Brake Drums

[RED MUSTANG]

I have a small chip off the rear brake drum at the rear lip. Do drums need to be balanced? and if so will this small chip affect the ride. If they do need to be balanced how is it done and who does it?

 

[rbohm]

brake drums are balanced, but depending on the size of the chip, it is unlikely that you will even notice the difference.

 

[zookeeper]

I do balancing of all kinds at our machine shop and I'd bet there's a shop near you that could do it. But as far as how much a small chip would affect the balance all depends on how big the chunk is that's missing and how far from center is. Most automotive weights (stick-on) are 1/4 oz or 7 grams. Assuming you have 15" wheels, this would place the weight at around 7 1/2 inches from the center. Removing one weight really won't make a whole lot of difference, so it would stand to reason that if your chip is less than an ounce you likely won't know the difference.