Originally Posted by
clayb34
They most likely made you replace them because of the age. I see quite a few cars come through my shop with old shoes on them that never really wear for a couple reasons. Number one is that they become hard and glassy over time, just like brake pad glazing on discs, so they lose all they're stopping power and are never really being worn as a result. Number two is that even though most cars have "self adjusting" brake shoe setups, they still need some attention now and then to make sure that they are adjusted properly and the mechanisms are free of brake dust build-up so that they can actually be free to self adjust. In this case the brake shoe isn't making proper drum contact and is again not wearing normally and forcing your front brakes to do all the work.
As for replacing drums, we rarely see a case where it's necessary. My shop is in the southeast, so rust really isn't a problem here though. Most drums down here will last the life of the car barring some other brake failure.