40 ply brake drum rivets?

[40P10touring sedan]

I pulled the flat tire off of the car and find something interesting, the drum is loose on the hub, only one of the rivets holding the drum to the hub is snug. Can I drill out the rivets so the brake drum is easily removable? Can it be that easy...no tapered axle puller needed?!

This could make up for the fact that no-one is open today{yeah, a sunday} to fix the flat.

[Robert Horne]

I ground and knocked out the rivets on my 38 years ago. Even with an industrial puller, the drum would not come off without damage to the drum.

[Rusty O'Toole]

Maybe the last guy cut off the rivets so he could remove the drum without pulling the hub. If he did, then yes it is that easy.

[40P10touring sedan]

Maybe the last guy cut off the rivets so he could remove the drum without pulling the hub. If he did' date=' then yes it is that easy.[/quote']

Actually, they're still there, just 3 of the 4 are loose..might get roughly 1/8" of drum movement. The lug...bolts...weren't all that tight either when I removed them...maybe someone didn't check them too often{PO}....?

Fricken sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...no puller!

...shouldn't those be solid rivets? It looks to me that those are for rolling with the hole in them and the ends are flat like someone hit them with a rod to peen them. I make rivets for a living and from what I've seen and been told applications like this require a solid rivet....however...this could be fine for the practice eons ago if they are that old. Thoughts?.......

Edited May 14, 2012 by 40P10touring sedan
thought hit me...

[Jerry Roberts]

[quote=40P10touring sedan ... <snip >....

...shouldn't those be solid rivets? It looks to me that those are for rolling with the hole in them and the ends are flat like someone hit them with a rod to peen them. I make rivets for a living and from what I've seen and been told applications like this require a solid rivet....however...this could be fine for the practice eons ago if they are that old. Thoughts?.......

Perhaps someone drilled a hole in each of those rivets as the rivet heads were removed .

[Rusty O'Toole]

The original rivets were common soft steel, round head, peened over on the inside. Yours look like they were drilled then chiseled off.

If you can move the drum 1/8 away from the hub then probably all that is holding it is the brake shoes. Old worn drums get a ridge on the inside that catches the shoes. Back off the brake adjustment and the drum should come off.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Rusty O'Toole

[40P10touring sedan]

The original rivets were common soft steel' date=' round head, peened over on the inside. Yours look like they were drilled then chiseled off.

If you can move the drum 1/8 away from the hub then probably all that is holding it is the brake shoes. Old worn drums get a ridge on the inside that catches the shoes. Back off the brake adjustment and the drum should come off.[/quote']

Just how big would the heads have been?...{oem}... .500, .650?...curious.

Sadly I haven't gotten back to this, trying to find a truck again to go pick up my 265...

[Rusty O'Toole]

Approximately twice the diameter of the shank. So far as I know they were standard rivets. If it is important I could go out to the garage and measure them.