-4 times the price of the Professional shoes. I will probably get them anyway, don't feel like doing the brakes more than every few years. Do you highly recommend getting the wheel cylinders as well as the hardware? I cannot find the AC Delco hardware, but I know they make the wheel cylinders. Could you please link me to where you purchased the hardware? I usually order from RockAuto or even eBay. I was holding out on the drums to see if I could find some USA-made old stock on eBay, but I doubt that will happen. Most stuff is made in China now anyway, so the quality is very close across the board. I just feel better keeping the truck AC Delco, even if the quality isn't near what it was 20+ years ago. Your thoughts are appreciated!
I've actually been in the same boat trying to replace everything that needs replacing with Delco or Delphi.
I believe you have your acronyms confused. OE is original equipment, anything that came on these off the assembly line. OEM is original equipment manufacturer which AC Delco and Delphi are. And as you've seen, AC Delco has different quality lines. Specialty, Professional, and Advantage.
Specialty parts are few and far between for our vehicles from what I've seen. So far i think I have only seen Specialty rotors which were slotted, painted and coated. Specialty line is above average aftermarket quality. Proffesional is your average aftermarket quality and Advantage would be passable quality stuff. OE stuff will meet GM's quality specs,I think most stuff was designed to go at least 100k before needing some kind of attention. As you said everything is pretty much made in China now so it's all hit and miss across the board, hopefully quality control showed up to work that day.
Anyway, I've ordered everything from Amazon, they're a certified AC Delco retailer, using part numbers off of the AC Delco website using my VIN number.
http://parts-catalog.acdelco.com/catalog/catalog_search.php
Everything I've read or seen states to replace the wheel cylinders when you're replacing brake shoes. Drum brakes should last a good 100-200k miles depending on driving conditions so you're really not doing it often. I'm not trying to go back in there to replace a leaking wheel cylinders down the road so I'm just going ahead and replacing them now. As far as the springs and other hardware, if you live in a state that uses salt and whatnot on the roads I would go and replace everything.
I've decided I'm going to have my OE drums machined before I consider buying new ones. I only have 134k on my Tahoe so they should still have some life in them. If I do buy some new ones I will probably go with the Duralast ones. Looks like the AC Delco Professional casts might have so issues.
I believe you have your acronyms confused. OE is original equipment, anything that came on these off the assembly line. OEM is original equipment manufacturer which AC Delco and Delphi are. And as you've seen, AC Delco has different quality lines. Specialty, Professional, and Advantage.
Specialty parts are few and far between for our vehicles from what I've seen. So far i think I have only seen Specialty rotors which were slotted, painted and coated. Specialty line is above average aftermarket quality. Proffesional is your average aftermarket quality and Advantage would be passable quality stuff. OE stuff will meet GM's quality specs,I think most stuff was designed to go at least 100k before needing some kind of attention. As you said everything is pretty much made in China now so it's all hit and miss across the board, hopefully quality control showed up to work that day.
Anyway, I've ordered everything from Amazon, they're a certified AC Delco retailer, using part numbers off of the AC Delco website using my VIN number.
http://parts-catalog.acdelco.com/catalog/catalog_search.php
Everything I've read or seen states to replace the wheel cylinders when you're replacing brake shoes. Drum brakes should last a good 100-200k miles depending on driving conditions so you're really not doing it often. I'm not trying to go back in there to replace a leaking wheel cylinders down the road so I'm just going ahead and replacing them now. As far as the springs and other hardware, if you live in a state that uses salt and whatnot on the roads I would go and replace everything.
I've decided I'm going to have my OE drums machined before I consider buying new ones. I only have 134k on my Tahoe so they should still have some life in them. If I do buy some new ones I will probably go with the Duralast ones. Looks like the AC Delco Professional casts might have so issues.
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Thanks for the clarification. Yes, you're correct. OE = factory. AC Delco and GM have slowly been phasing these OE parts out for some time now. We have had four of these GMT400 Tahoes, three 99s and now a 95. Are you saying that you have the original factory drums still on the rear with 134k miles on them? I think that is impressive. Our '95 has only 68k miles on it, I guess I won't know if they are the originals until they come off. I've just noticed a "bucking" back and forth from the rear end when braking from about 15 mph. Gee now I wonder if it the front rotors? We just replaced them a couple thousand miles ago with AC Delco Professional parts, so I assumed the drums/shoes were on the way out. It could just be the shoes, but I just want to do everything all at once. We are fortunate to have found an AC Delco repair center that will actually let me bring my own parts, saves us a bunch of money. I get fed up when a NAPA shop took advantage of my dad on our last '99 Tahoe for a brake job. $1,300 big ones for rotors, pads, shoes, drums, wheel cylinders and labor. I almost got sick when the parts were budget crap and were marked up about 300% or MORE. So lesson learned. I will consider your advice on the Duralast drums, I also saw the mixed reviews on Amazon, which was kind of surprising.
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