Brake Shoes Anyone seen this before?

[astranaut]

Bought a Focus for the wife yesterday, lady was selling it as the rear brakes were grinding, she took it to a garage to diagnose but having lost her job to covid couldn't afford to run her car. She told me they stripped it down but put it back together when she explained her circumstances. Anyway, took it in today to a friend of mine and this is what the shoes looked like:-




He says there was nothing amiss inside, but there is no way they could have worn horizontal grooves like that, plus there are fresh scratches like a flat head has been used. He thinks the garage has done it deliberately, what do you guys think?

[comfortablynumb]

Looks deliberate to me, although the shoe back is rusty which suggests the lining has been loose for a long time
Whats the lip on the drum like? Could they have ripped the remaining lining off by using their resident gorilla to remove the drums?
You say it was grinding originally which suggests thrre was some sort of fault before it went in

[astranaut]

It was, they did need changing, but it looks like they've chiselled off what was left to make it worse? No lip on the drum as she didn't do more than 2 miles, and I didn't drive it far back to the garage.

[comfortablynumb]

No, what i meant is was there a lip worn on the drum originally that could have dragged the shoe lining off when it was removed?
Thats why I said about gorillas, you’d have to be VERY heavy handed to rip a shoe apart like that!

[Ritchie]

I would be very surprised if someone had done that.
I’d say that was a loose piece of material being dragged around the drum.

[colnerov]

Hi, I have seen similar when the shoes have been over adjusted and dragging on the drum and it cooks the lining material, they are awkward to get off hence 'gorilla' tactics. Some drivers with no mechanical sympathy don't notice the slight braking effect and just push the accelerator pedal harder and press on.

Colin

[vitesseefi]

Is that the Focus with weird design where the two shoes are very different thicknesses from new?

Someone been trying to get two thick ones in there, failing, then “taking steps”……?

Nick

[stevethegrease]

Could it be something holding the shoe against the drum, meaning it has had to be levered off. Theres not that much to go wrong with drum brakes - usually siezure or leakage related.
1. Siezed wheel ( slave ) cylinder
2. Siezed hand brake cable
3. Siezed hand brake pivot.
4. Leaking slave cylinder

[dragon]

The wife came in one day saying that one rear corner was "lifting" as she was trying to move off. Found out that a spring had broken and jammed itself. The end result was brute force to get the drum off and renew everything.