[cadillac512]

Originally Posted by jetrod

Hey, 1952 F1 new ( Abt. 4000 MI.) bonded lining on one rear wheel started to drag and get hot. I started to smell the heat, drove home,abt 2 mi., pulled the drum and the linings fell out on the floor. The parking brake was not dragging. I think the linings were already loose when I started that 3 mi. run. I've never heard of bonded linings failing like that. Does this happen often? Could they fail if the parking brake was half set, barely dragging, and not hot enough to smell the heat? Whatcha think. Jerry

Over the years as a mechanic I've seen maybe three cases of bonded linings coming loose from the shoe. Typically it's a bad job by the shop that did the relining...a lightly dragging parking brake should not cause it. The brakes run a LOT hotter under heavy use. If they weren't hot enough to smell, they were not hot enough to hurt lining.

Now if the linings look totally fried and the drum is blue, you may well have another problem...like a corroded/sticking piston in the wheel cylinder. Easy enough to check while it's apart though.