Confused about a legal issue.

Not sure if this is the right area for a legal question and I can't give deep details because I would look like a seriously dippy woman lol...seems like stupid questions but I am very, very curious about something that happened.

but

1. brake drum things, ya know from a truck or a car., are they sent to a shop for repair?? and how hard is it to get someone to repair one?? Is it expensive?

2. if drugs (or weapons) were hidden in such a thing, would a person, if they didn't know of such (aka a drug mule) are they still charged with that offense? (in the US).

3. If this brake drum were broken, how exactly do they get broken and how are they repaired?

4. Are /is it so difficult or cost effective to have someone drive across state for example to drop it off be repaired? or is that just outrageous for a distance for a stupid brake thing?

legal answers or the mechanical answers would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Oh shoot, I think the gray area is for alien discussion. oooopss

[edit on 12-7-2009 by suzque66]

[edit on 12-7-2009 by suzque66]

brake drums cannot be repaired if they are cracked or actually broken, it would be very dangerous to try to say, weld a crack in a brake drum then put it back on a car, they are generally not expensive items and are routinely replaced when they wear out. if the braking face is just a bit glazed over or scored from worn out shoes/pads, they can be re-skimmed to get some more life out of them, this can be done by a machine shop with a lathe.
they can get broken if they are being used beyond their capacity and lifespan ie: very hard and frequent braking will build up heat and can cause cracks to form, worn out brake shoes could speed up this process too.
i cant speak on the legal side of your question being from the uk but i would think you would still be arrested even if you cliamed to know nothing about the contraband.
as for your last question, most mechanics would be able to get hold of replacement parts fairly quick so i would think driving miles accross states wolud be a waste of time and money to be honest. hope this helps.

hmmm

yeah, it was oldddd, rusty, but I wouldn't know what a healthy new
one looks like lol. I didn't see it for more than 4 seconds anyways and was told that 'the guys' will take it out of the trunk for me and put it back (the next week or day I went back)

I went approx. 4 times to do this geez. Can't exactly say it was across state though, but it was a good hour+ drive (from south of Manassas to Alexandria) .

Rand McNally mileage calculation says it is approx. 35 miles. (49 mins), I guess it just seemed like I was driving further lol. So saying 'across state' is just my womanly mind exaggerating eeeks. me bad.

but still, isn't that a lil far to do so? Isn't there like a million closer mechanics who are just as capable from this route on I-95?

[edit on 12-7-2009 by suzque66]

1. The actual drums themselves are made from cast iron and look like a dish or bowl, so they don't normally break, just become thin.
Normally the brake shoes and oil seals are changed too. It's simple enough for a diy person to do. It takes less than an hour. This is done on the vehicle.

2. Not sure as I'm in the UK. But how would anything illegal get into them?

3. They wear thin and are disposable, they are scrapped not repaired.
The vehicle must be old or have high mileage for this to happen.
I have done 200,00 miles in a few cars without needing to do this.

4. The brakes could be repaired at any garage (auto repair shop)

More technical information

Rear Wheel cylinder replacement

The drum is shown in 6th picture down.

yes hmm thank you for replies. this has bothered me for years but didn't know how/where to ask

anyhoo, the person who sent me to do this IS a master mechanic lol

He put the thing in and I was told to go to some industrial park in Alexandria.

The place was abandonned except for when I arrived some dudes came out, said hello and took the thing into some big garage doors. I didnt' look in, I had backed in and didn't do anything more except open the trunk with the do-hickey ya pull inside the car. The same happened when I picked it up. The guys give me some smirky look then send me on my way.

When I did see it briefly, I did think, geez, all this drama for this old piece of junk rusted out thing?

rusty you say? it could be the auto shop simply trying to pull a fast one because you are a woman, if they think you dont know about cars they would happily sell you brand new parts when a simple clean up or adjustment would suffice. not saying thats the case but it happens a lot over here, at any rate this can be fixed at any mechanics as lightchild said and is not usually a big job.

hmmm, now that is a bit fishy lol! dont know what was going on but i would tell your friend you are busy next time he asks you to drive an hour to drop off a brake drum...

reply to post by sileighty


I took it because my ex-husband told me to. He is a master mech., so no mech shop took advantage of me., I know nothing about car parts nor did they ask for payment.

No money passed hands though, no clue how he paid them then since I did all this running around and never gave them a payment or saw any invoice or recipt.

[edit on 12-7-2009 by suzque66]

reply to post by sileighty


Yes it is fishy. I have wondered about this for about 18 years now. Just wondering now because I can ask strangers about my suspicions that I was put in a very dangerous situation. ..and how lucky I am that nothing happened.

reply to post by suzque66


well it sounds like it was a shady scenario to be honest but you never know.
id chalk it up to experience and as you say be thankfull that nothing else came of it.

Yes am glad it is long over but...

I have always wondered whyyy such nonsense over a stupid brake drum.

I did check out the pics from the previous post..but maybe I mentioned the wrong part because it was not hollow. He did call it a drum though.

it looked like this: www.yourhotcar.com...

except it was olddddd, dirty and rusty. I know it was heavy because the car lifted or sunk as it was put in and out.

and sorry, I know these questions are dumb but I am just very curious.

[edit on 12-7-2009 by suzque66]

reply to post by suzque66


thats a brake disc, does the same job as a drum but more efficiently. they can also be re-faced to get more life out of them, again they are a common item and not too pricey.
a thought occurs: maybe the drums/discs whatever, were from an old and rare car? could be that they were worth driving for as they may have been hard to get brand new ones. still they could have been skimmed at most machine shops as i said earlier. strange, who knows what it really was all about?

I don't know what it was about, but he did his car repairs at his shop (usmc) because it was slow there. (during gulfI war)

so I always picked up the 'thing' there and dropped it off there.

I always felt stupid doing it too. I wasn't thinking drugs or weapons at that time, but I just had a weird feeling because of the way these guys acted towards me and the location. Like they were so robotic except for the smirks, a 'boy are you dumb, smirk' lol, hard to describe.

oh and no, the guys were not dressed in overalls or any mechanics clothes.

They were in street clothes, regular clothes, jeans, nice shirts. no overalls or anything., they took it in a door (not through the garage doors, those were HUGE and closed). No other cars were around, parked or near the long driveway heading up to this building.

Not being racist about it, but they were 3 black men. Only one said hello, the once. After that, the other 3 times I went not a word was said.

Thanks again,

but any mechanics out there that know if this part is a big deal, yes, lol it is important part to a car but again are they that hard to fix? and wouldn't both sides be equally as damaged???