New brake drums from BusDepot are thicker than the old ones?

[chrisd1891]

Hi everyone.

I got new brake drums from bus depot and they seem to be thicker than the old ones. I'm wondering if anyone has seen this before and if it's going to be problematic. It basically causes the lug nuts to not screw on all the way. Everything is seated all the way though. The old drum was about .4cm and the new one is about .7cm thick.

Here's what I mean

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[pioneer1]

Take a deep breath . If you have problems with the vendor start by calling /emailing them with your concern. They stand behind what they sell.
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[kreemoweet]

That's an astonishing difference! What's the brand/manufacturer of those
thick-ass drums?
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[vwwestyman]

I think the question is more, is this ok to run? (Because the nuts aren't threaded 100%).

I would. I think the thicker drums would be less prone to warping and such.

[busdaddy]

I suspect those are thick like that because they are cast and the OG ones are forged or something. Interesting problem for sure, low bidding overseas manufacturer does thier best to meet the spec but comes up short due to a moneysaving skipped step in the process. Longer studs would be the answer, too bad they don't come with the new drums.
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[skills@eurocarsplus]

awesome. now we can add shitty drums to the growing list of sub standard parts
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[old DKP driver]

So, When you installed the drums do they also rub the backing plates?
and, is the part # on the Box 211 609 615 ? and not a 251 609 615 ?

Personally, Living on the WEST coast I buy ALL my parts Here is possible
regardless of the TAX break from other states.

The "OMC" brand brake drum that bus depot sells for $55.87 is the same as
Auto Zone sells for $44.00 and, probably also other local FLAP's in your area.

"ATE' Brand drums go for about $105.00 each

If you have time you may try going to a good auto store near you WITH one of your newly purchased drums and check the thickness.

It looks Scary to me with the lug nuts not being where they should be...

LET BUS DEPOT KNOW ABOUT THIS.






Call them and let them know the problem
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[Tom Powell]

[Busdepot]

These drums have been available for years and we have had no complaints about fit - unless you got the wrong ones for your year, or unless there is some new development with the latest batch, such as mislabeling or a change in the casting that we have not found out about yet. (The fact that both of them are the same would rule out a one-off defect.) If you PM me all of the details (the year of your Bus, all numbers on the boxes and drums themselves, etc.) I can pass the info on to the shop tomorrow when they open and have someone email you to confirm the application. If they are defective or the wrong application, of course we will stand behind them. I would not recommend using them in the meantime.

p.s. As for Autozone, theirs is Duralast brand and ranges from $44 to $90 depending on the geographic market (for the same drums). Duralast is not a manufacturer but a house brand, so sourcing can vary; they could be Italian made one time and Chinese the next. While we have not had issues with the OMC drums (as of yet; these days anything can change), we have seen significant quality issues with certain Chinese made generics and have chosen not to sell them. I personally tested a few on my own Westy when a supplier offered them at a tempting price, but passed on them because out of 4 drums I tried, 3 did not fit properly (severely warped or machined wrong).
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[GeorgeO.]

[aeromech]

I had an issue with rear drums purchased from Aircooled.net a couple years ago. The problem was that the splines in the drum were too small to slide onto the stub axle. Doing some research I found that there had been issues with this drum for a couple of years and that some retailers wouldn't sell them anymore (Bus Boys).

I think what happens is that the Chinese initially produce a run that's acceptable but as time goes by and they might change machinery the specs fall out and due to a lack of quality control the parts reach our shelves.

Unfortunately we are stuck with this situation. It would be great if we had a sticky listing these out of spec parts by part number and supplier. Sounds like a job for Tcash.
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[germansupplyscott]

it's easy to get Vanagon & late Bay Bus drums mixed up, even the big companies who distribute parts do it. in the photos below the new Brembo drums are Vanagon but labeled with a '71-'79 Bus part number. next to it is an NOS Bus drum for comparison.

i measured the thickness of the centre part of the drums. the new Brembo is about 2.68mm and genuine NOS is 2.53mm. it's not a big difference. i don't remember seeing a drum that's thick like the one posted originally.

the difference between a Vanagon drum and '71-'79 Bus is the outer edge where the drum notches around the backing plate, the Vanagon drum has a wider groove in this area. you'll only find this out by looking really closely or by installing a drum on the wrong vehicle and it will either rub the backing plate or not fit over it.

one thing i'd like to go on record saying - i wish people would not put vendor names in thread titles. this thread could, indeed should, be titled "New brake drums are thicker than the old ones". as a vendor i hesitate to contribute to a topic with a title like this one, even though i might have some useful info to add. putting the vendor in the topic title makes it seem almost impossible to contribute without either piling on the vendor or defending them, neither which it's my desire or place to do.
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[SGKent]

FWIW the Bus Depot drums are fine. Either the OMC or ATE both work well. I've used both. You cannot tell them apart by visually looking at them.

[chrisd1891]

First of all, thank you everyone for the replies. It's very helpful.

Nope, there's no rubbing on the backing plate.

The numbers on the brake drum are: Mexico NOM 50 20 AMB A-4026-1

And the number on the white, otherwise blank box is 211 609 615

I emailed bus depot when I made this thread, but it's the weekend so I'm not expecting a reply right away. Either way, the reason I made this thread was to get alternate opinions...not because I don't trust them, but just because the more the merrier.
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[chrisd1891]

Just an update. BusDepot dealt with the issue by sending me new drums, and gave me shipping labels and such. Still not really sure if they just got a bad batch or if they are somehow the wrong part, but they resolved it quickly and without hassle so kudos to them. They even overnighted the new drums it looks like.

Just wanted to make sure they got credit for handling it properly
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