I thought I would share an experience I had recently... This past week I was driving my truck in of all things a funeral procession. Just as we neared the cemetery, I stepped on the brake pedal to find a sudden increase in pedal travel and a severe pulsing from the drivers side front. After the service, I limped home on 3 1/2 brakes. Until this, I've had pretty reliable braking. When I took the drum off I was surprised to find that not one, but both brake pads were separated from the shoes and were loose in the drum. No evidence of any rivets holding them to the shoes. The pads were still plenty good, only slightly worn. Luckily the only damage was to the clip that keeps the adjustment from turning on its own on the wheel cylinder. Too bad the only way I seemed to be able to locate one was to get a new wheel cylinder as I couldn't find the old cylinder I thought I had around...
The shoes on the truck were probably from the 70s. When I started driving the truck 20 years ago I went through the brakes and the front pads looked new, so I kept them. I never noticed that they didn't have rivets. The few times I had the drums off for inspection over the years, they still looked good and were well within spec so I kept them. The guy at the brake shop said that those never last more than about a year. He rebuilt mine the right way with rivets. Next chance I get, I'm going through the other brakes to see if any don't have rivets and if they don't, they will be redone.
Anyone else have this experience?
