The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline stuck drum

I have a front passenger side brake drum that won’t come off.
I forced it open far enough to get a finger in there. It feels like the shoes are welded to the drum. I’m stuck. Lost my sanity in the process. Any tips are welcome. I really don’t see it coming off without breaking something. What is worst case scenario?
Maybe I shouldn’t have asked that. Thanks!

Failed to mention that I adjusted adjuster all the way both ways just to make sure.

Maybe enough room to cut the brake shoe hold down pins and undo the hose and two bolts for the wheel cylinder . If it comes out then you can see the rest of the problems on the bench

What are the pins?
I understand everything else.
Thank you!

Not sure my '46 would be the same as yours, but there are two pins that hold the brake shoes. I'm thinking Kevin is wondering if you can get behind the shoes and cut them?

Those shoe hold-down pins extend thru the backing plate and have a small (nail like) head. Maybe those can be ground off with a dremel tool if you can't get at them behind the shoes. That and the wheel cylinder unbolted should free things up. Maybe some heat on the drum might get the shoes loose. I'll bet they'll need replacing in any case.

Looking at your original photos and the great on going discussions, could it be an issue with the wheel studs? Or a bent stud. Corrosion build up between the drum stud holes and the corrosion on the studs? Just as WAG spray WD40 or something like that. At this point you got nothing to lose.

I'm assuming that he's pulling the whole hub assembly with the drum attached. The wheel studs are peened in place on the front hubs, and the drum doesn't come off the hub easily. There have been reports of bearings getting stuck on the spindle, so that might be something to check.

Is there a ridge from brake shoe wear inside the drum leaving a lip that the shoes are hanging on?

Those are not huck brakes?
I`d push it back where it was , clean the studs. Heat and oil. try again.

If it didn't rotate before you started messing with it, the shoes are stuck to the drum. If it did rotate but won't now, you are stuck on a lip of the drum. Best to just cut the two pin heads off and pull the whole brake shoe mess off as one unit. Be sure to unhook the brake line and the two bolts on the wheel cylinder, it should all just slide off. If the rear bearing has gone bad and welded itself too something, you are going to have to work a little harder, but it should still come apart.

Worst case, cut the drum in two pieces.

Yup - Bill's truck is a '52 so has the Bendix brakes.

Bill - You might also try to open the wheel cylinder bleeder valve and work the drum and stuck shoes back and forth a bit. Could be the reduced fluid in the cylinder could allow for the cylinder to shoe pins to retract and allow more movement of the shoes to separate things.

Or just go whole hog on the drum like Joe H said at the end of his input.

Being the front, cleaning the studs won`t help. That drum will come off eventually.

I got it off. Hose was already disconnected. See pic.
Took out the bolt that springs attach to up top, and the two bolts for the cylinder, which was unnecessary. The pins had fallen into the drum during the wrestling match. The drums are toast. I have someone who will turn them, but I honestly think they are unsafe if any more material is removed. I was all gung ho to rebuild the cylinder but one of the pistons looks pretty eat up. I could see small air bubbles on the rim as I was trying to remove the piston. Gonna opt to replace. The other front cylinder should be a much better candidate. It’s still stopping the truck if the pedal is pressed. I have some parts to order.
I have everything nailed down on what to order except for new bearings. I’ve looked on all the parts houses websites and they are all over the place in pricing, and I have no clue. I could really use some advice on what I need bearing wise. I purposely left the other wheel with just the drum removed so I can see what I need to do. First time doing drum brakes. I used to watch my grandfather rebuild cylinders and pack and replace bearings when I was in the single digits age wise. I wasn’t quite expecting to have to replace everything to the hardline on each front wheel but that’s ok. Not sure what I was expecting. lol. It’s gonna take a little longer and cost a little more. I know most can identify with that better than I.

Take a look at the bearing and races first ,looks like they were greased well maybe they are good still and you only have to get a new seal.

I concur with Kevinski on the existing bearings/races. Clean them up, as well as the spindle, inspect them for wear/damage and if none found repack them with good quality grease and reinstall with new seals.

How-to's on all these tasks is as easy as clicking your mouse to find what you need in this free web resource Chevy Truck Shop Manual which also covers your '52.

Just my $.02 worth, but if your going to replace one wheel cylinder, go ahead and replace them all. Same for brake shoes and flexible hoses. Even though the one functioned when you pushed the brake pedal, it's likely well worn and your better off (safer) replacing them all to ensure functional and even braking. Think "Safety First"!

There are other resources to help you bring back those found memories with your grandfather redoing the brakes. Here's just one on Servicing 1951 Chevrolet Car and 1/2 ton Truck Brakes that can really be a help.

Thank you guys. I'll research how to remove bearings. I saw a video where a brass rod was used by tapping with hammer to remove races. I honestly thought they weren't able to be used again in different drums. Totally new to this. I will definitely read the links provided.
Bill

So you're sporting that belt with the big old chrome buckle after that wrestling match.

You can replace just the drum and retain the hub, but you'd have to drive out the wheel studs and install new ones.The rear drums are the same as the fronts ACDELCO 18B407 for under $50 each at RockAuto.
Also a good source for wheel cylinders and hoses. Like Dan said, recommend that everything having to do with brakes be replaced.

