The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 55.1 1 ton brake drum removal

I was unable to get the drums off my truck. There are 2 flat head screw I am sure that need to come out, however they will not move. I figure I can drill, tap, and heli-coil them. But these are rather large flush mounted screws. Any one know where I can get them? I would also imagine the rim SHOULD be able to hold the drums in place. Are these screws actually needed? The book I have gives no special instructions for brake drum removal.

Lee, this is not an uncommon problem. The shoes can fuse to the drums when they sit for extended periods. The shoes fail to retract and then they can get caught up inside the drum on the lip (which will be turned down when they are turned. Are your drums not budging (frozen drum), or are they coming a little but you can feel the shoe springs pulling them back (frozen shoes to drum)?

Since you have already removed the full floating axels, and tapped lightly all around the drum with a dead blow hammer to try to break any bond the shoes have on the drums, squirt some rust buster in the adjuster hole every day and use the straw that comes with it (or the carb cleaner cans) and be patient. It likely either the adjuster is not retracting or the shoes are fused to the drums. A drum puller will need a block or plate over the axel hole to pull against, but will help get this job going some. Those drums are wicked hard (Bostonese) to find so be careful to preserve them in tact as you get more and more frustrated with them not coming off. I've found that using a liquid wrench over a week or so eventually will free them up for removal but patience is a virtue.

Those flatheads do not have to come out to remove the drums as far as I remember, but I could be wrong. I am better with GMC than Chevy :confused: but I think they are the same drum in this case.

If the screws serve the same purpose as on the 3/4 tons (I think they do) they hold the drums to the hub assembly and need to come out to remove the hubs from the drums but not to remove the drum/hub assembly from the axle. It takes a lot of perseverance to get them out and a really big screwdriver Seriously though, soak them in penetrating oil for a day and make sure you are using the right size screwdriver, even a slightly smaller one will just tear up the head (experience talking here). When all is said and done, the screws can be replaced at your local hardware store. Just bring in one of the old ones and match up the thread size. They will not be exactly the same, but they fit well.

I like to use heat on stuck screws and bolts. Heat screw until cherry red, let cool and often they spin right out by hand. Heat is also a great method of breaking the rust bond between the drum and the hub. Don't know if this will be a problem in your case. A few passes around the face of the drum and you can hear it pop loose. If, however you find the drum stuck to shoes I would follow OCK advice.

All good advice so far. No, the screws do not have to come out, but if the drums are stuck to the shoes removing the screws makes life easier. Heat, PB Blaster or Kroil, and an impact driver (uses a screw bit and gets hit with a hammer) all help. Iirc, for replacements you can use a flathead socket cap screw. When you reassemble, you will need to make a thin paper gasket to go between the drum and the hub. And putting the hub on the differential separate from the drum is far easier.

Be careful using heat on these parts,you can alter the temper of the metal and weaken it.Brakes are nothing to play with
Warm them a little with a torch,use an impact driver like Fred said