Seriously...these things are the worst.

Big hammer? Failed.

MMO? Failed.

Heat? Failed.

Drag Link on breaker bar? Failed.

7/16 Cobalt bit? No idea man..I've drilled a solid 3/4" deep and there is zero movement on this drum. I measured the 1/2-13 screw to make sure the drill bit is properly sized and it sure seems to be. I've read through the other threads on this topic and I'm just a little lost on what the issue could be.

Guidance anyone? I don't want to drill too deep and end up making holes where holes should not be made.

Alex

 

I feel for you. I would soak them with MOOVIT. I hear that is among the best stuff to get things loose. I never worked on a big truck like yours but my F-3 has smaller screws to hold the drums on. I bought a 1/2 in drive large flat blade bit to use with my impact wrench as one of my tools. On one of my front drums I had no problem getting the screws out as I had it apart long ago and it is always garaged. The drum was so tight to the hub that I had to use a seven foot long angle iron propped up against the edge of the drum and hit it with a sledge hammer from the other side of the truck. It flew off when it let go. I took a little off of the drum circle with a dremel tool before I put it back on.
I don't know what you plan to use for wheels but if you do use the original 2 part wheels, you have to know what you are doing. Here is St. Louis recently a volunteer at the Museum of Transportation lost his life when one blew apart. These are called widow maker wheels. Not sure if that is what you have. I have the two piece wheels on my F-3 truck and have changed my own tires but I have studied the wheels using the Ford truck manual and taken precautions. Wishing you the best. Patrick

 

I'm passed the soaking stage. I've already drilled 3/4" into each screw so the flathead face is definitely gone.

I already have new 19.5's all around.

 

Maybe try a 17/32 or 9/16 the depth of/thickness of the head of screw?
Greg

 

At this stage I would be using a left hand drill bitt.

 

Just because you have drilled the head from the screw doesn't mean the drum is ready to jump off the hub and land on your foot. Have you completely backed the brake shoes away from the drum (de-adjusted?) If I'm picturing this correctly, once the screw head is no longer a contributing factor you may need a five pound sledge hammer to assist your efforts in breaking the drum loose from the hub. Even on relatively new vehicles the drum will latch onto the hub so tight it needs more than a couple love taps to remove it. More extreme cases, even on not-so-old drums, will require enough persuasion that the drum will be ruined (cracked) from further service. As a matter of fact, my helper just cracked one Friday afternoon (large fire truck), removing it from a front hub. It had just finished its second set of shoes and wasn't even secured by a screw (just the wheel and lug nuts.)

 

Those screws are for the initial factory assembly, and aren't needed or justified thereafter. The drums are hub piloted, and nothing is going to hold them on tighter than the 450 ft lbs torque of the lug nuts (yup, that's what the book calls for).

 

Try an impact screwdriver:

 

Tried, it just shredded the head of the screw.

 

When I was taking off my door hinges, I had all the screws out except one. It was tough, started squealing then broke off. I welded a nut on it and it came right out. Try the welded nut trick if you have enough of a shoulder to weld to, put wax and Pb blaster on it while it’s still red. Be ready to put out any fires you start!

JB

 

We've all been there mate. It might be hard to know when your screw is defeated and you can start whacking it with a BFH. Ideally what you need is a magnetic drill stand because doing a job like that in place is going to be very difficult. I don't imagine you will be able to get one but if you can... A left handed drill bit as suggested will also help. And to help your drill from wandering you likely need a drill bush which you could tack weld in place. You might have to write the drum off though. Good luck.

 

Ok, still driving me insane here.

Here's where I'm at.
1) I drilled out the three screws on the front, all the way through, and then back out all three. Screws gone.
2) The 4 big bolts on the back are off.

I cannot get these to budge. I took the scissor jack from my car and put it between the frame and the lip of the shoe until it locked up the jack and wouldn't go any further.
I've beat on that lip with a hammer. I've beat the front of the drum with a mallet. I've coated the hub/shoe seam with so many layers of MMO.

Nothing. How big of a god damn hammer do I have to hit these with? I had the 3' sledgehammer in hand before I realized I'm just frustrated and walked away...

 

If the drums are stuck on the hubs that tight, I would pull hubs and drums in one unit. You will need to pull the hubs to change the seals and pack the wheel bearings with grease anyways. There is no sense in taking a chance damaging the drums.
Mark

 

 

Did you remove the bearing retaining nuts 4252 and 4255 and the washer 1124 in the drawing below?

Mark