I need to free up the left rear brake on my 33 ford pickup. after trying to figure out what the catch is on getting off the drum I see that it has a keyway which seems to be preventing me from getting it off- obviously its purpose. Attached is a photo of the offending piece. I cant get pliers on it so I have run out of ideas. Not sure if a pulley would work as it appears to me that the key is to prevent the wheel from coming off thus making my problem more difficult. HELP! I will be checking this thread repeatedly for the next little while in hopes someone can help. Thanks in advance!
You need a hub puller. That is a tapered shaft and the key is there to prevent it from spinning. I bought a harmonic balancer puller at my local parts house and it pulls early ford drums with no problems. They sell actual pullers made just for the ford drums but they range in price, anywhere between 35-100 bucks.
The key way doesn't hold the hub on. It drives the hub under power. You can pull the hub and leave the key where it is. I had the same problem with my model A. Rust is your enemy, penetrating oil and heat are your friend. Use a puller and put as much pressure as you feel safe with. Then add heat until it pops off. DON'T stand in front of it! From your picture I'm not sure if you have the brake drum off. If not, make sure your brake shoes are backed off, and you can turn the drum by hand. If not, that is at least part of your problem
Steve, thanks. Yes the original problem was the brake is dragging. So bad that I cant turn the wheel by hand. I tried adjusting the square adjuster on the back plate but it wouldnt budge. I used PB oil on it and heat with no luck so I decided to see if I can use a puller to get the drum off. That didnt work either but I didnt apply heat while using the puller. Where should I heat it up at? Is there another way to lossen the brake adjuster when that is frozen? Will I do damage to anything if I use a larger puller even if the brakes cant be adjusted looser? Thanks fo rthe help!1
search krw tool on here and there is a great thread on its use http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=343596&highlight=krw+tool also on fordbarn http://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5397 I purchased this one worked great a bit pricey though http://www.mikes-afordable.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=T1114T&Category_Code=1073
The key is not your problem. Leave it where it is and pull the hub off. I clean everything up and put anti -seize on the axle before putting the hub back on to prevent the same problem down the road.. Remember that hub has been on there 70 plus years. It's going to be TIGHT.
Dont heat it, there is the possibility of damage. A puller is the only way, and a handy tool to have. Bought mine for $50 used. There is a sneaky way if your vehicle is drivable. Put the nut back on, but just finger tight. Drive around in a circle with the offending drum on the outside until you hear it go bang. This will usually loosen it off. If not, buy a puller! When replacing the drum, use a new keyway (cheap as chips from Macs) and lap the drum to the axle taper with valve lapping paste to get a nice, clean dull surface. The drum should be tightened to 200lbs/sq inch and then a tad more to line up the splitpin holes.
If it still has mechanical brakes, tap that brake rod backwards so you know it is free. If you can't turn that drum by hand, that is the first step in removing the hub. When you get to the heat, heat right above the key, and about 1 inch on either side. Under pressure, with heat, when it comes loose, the POP is going to scare hell out of you! I'm a retired Auto Shop teacher, and a machinest, so I'm not just blowing smoke on your a__. You can call if you like, and I'll try to talk you through it. Steve 530-926-2922
Steve it does have mechanical brakes still! I didnt think about tapping it back to get them to loosen a bit. Will try that and the puller with heat and see if that works. Thanks much!
Don't fool around with a puny little harmonic balancer puller to use after you free up the rotation. Ask around where you live, there's almost always a retired old fart like me nearby to at least offer suggestions from on site. Most are eager to help with at least advice and possibly may have the puller. The correct pullers are big, heavy massively built, and can exert an enormous amount of force on that axle/hub connection. There are two types, one is the common spider type of puller, just massive. The other locks into the groove that is circling most of those old Ford hubs, and is then locked into the groove from the outside with a slide on collar. This operation does often involve heat long, high torquing capability, wrenches and heavy hammers. You really need to get someone familiar with the job present for the first time, as it's easy to et hurt or "Fuck up more than you can fix"! Dave`
My puny little harmonic balancer puller works just fine for me. Pulled about 10 drums so far with it and no problems. I was just offering something that he could go and buy today to get it off.
Here is a possibility. If this truck has set for a number of years, especially with the e-brake set, the shoes could very well be adhered to the drum. I've seen this numerous times. When you finally get the drum off, there will be chunks of brake lining glued solid to the drum. The safest puller will be one that attaches to the lug nuts and the lead screw centers on the axle. A puller that hooks on the outside of the drum can break the drum if nothing wants to let go. I'll walk out back and check my '39 truck. You might be able to remove the 4 backing plate bolts and pull the whole drum/hub/backing plate as a unit. Then you can set it on a bench in the shop, or soak the whole unit in diesel for a few days. Getting the shoes backed off and a little judicious use of heat and a puller should do the job for you.
I'm not sure if the big truck brakes are much different to pickup/passenger style ones, but folks generally advise against pulling the hub off by the lugs. The safest way, as others have said, is with a proper hub puller that grips on the groove. The mechanical brake adjusters are a sort of squared taper that is turned in to wedge the brake shoes against the drum. They tend to go loose-tight-loose as you tighten them through each flat on the wedge - if yours have gone tight you may just have got it stuck on the point between two flats.
Well in the first place that is not a PU even if it does have a PU style box. It is a 1.5 ton rated big truck BB series.
Okay I got me a 7 ton puller and I am still not able to get this thing off. I used over 600 degree heat I even bent the flange a bit and still no luck. See Pic please. This thing didnt even budge. I am beginning to wonder if I screw up this drum if I can even find another drum to replace it. Anybody know where I might find a brake drum for a 33 ford 1,5 ton truck?
Thats not a puller, no more than a butter knife is a cutting tool. You need a puller with a much bigger load rating and a bigger threaded shaft. It will take several hundred pounds of force to seperate the hub from the axle. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=286434 << try that.
Did I mention that the drum turns? It just doesnt turn freely or as freely as it should. As I tighten the puller up it is so tight that I am turning the wheel and i wont tighten more with out putting the brake on which obvioulsy wouldnt help me get it off.
Wow, now thats a puller! You live near me? I could rent it from you I bent the flange on mine a bit you think that the drum can be repaired by bending it back? See where the fingers of the puller are grabbing and it bowed a bit which means my wheel wont sit flat when its bolted on
uhh, stick a pry bar thru the lugs from teh side, make it long enough that it hits the ground and the drum will not spin.
Couple of points. The brakes need to wound completely off. The slightest amount of contact with the shoes will make the drum almost impossible to get off. If the shoes are stuck to the drum they will pull away from the backing making a wedge as the drum tries to come off. The wedge gets tighter and tighter and nothing will get the drum off. You said the reason your trying to pull the drum is because the brake was binding. That may be your clue. Even with adjuster backed off the shoes may still be stuck. Does the wheel spin freely when you back the brakes off? Secondly. Your dealing with truck components here. The general advice you've been given is for passnger car and pickup. It may be the same method to remove but then again it might not? Ford Barn is your friend.
Yeah good thinkin, I will give that a try. I just thought that the thing was so tight that something has to give...hopefully yhe drum. I go try now BRB and thanks!
YUp something gave alright. The puller! broke one of the fingers. Okay I can see I am gonna have to come up with a special puller and get the welder cranked up. Anyone know if I can buy a drum for this vehicle anywhere?
cool,,, get to say something rather grade schoolish,, here goes!! I TOLD YA SO!!! LOL, sorry couldnt resist....
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