Any tips for getting the rear brake drums off my 39? The wheels turn freely and I took the two retaining bolts out but the drums won't budge. I did clean around the hubs, then sprayed penetrating oil anywhere I could and let it sit for several hours. Then I tried tapping around the drum with a 16oz hammer and when that didn't work I used a hand held sledge with no luck. So any help would be greatly appreciated.
Check out https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/home-made-tools-and-equipment.235784/page-126 Hamber 'Bobbytnm' made a simple but effective puller.
If its a Ford the hub,and axle are a taper fit with a key way which joins the two once its pulled,and its re-installed torque the axle nut correctly.Semi tight axle nuts are the reason keys shear,and key ways are wallowed out.
I am sorry Y'all. It is a Pontiac Series 28 sedan and was last tagged in 1969. Since I took this picture I wire brushed around the hub and sprayed more penetrating oil.
Get an acetylene torch and heat the flat area of the drum where it slips over that hockey- puck shaped protrusion on the axle shaft. Take your time, keep moving and after a while you'll hear the drum "crack" loose.
Stupid question but have you removed the brake lines from the cylinders? Sometimes the bleeders get plugged up enough to let the hub spin but not pop off. You can also try to run a hand vacuum on the cylinder to get it to retract if stuck slightly Sent from my XT1650 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
If the drums turn freely they aren’t stuck to the shoes, they are just as Junkman said, stuck on the axle spigot. A bit of warmth around that area of the drum itself along with some lube spray while levering around the out edge of the drum carefully will eventually break them free. While leveraging quietly get a third hand to knock the end of the axle itself(center of) and you should have a win, patience is your friend.
To add, if you get them to start moving but then springing back they will be hooking up on the brake shoes, you’ll have to wind your adjuster in to close them in a bit.
Sand,and polish the axle end so your not fighting rust once it moves.Just a idea...if you have a inspection cover on the center section you can remove it,and pull the axle keepers,and slide the axle/drum off the car.Once off the car you could try pressing it off.
I'm not positive but I think Pontiacs use bolt on axles and don't have C-clips, at least my 67 GTO is that way.
Air hammer with a blunt chisel . Walk it all over the part of the drum that is supported by the axle flange. Pay special attention to the 1/2" or so next to the center hole. The rat-a-tat works almost as well as heat to break the rust bond.
Like has been said. Remove the bleed nipple, back the adjuster right off., clean up the axle here the drum goes over, give the drum some tapping, bit of heat and a puller.
Had same problem recently with my 47 ford which has 9" rear from 50's . The drum fits tightly over that axle flange which centers the drum so it is a tight fit no doubt. Also the edge of the center hole on the drum itself is sorta flared outward which sorta bites so to speak o that axle flange as you pull outward. I battled one for about an hour. I took some sand paper ( forget what grit , somewhere around 180 I think) the kind that sticks to a pad . I stuck it to the end of a paint stick and cranked the car and put in gear and CAREFULLY, ( keep fingers away from rotating studs) sanded the axle flange . I would stop and check after a couple moments of rotation, because you don't wont to risk cutting that axle flange down. Finally with the help of blaster type penetrating oil,, the drum began to slide off . I also tapped and pulled evenly on back edge of drum .
The drum turns freely, that means the shoes are NOT holding the drum, IF the shoes were holding the drum it would at least move in and out just a bit, but it doesn't sound like that either, what happens is the drum is hung up on the axle stub as as been pointed out, using a puller doesn't work well as the only spots to grab the drum are the outside of it so when pulling all you would eb doing is trying to pull the outside edge of the drum over the axle stub, that won't work either, as had been said warm the area of the drum next to the stub hopefullly it will expand just a bit and ease over the stub, I doubt it is rusted on most likely the flange of the drum is biting on the axle stub stopping it from moving, the drum is designed to ride on the axle stub to keep it centered for the brake shoes as there isn't a way to hold the drum in place for that,as you can see there is room around the wheels studs so that won't work to keep it centered.
Just take a hammer and smack the face of the drum on the outer side in a few places, works 80% of the time.
Another way to make this happen is to drill out or break off the brake pad retainer pins from the back. The pads will pull off with the drum Sent from my XT1650 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Two of them are threaded and had drum retaining bolts in them. The third one is not threaded and I don't know what it is for.
Thanks for all the replies. The drums broke loose today and came right off after backing the shoes off a little.I found out that they were only seized to the hub. there was a very thin gasket between the drum and axle flange. I was also able to free up the parking brake cables. The one on the passenger side freed up quickly but the drivers side gave me a fit! I finally got it freed, put the drums and wheels back on for the time being and now I can move the car around the yard and not need a stump to stop me. I also got the original radiator back from the shop but the news wasn't the best. The major leak was fixed but there are several pinhole leaks. It will hold for now but I will have to get a new one if I ever get the car on the road. Again, thanks for all the help.
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