Hi. I have a 1962 F350 dually. It has been sitting for awhile now.

To get it ready for putting it back on the road, among other things, I just replaced the master brake cylinder. However when I filled the new master cylinder with fluid and then pushed on the brake pedal a few times to see what would happen, well, brake fluid is now seen dripping out in significant quantities from the inside of the right rear drum as the result. So at a minimum I have a need to replace the rear brake cylinder seals, it would seem.

Using a stout bottle jack from dirt level (I don't have a lift) I took the wheels off and then tried to figure out how to get that drum off.

I see that there are eight 11/16th nuts with lock-washers at the end of the axle stub that seem to somehow hold the drum assembly on (?). I also see that there are cone-shaped retainers under those nuts. In looking at the entire rear drum assembly, I can't seem to be able to tell if the whole drum assembly from the axle stub tip-inwards to the drum itself is one single piece, or if there is a place where things are supposed to separate.

So I have been unable to figure this out, how to take my truck's dually brake drum off so that I can service its brakes.

Is there anybody out there who can give me some pointers about this, please? Any information about how to best do this would be very much appreciated, as I have no experience at all with dually axles and drums, much less Kennedy-era Ford ones.

Thanks ahead of time.

Regards, Casey in Phoenix (1962 Ford F350 Class C Motorhome)

 

I have since made a little bit of progress in figuring this out.

I removed those eight 11/16th nuts at the end of the axle stub, and then I was able to get those cone-shaped keepers out. After that, with a bit of persuasion, I got the axle stub to separate from the drum assembly. I gave it a pull and the entire axle came loose, and so I removed it.

After that though I couldn't figure out what to do next. Underneath of where the axle stub was I found a huge bearing assembly, which is apparently lubricated with oil from the differential.

I pulled and heaved on the drum after I took the axle stub out, but there was no looseness felt in the drum at all.

I didn't attempt any further disassembly at that point, but instead put the axle back where it came from, and then I bolted everything back the way I had found it.

So, with that said, is there anybody who can give me some advice about where I should go from here in getting this dually drum pulled so that I can service the brakes? Thanks for any help.

Casey

 

I did some google word searches on dually axles and drum removal in general. And I came across a discussion about the particulars of removing rear drums from GMC duallys.

It seems that there are two types of dually axles, full-floating axles, and semi-floating axles. Because my axle has those eight bolts with the cone-shaped keepers, my 1962 F350 apparently has floating axles.

Apparently to pull the drum off of a floating-axle I first have to do what I already did, which was to remove those nuts, remove the cone-shaped keepers, and then pull the axle stub.

After that what I learned on google is that to get the drums to come off I should remove those above-mentioned bearings. And after I've removed those bearings, provided I don't need to back off the brake adjustment at the adjustors, the drum should then "slide right off".

Does this sound correct?

I also read on google that once I'm ready to reassemble everything that I should apply a bit of grease to the bearings because it will some time for the oil from the differential to find its way to them again (which means that the very last thing I should probably do after everything else is done is to make sure to top of the differential oil)

Casey

 

Cant help you with the drum removal but I can help with the brake cylinder.

Dont bother with the seals, you will just end up doing it again.

A new cylinder is about $25. Make sure you get the proper side and they come in 2wd and 4wd applications.

 

this is my f250 4wd 64'

i think most fords are like this
note 3 holes between studs
remove the 3 screws counter sunk into drum
some times need heat to loosen drum

 

Thanks, Shadowrider and Schoo, for the advice.

I do get your drift, shadowrider, on the risks of putting kits in wheel cylinders instead of just buying new ones.

If anybody else out there might have any further wisdom to pass to me about how to pull a dually rear drum from a '62 F350, or to verify what I already shared in the above as being accurate or otherwise, I would definitely appreciate the help. I'll be trying to fix it again on Saturday.

 

Is the shoe holding the drum on?

I had to use the adjuster and back off one of mine before the drum would pop off.

 

I haven't gotten far enough along with this task yet to know if the shoes are going to need to be backed off, because I haven't removed the bearing set I think first needs removing to find out. If I do need to back something off the drum though, I'm assuming there's a plug or something on the backing plate I'll need to pull off or otherwise open up in order to to get to the offending adjuster.

I don't think I'll be able to get to this until Saturday, because my dayjob is Monday through Friday, dawn to dusk, and because I'll need sunlight to see well enough to do this deed. I'll let you know how it turns out though, provided I don't embarass myself badly in the process.

 

There is a slot on the bottom of the backing plate. Shine a light in there and you will see the adjusting star.

Im guessing that is the problem.

You will need a set of brake tools if you dont have a set. It makes the job 100x easier.

 

It rained on Saturday. So I tackled it today. All in all it went well. Thanks for the suggestions...they definitely helped.

Best regards,

Casey