The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline brake drum removal

All,

I have a '49 3100, need to get the rear drums off. It is not the original rear axle, it is a 5 lug older GM, from that era I believe. It is a drop out third member type axle (similar to 9" if that makes sense). Not rusty and I backed the adjuster in all the way (I think). The drum will move a little - can see it move by the lug nuts, just will not come off.

ANy tips?

Thanks

Scott

Might be hung up on the hub. Try shooting some Kroil or PB on it in that area, and perhaps lightly sand the hub ti take any rust off. One trick that's worked for me is to get a couple of small (about 18" ) prybars to get in between the drum and backing plate to apply pressure. I'm not talking about any major force here, just enough to get some pressure to help pop it off. Then give it some solid whacks, preferrably using a brass hammer. That usually works for me with no damage to the drum or backing plate.

If the drums are old, they may have a grove worn and this is what the shoes are catching on. About all you can do is make sure you back them off as far as possible. You might have to use a pry bar if you are planning on replacing shoes anyway. We have gear puller in our shop that makes them come off so easy you think they should have fallen off.

Welcome, I've found that if the drums have been on for a long time they can be very difficult to get off period. Your on the right track, after backing the adjust off I "hammer" on the drum while pulling and prying. I think the old shoes wear grooves in the drum and you have to get the drum to clear the shoe. You might want to make sure your emergency brake cable is not holding you up. The other problem is the wheel cylinders are frozen up and the shoes won't back off. Cussing and hammering has always worked for me.

You can tell if it is hanging on the brake shoes if it kind of springs back on you when you try to pry it off. If it is hanging on anything else it will come to a dead stop and not feel like it is trying to move back. Make sure the adjuster is all of the way in and try tapping the drum with a 2x4 or brass hammer to get the shoes to move in. Is this a truck that has been running or sitting? I also almost worked myself to death once on one that had been sitting up. I figured out that the parking brake cable was rusted stuck and the shoes weren't comming all the way in.

Neil

Try turning the drum and pulling at the same time. And like everyone has said be sure the adjusters are backed off.
Cleon

Just hammer the heck out of it.

Go to your local FLAPS and rent / borrow a brake drum puller (I think crenwelge mentioned it as well)

The truck has been running, I think the shoes have worn slots in the drums.

Like stated above, make sure the adjusters are backed off so the shoes are not causing the problem. IF the adjusters are stuck you can take the retainer washer off the pin and pull drum and shoes together, although this does not work very well.

The EASY way, and I do mean EASY, to get drums off rear axles is to heat the drum with a propane torch right around the wheel stud area. DO NOT HEAT THE AXLE HUB itself. You are only wanting to heat the drum to expand it slightly so it will slip right off of the hub. You do not need a lot of heat--just slightly more than what you can stand your hand on for a second or two.

In a particularly stubborn case I once had to run a water hose on the axle/drum assy until the axle was as cool as the water coming out of the hose. I then used a torch as described above and the drum almost fell off.

BTW this trick works on anything with outboard drums, from pickups to semi trucks.

If you have the truck in a shop where air pressure is available, you can put a flatheaded tool into you air hammer and hammer in the area between the studs over & over. this works very well!

I'll usually take a torch and heat up the area around the lug nuts and hub until I hear a satisfying *BANG* that means the drum has separated from the hub. This works in cases where the drum is rusted to the lug nuts and hub.