I can't get my front brake drums off. Am I just not prying and beating hard enough?

 

There are a couple of things you can do. 1. Manually adjust the shoes so they pull away from the drums; 2. Get a hammer and a piece of 2X4 and whack all around the circumference of the drum. Good luck.
jor

 

I heated mine and it helped...with a small propane torch I heated the drum in the area of the studs and rotated the drum...a few minutes of this and they came off easily....this is after an hour of pounding, prying and bit$hing.

 

I don't know about your truck, but my 70 F100 front drums come off as an assembly with the hub. In other words, pull the dust cap and remove the spindle nut. The hub is meant to be pressed off the drum. Yours may be different though...

 

That would explain why there is no wiggle or anything when I try to get it off.

 

I've found that the best way for me is to take 2 narrow screwdrivers, using one to hold the adjuster cam stop away from the cam, and turn the cam with the other. That will back the shoes away from the drum and make it a lot easier to pull it off. That is usually just part of the "sticking" prob. The drums will also be held tight by the center of the hub and the studs. I usually give them a squirt of rust breaker, and tap around them. Dont pry too hard on the drum, or it will get distorted, and out of round. If you are going to get them turned, that dont matter too much. Or you can buy a drum puller, and do it what is probably the best way. Dont forget to re-adjust shoes when you put the drums back on. I usually use the screwdriver (or adjuster tool) to do it after the tire is back on, spinning it to find out when the shoes are just starting to make contact with the drum.

 

If your drum is pressed onto your studs, there is no reasonable way to remove it except having it pressed off. Search this forum about wheels falling off when they are not pressed back on and read about how I reamed out my stud holes in the drum, most people would be better off having a machine shop do it. If you have aluminum wheels you might be better off keeping it as a pressed together assembly.

 

I have chrome wheels. I suppose changing front disc pads is a perfect opportunity to change bearings, also, huh? Well, one Saturday I'll take her on post and spend a day at the car shop. Thanks.

 

Rebo, I have done the same thing with the stud holes on the drum in the past. Have been running alum 10" rims for several yrs, and never had a prob. It doesnt take much of a "reaming" to keep them from sticking. I just used a drill bit, that was just a tiny bit larger than the hole. Also used a file on the larger center hole to enlarge it. BTW I also had a machine shop press in longer studs for used with alum rims. Didn't think the stock studs had enough thread to thread the chrome nut on. Parts store couldn't find long studs for my truck ('72 4 wheeler), but found studs of that size for a Bronco application that would fit.

 

hey when you go into the craft shop (automotive skills center whatever they call it on ft rucker) if you ask a few of the guys working there im sure one can show you how to cut the ridge off of the bottom on the stud did it on my truck when i rreplaced drums and have had no problems and the drums are not pressed on the factory slid the drums on and then folded the steel of the drum in toward the stud making whts called a swedge (just what i was told from about six different sources)

 

Frito, I think you're right about drums being pressed on the studs. I've never heard of that, and there is prob very few 30 yr old trucks still out there that have never had the drums removed at one time or another. I would guess that 90% of the time, it is just corrosion and rust that makes them hard to get off. One thing you dont want to do is lube those studs, some day when you least expect it, they will come loose. one thing I forgot to mention in last post, I always use brake grease on the backing plate contact points. (The spots on the plate that the shoes rub against.) Helps get rid of squeaks.Also use it on the shoe adjuster threads. Dont use regular grease, it will melt and contaminate the shoes. This grease is a water resistant, heavy based lube. A small can of it will last your lifetime. Some parts stores will not know what your talking about, if you ask for it. The stuff I have is made by Bendix.( Pep Boys)