Brake Drum Help
rwcrazy
03-22-2005, 09:41 PM
How did you get the rear drums off?
I have a 97 t&c that the rear drive side locked, but I cannot get the drum off? I sprayed pb blast on it and soaked it for 1 1/2 hrs, beat on it and cannot still get it off. Should I try heat? A small torch?
Thanks
Rwcrazy
I have a 97 t&c that the rear drive side locked, but I cannot get the drum off? I sprayed pb blast on it and soaked it for 1 1/2 hrs, beat on it and cannot still get it off. Should I try heat? A small torch?
Thanks
Rwcrazy
yoji6365
03-23-2005, 12:03 AM
A pulley puller might work if you can find one big enough.
I used a rubber mallet and hit it everywhere as hard as I could.
I used a rubber mallet and hit it everywhere as hard as I could.
chigger_ns
03-23-2005, 05:23 AM
yogi_123rd
03-23-2005, 11:33 AM
Basic sanity check: I assume you did remove the axle retaining nut.
Case1: If the wheel rotates, but does not come off, then the problem is simply that the brake shoes have worn a groove into the drum and the automatic adjustor has moved the shoes under that groove. The inside diameter of the drum is too small to fit over the shoes causing the problem. The solution is to back off the automatic adjustor screw to shrink the shoes back. The adjustor is a threaded spacer bar with a star wheel gear located between the two shoes. The actuator lifts up on the gear and causes the adjustor to expand and the shoes to spread wider. Remove a plug on the back side of the backing plate, insert a screwdriver, and lever the star wheel downward to loosen the adjustor and the shoes. It is easy to move the wheel tighter than looser. The adjustor system will try to resist backward movement to keep prevent the shoes from loosening. Once you remove the drum, you must remove that groove in the drum. It will be mostly rust. You can shatter it by striking it with a hammer all around or a grinder bit with a drill.
Case2: If the wheels don't rotate, then the car has been sitting for some time. Perhaps the E-brake was left on. The metal in the brakeshoes has bonded (rusted) to the drum. Short of a torch, or a lot of banging with a hammer, the other method of removing the drum is to punch out/cut the head off the two retaining pins that hold the shoes from the back of the backing plate. Everything will falls out then and you'll have to replace those parts.
Case1: If the wheel rotates, but does not come off, then the problem is simply that the brake shoes have worn a groove into the drum and the automatic adjustor has moved the shoes under that groove. The inside diameter of the drum is too small to fit over the shoes causing the problem. The solution is to back off the automatic adjustor screw to shrink the shoes back. The adjustor is a threaded spacer bar with a star wheel gear located between the two shoes. The actuator lifts up on the gear and causes the adjustor to expand and the shoes to spread wider. Remove a plug on the back side of the backing plate, insert a screwdriver, and lever the star wheel downward to loosen the adjustor and the shoes. It is easy to move the wheel tighter than looser. The adjustor system will try to resist backward movement to keep prevent the shoes from loosening. Once you remove the drum, you must remove that groove in the drum. It will be mostly rust. You can shatter it by striking it with a hammer all around or a grinder bit with a drill.
Case2: If the wheels don't rotate, then the car has been sitting for some time. Perhaps the E-brake was left on. The metal in the brakeshoes has bonded (rusted) to the drum. Short of a torch, or a lot of banging with a hammer, the other method of removing the drum is to punch out/cut the head off the two retaining pins that hold the shoes from the back of the backing plate. Everything will falls out then and you'll have to replace those parts.
chigger_ns
03-26-2005, 06:33 AM
yogi_123rd, has the best answer . I go dito with him.
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