The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline My front brake drum

OK, I've had a discussion going on in "Truck Parts Wanted" and I've decided to post some pics relating to my front brake drum on my '46. The studs need to be removed because they got damaged when the lug nuts came loose. I've been trying to remove them but am having difficulty. Penetrating oil and pounding on them is just not working. Any suggestions out there?

George (Wrenchbender), does your partner have this particular brake drum with studs?

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The "Southern Stovebolts" are gathering on May 30th and I won't be able to go if I don't get this problem resolved!

Got a press! A hydraulic version would work best.

David, the ends of those studs don't look like you have gotten REAL Mad at them yet. Get REAL MAD :mad: and give it a try

heat them up with a torch, then get mad!

Actually, I would try to cool the studs with dry ice to get them to contract (or heat the drum to expand it, but that's a lot of heat). Put a lug nut on before pounding them.

Read the newspaper first, that will get you real mad!

Get a piece of pipe or a long socket with a hole just larger then the head of the stud. Put that in back of the stud & set it on the bench. Have a helper hold the drum or prop it up with blocks. Get a heavy metal bar, an old shaft or something & put it on the stud & like the guys say, get mad at it. Don.t try to pound them out resting on the drum. It only soaks up the shock & can distort the drum. Going back nwith the new ones just reverse it supporting the face with a socket. Put a little grease on the new studs to help. That looks like a good drum. I dont see any reason you cant just replace the suds. If nessesary I believe we can come up with a replacement. I wonder if its the same as a 48 back car. John has several of those.

I found that blows with a large heavy hammer worked for me. I know that it is tough because you don't want to do damage and you don't have any indication of progress until it works.

Large hammer, or better yet, an air hammer. As far as reinstalling them, there's 2 ways to go about doing it. 1 would be to drive them in from the backside, supporting the hub from the oposite side as Wrenchbender suggests for removing them. The other method is pulling them in with a nut. I would advise not using the lug nut for this, as that methos can be rough on the nut itself, making no good for holding the wheel on. Use an extra nut with the same thread, plus a few washers for a thrust surface. Lube with some wheel bearing grease and crank it in. Don't force it, go easy so as not to distort the threads.

OK folks, I'm now in my fourth day of trying to extract the threaded studs out of a 63 year old front brake drum to "NO" avail. I've tryed two machine shops with no success, have beaten on those studs with the back side of a splitting maul and fearing that 'yours truly" would ruin a priceless part from the past.

So, this morning I took the brake drum to a local repair shop that had a 4 ton hydraulic press that supposedly could press those stubborn studs out. In the late afternoon I learned that they had failed at their attempt. They were very concerned of exerting too much pressure and destroying the brake drum, so I told them to "STOP". If they ruin the drum I have nothing. The metal in the knurled area of the stud which was pressed into the wheel mounting plate must be totally bonded to one another after all these years. So, I have two choices. First, find another front brake drum for a '46. So far that looks like a total dream. The second is to "drill out" the studs somehow and remove those stubborn lugs and replace them with new ones. Easy task drilling out hardened studs eh? What a mess!!

This whole event is driving me crazy!! I've got a truck that is totally out of commission and worthless just because of some simple task that I did not perform! Like tighten the lug nuts you numb skull!! Grrrr!! :mad:

I'm sorry, but I just had to vent!! I'm at a lose about what to do.

Lucille,

Have you tried Wrenchbender's method. The only way to remove the studs is to have a solid support under the hub. If you are trying to press or hammer them out without a support you will brake something. I broke a hub on my 54 doing it without a support. The hubs are cast iron. Mine had a small casting flaw inside where the flange broke.

I made a support with 3 short pieces of 3/4 pipe welded to a piece of steel plate. The pipes were spaced to support 3 lugs at the same time. The top ends of the pipes need to be trimmed to clear the tin shield. The good solid support you can hammer away without braking anything.

You will also need the support to install the new studs.

I'd cut and grind the thread end to the face of the drum and beat them out with a punch,

David, you CAN drill them out just make sure you have a good drill bit. Drill small hole, then a bigger one. Once you get close to the right size then punch them out.

OR...take it to a WELDING shop. Let them heat the stud area up red hot and you will be surprised how much easier they will be to come out.

I feel you pain though as I am having to drill some broken studs out of a 283 exhaust headers.

Cut the stud off flush with the outer drum surface with a cutoff wheel in a die grinder, then center punch it and drill it out. Start with about a 1/4" hole and step-drill up about 1/8" at a time until you're close to the diameter of the part going through the hub. Don't drill all the way through; leave a blind hole so you can insert a big pin punch to drive the weakened stud out once it's drilled. It might be necessary to do a little chamfering where the stud passes through the drum with a considerably larger drill bit to remove any swaging that might have been done when the studs were installed.
Jerry

I would take a torch and heat just the stud until it is red hot. Then beat on it.

A 4 ton press is not very big. Try a 20 ton press.

That would be my best bet. Maybe even grind both sides if you can. The heat from grinding them off can usually be warm enough to expand and contract the metal.

Ive seen several instances where folks have welded studs onto drums, or even welded the studs onto the wheel itself. Dont ask me why, it sure seems stupid to me. Might be worth closer inspection to see if that has been done.

Jeff

John is going to the salvage lot Saturday & can get a drum. I still think you can replace those studs with all these good suggestions.

Let this be a lesson!! DON'T EVER FORGET TO TIGHTEN THOSE LUG NUTS!!!

OK folks, I've made it through the effort of removing the damaged threaded studs on my front brake drum. And you know what? I'm going to tell you how I did it!

After multiple times of trying to hydraulically press these studs out, I came to the conclusion that "yours truly" was going to have to drill them out!

First, I went down to my local home improvement store and purchased several sizes of titanium drill bits up to 1/2 inch. I came home and the first operation was to cut the threaded end of the stud sticking out from the drum off with a hack saw. Then I center punched the cut stud. After setting up a support jig on my little drill press to hold the brake drum, I proceeded to step drill through holes through what was remaining of the old stud. I did that several times until my half inch drill made the last pass. Then I took the drum, flipped it over on the bench and with a chisel whacked the head off the old stud from the inside of the drum. The stud wall was so thin that the head popped off with a couple of blows. It was then easy to remove what was left of the knurled area of the old stud.

REPEAT SIX TIMES!!

Then I installed the new studs by using one of the tips previously mentioned on this thread, by using a flat washer and nut to pull the new stud in tight. That worked, however, I might have to take it to someone who has a hydraulic press to finish totally setting the new studs to their proper depth. That is needed because the stud backing plate on the inside of the drum is still too loose.

Stud removed from brake drum

Removed stud

Tools used to remove worn stud

New studs in place

I have learned a valuable lesson and hope that all of you out there go and check those "LUG NUTS"!!

BTW, can anyone post the proper torque for lug nuts?

45-60 ft/lbs

Folks, we are back on the road again!!!

I came up with a way to draw down those studs nice and tight!!

The wheel is back on and torqued to 55 pounds!!

I went back and double checked the other tires and we're good to go!!

Hey Alvin!! I'll be at the "Southern Stovebolts Reunion"!!! Yay!!

Man, what an ordeal....