bridge

I have never had a problem with my Rio until two weeks ago. I decided
to go get some new brakes because it has been a very long time- I went
to Meineke in Augusta, GA and they said I needed new brakes front and
rear, the rear are drum brakes and then they said I had hydraulic fluid
leaking out the rear brakes. Ok so supposedly they fixed that and I
drove off toward Atlanta. As soon as I got on the highway I heard a
high pitched short squeal. Pulled over, didn't see anything wrong kept
going. About an hour later there was a humming and racketty sound
coming from my rear left tire. Noticed something was wrong and slowed
down and did notice that as I turned the steering wheel to the right
the noise became louder. When the sound was unbearable I pulled off
the highway, removed the wheel (the lug nuts were scorching hot) and
found the whole drum brake was cracking in two and if I had made one
more revolution (I tried later) on that tire the whole assembly would
have broken off the car. Now Meineke finally paid for the fix at
another Meineke close to Atlanta but is refusing to reimburse me for my
other expenses saying that I had a bad wheel bearing. Is that possible
that I had a bad wheel bearing even though he had just worked on the
brakes? I was told at the Atlanta Meineke at first that the original
one had torqued it too tight or not packed the bearings, does anyone
know how this damage could have been caused.

terry cano

I'm not real familiar with the Rio - front wheel drive?
If so then it uses a bearing similar to the front wheel bearing on a a rear
wheel drive car.
The bearing is not greased from the oil/grease in the axle but from being
"packed".
Normally they would not repack the the bearing or have reason to adjust it
beacuse the drum comes off once the wheel is removed.
However, most shops usually check the bearing for excessive play and let you
know if bearings are needed.
If there was brake fluid leaking out it could have had an effect on the
bearing grease and the bearing should have been checked. Also, bearings
that are subjected to lots of water like from putting a boat trailer in the
water need attention more frequently.
On the net look up Tapered Roller Bearing
Terry

bridge

Thanks so much I'll check it out. We're definitely taking them to
court.

bridge

Thanks so much I'll check it out. We're definitely going to court.

tom

If it's like most front wheel drive cars like my Jetta, which I've had the
pleasure to work on a few times. ( In order to get to the brakes, you
have to remove the cotter pin and nut to release the rear drum. Along with
the drum comes the bearings, which should then be protected from dirt,
cleaned and repacked. When replacing the rear drum, a new inner seal has to
be used (did they charge you for one?) with the inner bearing behind it and
then the outer bearing is fitted. Next the washer and nut have to be
replaced and TORQUED into place. Usually you tighten it until it becomes
slightly hard to turn drum and then back off on it until you can move the
washer with some slight resistance. It's a 'feel' kind of thing. If they
just tightened the hell out of it, that's what happened.