I have an OTC 6980 brake drum puller. It works really well with shoes rusted to the drum or a drum with a deep groove.

I agree with replacing both sides, you want even braking side to side, you just can't get that with new and old parts, even if the old ones look good. Play it safe and do both, then when you save up some money, do the rears the same way.

I had my local machine shop remove the hubs from old drums. I took as good of pics as I could with phone. One of the outer bearings looks like nylon casing maybe. Doesn’t seem right. Outer race seems to be worn excessively in my opinion as well. I think it needs replacing. I’d love feedback.The other one seems fine. The inner bearings seem ok to me. What do I need to buy to reuse them? Those chrome rings(innermost on the spindle ?) Not sure if it’s supposed to snap in over inner bearings. I kind of put it all together loosely, but didn’t want to force anything. In one of the photos there is one of the broken tabs I guess it was that held the drum to the hub. Maybe a quarter inch in height. I’ll find out soon enough when new drums arrive, but I was curious if those would have to be ground down? Spindles are smooth as glass. I put some Blaster on hose connections to hard lines today. Getting those disconnected successfully seems like my biggest obstacle right now. Don’t want the nightmare I heard it was. Don’t want to buy any more brake parts this week. lol. I’ll have all the parts from NAPA tomorrow minus the bearing and bearing accessories. As soon as I nail down the right plan on the bearings I’ll get started on the brakes. I’ll definitely follow up soon. Thank you guys who have commented and who have yet to.

PBlaster on the hardline connections, not plaster. lol

I'm not seeing an issue with the bearings or races, but that's just from the photos. I'd have to see them in person to really tell for sure.

Bearings look reusable the tab was just holding the drum to the hub .I would just clean up the edges of the tab as the new drum fits over it and I would not bother with the tabs that hold the drum on the drum will be fine with wheel bolted on like a newer vehicle.I think two new seals some grease and you can put the hub back on .

Bearings look OK to me also, clean them really good add a small amount of motor oil, put the bearing in the race and spin them with your fingers. If they are rough feeling, then look for a roller ball with pitting or galling. If they feel smooth, pack each one with red wheel bearing grease and put it all back together. Don't check them dry, and spin them a few times to get them seated and oil spread out.

Be sure to read the service manual on adjusting roller ball wheel bearings, it is different then a taper bearing adjustment.

One of the races on the pic with bearing with black casing looked worn, unless that's not wear and supposed to be that way.
Not trying to argue at all, just a visual difference I saw in parts that led me to conclusion.

Bill - That race along side the outer bearing with the nylon cage is likely part of that replacement outer bearing set. They are after market original equipment type replacements for the original steel caged bearing sets, so a slightly different product, but that darker less finished surface doesn't ride on the bearing, so not of concern IMHO. These replacement bearings are commonly found in use in many of our old trucks and are also still available as replacement bearing sets today.

Finding one of those "plastic" caged bearings has surprised a number of Bolters over the years.

Not the sharpest tool in the drawer, but I’ll gnaw through it eventually. The puller made it easier than without.

Cleaned the bearings and packed packed packed.
I tapped a block of wood with a hammer to get the seals in.
Waiting on new wheel cylinders in the mail. If anything looks out of place let me know. Hopefully I will complete the fronts this weekend. I have hit the connections between the hardline and hoses a couple of times with PB. Gonna clean up those connections with a wire brush as well. Any advice always welcome.

Broke the hardlines loose from the old hoses today. Found out the ones I bought were wrong size. The truck has smaller fittings. Seems like I read that they changed line sizes around this time. I bought both hoses from 2 different parts houses in town. They both came up with the same part number for a 52 chevy truck. Trying to buy as much as possible locally.
I hate to order more only to have them be wrong too though.
Anyone have a good part number and vendor?

Bill - That NAPA number comes up as fitting 3/4 & 1 ton trucks, not the 1/2 ton (3100), even though when I did the search on their site specifically looking for 3100 parts - argh!

I purchased my replacement hoses for my ‘51 3100 from Classic Parts under their Part# 71-307.

Same hose for both front wheels and rear center flex line from frame hardline to axle mounted junction.

Thank you Dan. I will check the link out now. Yes. I found same part number referenced for both model trucks as well.

I bought my brake stuff from Rock Auto. It was all correct.

I ordered cylinders from there. All 4 wheels for $62 shipped. Very fair.

Bill - One thing of note on today's available replacement wheel cylinders, regardless of who they come from. They likely will come with metric (10mm) hex bleeder valves instead of the SAE sized original bleeders. Invest in an inexpensive 10mm bleeder wrench in advance so you can be ready to do the bleeding with out having to pause and go find the right tool.

Most FLAPS offer these wrenches off the shelf. I got mine from Amazon as it was less expensive than buying locally.

Thank you Dan. I would have been scratching my head for sure.

Finished rear brakes. Drums. hose, cylinders, and shoes. Havent bled them yet. The back hose whipped me pretty good. Other than that, pretty smooth. I chickened out on the rear bearings.

You`ll see a ridge(3) where the shoes rest and move/pivot. I use just a dab of red brake grease there.

Thank you.