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I had an issue once, truck was on a lift at a buddy's shop, drum would not come off. Buddy told me to hit it with a hammer, I did, made a lot of noise, but it stayed tight.
I could see that the hub hole where it's beveled out was a tight fit on the hub. Just a little surface rust and it was trying to dig in to the hub.
He came over, took the hammer, hit it twice, hard, drum was free. I had never had one do that before. I got the other side off the same way he did. Something about vibrations.
If pulled, the designed formed bevel at the hub will try to tighten it's grip on the hub.
This is the way!
I have hit a few hard enough they cracked but that’s probably 3 or 4 out of thousands.
Smacked them with a sledge until I started denting the drum. Time to get a puller
Don't know what to tell you except I never deformed one ... but if you've backed off the star wheels and opened the bleeders ... unless something is horribly screwed up in there ... the shoes aren't the culprit.
I never needed a sledge hammer, just a regular 18 or 24 ounce shop hammer. Whacking on each side of the face in alternating whacks ... on the face but like out near the outer drum part. It works for me.
That hole rim is raised to allow the drum to seat on the axle which has a rounded mating edge at the hub edge. A puller pulling at the outward edges of the drum will maybe cause the raised bevel to bite into the hub even tighter?
If the shoes are backed off(axle spins free) and they aren’t worn into the drums(you said new) the only thing holding it is the axle face, some lube(go easy you don’t need it all over your brake shoes)and a hammer should get it free. If you find a puller it’s just an extra hand, you’ll still need to break it free.
you said it spins free so I’ll rule it out but, when looking at the other side for reference remember it’s not a mirror. Clockwise and counter clockwise still apply to the adjuster. It’s easy to get mixed up down there.
I can turn the drum by hand, so I know the shoes aren't the culprit. putting a screwdriver/crow bar between the back lip of the drum and the backing plate shows some wiggle. I'll try alternating whacks, but have started denting the face of the drum. I hear you about the beveled lip biting into the hub, but not sure what else to do at this point besides trying a puller, which i'm having a tough time finding to rent. Called advanced auto, auto zone and napa w/o luck. going to check out harbor freight to see if they have anything.
Too much hammering (gorilla swings a 10 lb sledge) can break the drum and or you can bend the backing plate, if you go prying to much. And those backing plates can sometime be hard to find. EVEN pry pressure is the key and making sure nothing is caught/extended on the back side. And PB blaster the center hole. Any chance the shoes have worn a groove in the drum face and causing you release problems. I know a guy that had to cut the heads off the shoe retaining pin to get help one off one time. Double tipple check that the star adjustment wheel is retracted and all wheel cylinder pressure is off.
Too much hammering (gorilla swings a 10 lb sledge) can break the drum and or you can bend the backing plate, if you go prying to much. And those backing plates can sometime be hard to find. EVEN pry pressure is the key and making sure nothing is caught/extended on the back side. And PB blaster the center hole. Any chance the shoes have worn a groove in the drum face and causing you release problems. I know a guy that had to cut the heads off the shoe retaining pin to get help one off one time. Double tipple check that the star adjustment wheel is retracted and all wheel cylinder pressure is off.
as mentioned before, shoes and drums are brand new, so doubt there’s a groove. I can turn the drum by hand so I don’t think the shoes are engaged. I’ll run a wire wheel over the center hole and hit it with some lubricant.
just to close the loop, I was finally able to get the drum off.
I noticed that the drum would flex/wiggle a bit if I used a prybar towards the top, but was less moble at the bottom.
I ran a wire wheel around the opening for the hub and started turning the drum, slowly prying against the backing plate ,and it finally popped loose.
I think the central hole fo the drum was seized on the hub/axle and didn't release w/ sledge hits around the entire drum.
Once off, as suspected, I had knocked off the star wheel adjuster while trying to release the wheel. everything is buttoned back up and adjusted again.
On to the next frusttration....
Penetrating oil at the hub and vibration such as you can get from an air hammer working on pushing the drum off of whatever it is hung up on. The fact that you can rotate the hub by hand is important. That tells you that the problem is not from the shoes putting too much pressure on the drum. If the pads are new and the drum has been turned and is smooth (no ridges) the problem is probably at the junction of the drum and axle. If penetrating oil and tapping all round the back of the drum doesn't work you might try radically changing the temperature. CO2 fire extinguishers will make cold and various torches can make heat.
