Removal of rear brake drum on a 49

raidmagic

Hey guys, I'm trying to get the rear drums off my car so I can remove the e brake cables and remove the rear end. Do I need a puller and if so what kind? Any tips or tricks? Thanks

Park_W

You definitely need a heavy-duty puller.  Check with one of the parts stores for a loaner, or Google for one to buy.  Most cars through the fifties required such a puller, so there are quite a few out there.

 There was a trick in the old days that sometimes worked:  Loosen the nut for about 1/16" of space for the washer to wiggle in, replace the cotter pin to keep the nut from turning, then drive it around the block.

raidmagic

Yeah, driving it isn't an option. I'm putting a new driveline in it. I'll pick up a puller. Thanks a ton.

lostmind

A long chain bolted to the drum in two or three places might work if the drum has been removed not

to long ago. Wear a pair of gloves and leave slack in the chain and whip it up and down.

Leave the nut on the axle , so the drum doesn't fly off.

slim chance, they are usually stuck pretty good. But it has worked a few times.

scottcrow22

I agree with doc. I bought mine from NAPA and it works great!

Frankvintagefullflowcom

True, but Doc meant to leave the axle nut on loosely.
I strongly suggest NOT using the "loosen nut/drive around the block" procedure. It probably wouldn't work anyway, but if it did it would damage the keyways in the hub and axle.....both critical to a proper/reliable fit upon reassembly.
AND....don't beat on the axle end with a BFH. Doing so risks damaging or even shattering of the thrust button on the axle inboard end.

Lee ODell

Squirt penetrating oil on axles and keyways after loosening axle nut. Muscle Man Atlas must have tighten the axle nuts decades before I bought my Hornet. It took two days pounding on the dog bone trying to get the right brake drum off. The next morning when went out to hammer some more the drum had popped loose overnight. In the meantime I had squirted the right axle. The right drum came off much easier.

I would recommend letting the axle and keyway soak at least overnight or longer to help make removal easier.

That reminds me, my 47 PU was last registered in the 1970's. Time to start soaking those rear axles to check rear brakes and replace wheel cylinders.

Lee O'Dell

Frankvintagefullflowcom

I'm sure "lug nut" was simply a figure of speech. After all, head bolts aren't technically head bolts......they're head capscrews.

lostmind

The one thing I noticed here , if you comment or recommend a procedure , you open yourself up

to correction. Some people can't accept that there is more than one way to do something ,

or that an item can be referred to by another name , but the meaning is evident.

Kind of restricts the help someone might get.

 

Geoff

 The term "lug nut" actually goes back to the vintage era, when most cars had split rims, with lugs clamping them to the  wheel felloe.   Wheel bolt or nut  is the correct term.   Same goes for "Dimmer switch".  In the vintage era most cars had a resistor circuit for dimming the single filament  bulb.   From the mid twenties on all cars had twin filament bulbs which "Dipped" the beam, not dimmed it.  But people still call it a dimmer switch.  Human nature!

raidmagic

OK new plan. No one around here offers a puller for rent. I'm not buying one for a one time use. What do I have to do to get the e brake cables out of the frame? On one side they are in a bracket that won't fit through the hole in the frame.I figure this way I can remove the rear end and cables at the same time.

[Deleted User]

Here's what I did: I bought a 2X4 piece of wood as wide as the drum.  Since my 3-jaw puller wasn't wide enough... I drilled a hole in the center of the board and placed the Y shaped metal piece behind it. The bolt from the 3-jaw puller goes thru the hole. 

THen I cut a notch on each end of the board and drilled a hole thru the 2 pieces that remained on the board.  A nice bolt going thru the hole is what holds your two "puller" pieces.  Attach the 2x4 to the drum, place your two pullers on the backside of the drum,  and tighten the bolt.  Since the Y piece is on the underside (nearest the wheel), when you tighten it... it will push the board (and the 2 puller pieces) away from the hub.  This worked great one one side.  For the other side, I used C-clamps to hold thick sheet metal on the inside and outside of the 2x4.  This seemed to prevent the board from splitting.  Unfortunately,  it wasn't strong enough to remove the drum.  So I'm in "a pickle" just like you.

Hope you can make sense of my description!

Jon B

If you're in a local car club like the AACA, you might contact one or two of your fellow members and ask if they know any fellow hobbyists with brake drum pullers.  They'd probably loan you one.

Uncle Josh

If you buy a puller, you can rent it out to other people who need one...which is everybody at one time or another.

A lot of these have the shoes stuck to the drum. To make things easier (or even possible) remove the large nut holding the anchor pin in the back and on top. Everything will come off together and you can deal with the frozen adjustment and stuck shoes on the bench.

Jon B

Also, Josh, can't one back off the shoes using the adjusting screw on the backing plate?

Browniepetersen

I took the easy way out. I hate doing brakes with a passion and since I was redoing the full brake system I took it to my local shop. Few days and it was done. New brake shoes, turned drums, new wheel cylinders, new master and all new lines. System was adjusted and ready to go. Like I said--after all these years, I do not do brakes anymore. I like the rest of the work, just not brakes.

raidmagic

A wonderful member here loaned me a remover. It is all taken care of now and the rear axle is on the shop floor. thanks.

Uncle Josh

Yes Jon, if the adjuster will turn. Some of these hulks that have set around the Adirondacks for years are rusted so bad they won't turn.