Now I know where my $15 rock auto rotors come from
- Thread starter MoPar~Man
- Start date
I never worked in one, but I've been in enough of them to say I never wanted to work in one.
There's a lot of jobs out there that most of us want to avoid, but modern life demands those jobs be done.
Wonder how many of them ended up half blind, I once had the pleasure of having to go to a hospital to remove a spot welding metal particle from my eye, got stuck on the edge of my iris, painful experience.
About a week ago I ordered 2 pairs of drums (11 x 2.75 and 11 x 2) for front/back. Ordered from rock. Both pairs being Raybestos brand. 1924R and 2955R. I got the 1924's today. They both have no welded balancing weights. Just like my "WinHere" china brand 11 x 2.75 drums I bought late last year and have had nothing but problems with them (out of round, and not balanced). These 1924 Raybestos drums came in a white box with a Raybestos sticker on it, but did say made in china somewhere on the box or maybe even the Raybestos sticker. What pisses me off is not necessarily that they're made in china, it's that they're obviously not balanced. Balancing a drum is important, for ride smoothness, moreso than for a rotor.
mopar preferred
Active Member
Sister worked picking grapes for W****'* one year. She would never eat grape jelly again.
Knew a guy whose wife transcribed gov't standards for food packaging. There could be no more than 4 rodent hairs in any 2 consecutive packages. Now, if they were in every other one, that was ok.
volksworld
Well-Known Member
back when I had a brake issue with my son's Jetta I found out through a recall notice that his master was sold as Raybestos, NAPA, and AC Delco...it came from Brake Parts Inc which also owns Centric, and they are owned by First Brands (Fram etc) which just filed for chapter 11...I think most of this stuff comes out of the same Chinese factory as there isn't enough demand for anyone else to make them
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^^^ Correct. ^^^
fury fan
Old Man with a Hat
As @ Big_John mentioned, videos like that are from Pakistan, India, etc. Places shown in videos like this aren't supplying to the US, they are for regional use in regional vehicles.
If you look at the repair videos from that region, they are doing whatever it takes to fix something with little money and/or when replacement parts aren't available.
They are like US farmers were back in the 50s/60s - doing what they must in order to keep the country going.
I'd be surprised if they are even tied into a distribution network to package/ship to the US.
On the other end of the spectrum - this mfg plant in India is 15 years old now.
India is in the top 5 of manufacturers in the world.
It's just not *everywhere* in India.
If you look at the repair videos from that region, they are doing whatever it takes to fix something with little money and/or when replacement parts aren't available.
They are like US farmers were back in the 50s/60s - doing what they must in order to keep the country going.
I'd be surprised if they are even tied into a distribution network to package/ship to the US.
On the other end of the spectrum - this mfg plant in India is 15 years old now.
India is in the top 5 of manufacturers in the world.
It's just not *everywhere* in India.
68PK21 440.6bbl
Old Man with a Hat
Gerald Morris
Senior Member
Those folks look like SOUTH ASIANS, not EAST. India possesses a LONG tradition of iron-work, extending back about 8 millenia actually, as evident in Old Delhi, where a big iron pillar reminds people of some Harappan ruler long gone. I'm sure the quality of iron in those rotors is decent, given that 1.) they were recycling scrap from the West, 2.) they know damned good and well how to work iron and 3.) have NO cultural inhibitions about iron-working, imposed by a central government ruling by a consensus rooted in horror of the preceding militarist/Legalist authoritarian regime which succeeded centuries of deadly civil war.
South asian quality control issues arise from pure-dee capitalist sleight of hand and piggery, not tabus.
I still might think twice about some of their wares, but for the right price, will try it. In truth, my D150 is rolling with some asian rotors now, which needed very little shaving before installation. Soft iron is soft iron, and warrants care regardless of who casts it.
I am Pondering the 1924's From Rockauto (raybestos). Did you use them or return them? I really do not want to press Front hubs on Junk drums ,Luckily i am in no rush to obtain Decent drums .I see on RA they Now have only one drum available.Their pic shows Weights although Their pictures can be very Inaccurate ! Your thoughts on the RA 1924's would be appreciated.
I have them still sitting in boxes, I'm not returning them. I've pressed out the original drums off my hubs (and put new studs in) and I find that after cleaning up the holes that I can put one of the drums back on and it will come off with a bit of prying against the upper control arm. The "WinHere" brand drums I bought some months ago (that had balance and out-of-round issues) go on (and off) the hubs just as easy as the rear drums come on and off.
As for the 1924's - they came machined inside / outside / topside etc. All surfaces have a machined finish. So they've been cut on a lathe in all directions, which means in theory they should come out of that process balanced without needing weights - and as I pointed out earlier they do not have weights. It's easy enough for me to throw them on the front and try them, but the weather here is turning and I will put that experiment on hold until next year. What I have now on the car works - passenger side is a WinHere drum, driver's side is one of my original drums. So not matched.
The width of the brake surface of the 1924's I did measure - it's 3.05 inches (78 mm). So about 5/16 more than the 2.75 inches needed for the shoes. They weigh 19.6 lbs each.
fury fan
Old Man with a Hat
In my estimation, with modern numerous-axis CNC machining, robotic parts loading/removal, etc, that it is a simpler mfg process to machine them all over than to create a separate balancing station with whatever weights/attachment technology is needed for it.
But now that I've said that, here's a pic of a 1924.
RockAuto | All The Parts Your Car Will Ever Need
But now that I've said that, here's a pic of a 1924.
RockAuto | All The Parts Your Car Will Ever Need
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That photo of the Raybestos 1924 on rock does not match what I got. Here's what I got:
Turbo301
Active Member
The 2955R is what they are recommending for my Fury's rear brakes. How do those look? They're for 2" wide shoes, right?
My current rear drums, which are finned and of unknown vintage that were put on the car during it's first restoration in '87, that I had shot-peened and turned a year ago, have a brake-surface width of 61 mm. 2 inch brake shoes.
The 2955R's bought from rock a few weeks ago have a simlar look to them, they are also finned, but the brake surface width is 65 mm. This discovery has me thinking - I'd better try fitting these on and see if they rub. I'll try to do that tomorrow. I'll post my fitment results here when I have them.
If you want to try one of these on your car, stop by my place and pick one up. Send me a PM if so.
By the way, I see today that rock is showing the 1924r (the front 2.75" drums) as not available...
For a deep dive into the 2955R, see here:
Short summary - they fit.
2-inch rear brake drums - Raybestos 2955R measurements
It seems to be that there is no stock for rear 2-inch drums that are spec'd for pre-1969 vehicles. The Raybestos 2955R is specified only for 1969 to I think 1975 vehicles. Here I compare one of my existing 2-inch drums with the Raybestos 2955R. My drum is of unknown origin, it is finned, as...
www.forcbodiesonly.com
Short summary - they fit.
