thebeebe5 Posted May 30, 2015 Report Posted May 30, 2015 Up on the lift at the moment and I'm surprised at how many grease fittings there are… Today's plan is to pull the wheels and check all the brakes Front to back. Looks like the front hoses are fairly recent, but the rear hose is old and weeping fluid. Don't have the wheels off yet. Don't have the wheels off yet. It does look as if there are two tie rod ends that need to be replaced. Everything else is mostly tight. Everything else is mostly tight. I do have a question about these original leaf springs. I'm wondering why they are wrapped… And I'm afraid of what might be under the wrapping! Anything in particular I should be looking for while I'm under here? Unfortunately I forgot my real camera at home, so all I have is an iPhone for photos. But it will do… Quote
suntennis Posted May 30, 2015 Report Posted May 30, 2015 The covering on the springs is to keep them quiet and work well. Underneath the covering there is some lubricant. If the universal joints are the original type and have rubber on them you could check the rubber for cracks. You may have the original universal type and have leather covers which could also be checked. Nice looking ride. Quote
thebeebe5 Posted May 30, 2015 Author Report Posted May 30, 2015 Look like leather covers to me... At least on the front. Makeshift cloth cover on the back. Is this a replaceable boot? Quote
thebeebe5 Posted May 30, 2015 Author Report Posted May 30, 2015 Here's a question...: How do I remove the rear drums? 1 Quote
deathbound Posted May 30, 2015 Report Posted May 30, 2015 (edited) I had a feeling this question was coming when you said you were going to check the rear brakes.....heavy duty drum puller. Check Tech tab at the top, go to brakes, or search function. *EDIT:Tech link under "Resources", "Tech", then "Brakes" @top of the page. Edited May 31, 2015 by deathbound 1 Quote
TodFitch Posted May 30, 2015 Report Posted May 30, 2015 Look like leather covers to me... At least on the front. Makeshift cloth cover on the back. Is this a replaceable boot? You can get replacement leather boots from most of the old Mopar parts suppliers, places like Roberts or Bernbaum. I have a list of vendors at http://www.ply33.com/Parts/vendor and I believe there is also a list on this forum's site but I haven't looked in a while, maybe under resources. With a damaged boot, you may have gotten dirt into the universal or lost lubricant from it. I'd inspect that one for signs of wear (there should be no rotational free play to speak of). These things are basically primitive CV joints and just like a CV joint they can go a long time unless the boot gets damaged and not repaired in soon enough. Here's a question...: How do I remove the rear drums? As part of another repair, I describe how to remove the drum at http://www.ply33.com/Repair/axle_seal/ 3 Quote
casper50 Posted May 30, 2015 Report Posted May 30, 2015 (edited) get a really heavy duty puller and a large not medium hammer. It took a 5lb sledge to get one of mine off. Edited May 30, 2015 by casper50 Quote
belvedere666 Posted May 30, 2015 Report Posted May 30, 2015 did mine with a 5 pound hammer and the puller. i tried all kinds of other makeshift pullers and tried just about everything. just get the puller. it'll make life a whole lot easier. Quote
Andydodge Posted May 30, 2015 Report Posted May 30, 2015 This is the puller I bought when I first got my car in 1971........it hasn't met a mopar rear brake drum it didn't overpower.......the axle/drum is a tapered keyway affair and the centre nut holds them together, when you get your puller reinstall the nut to the same level as the end of the axle threads to protect them, bolt your puller back onto the drum, screw the large centre bolt or whatever it has hard up to the axle/nut and then a little more if possible then what I do with mine is give the centre of the large centre bolt a wack with a good sized hammer...........then you will find you can do up the centre nut again a little bit......another wack on the centre bolt and the drum will "pop" off the axle(don't stand right beside this as it can come off with a bit of a bang).......then just undo the drum from the puller and there you have it......that large centre nut on mine is about 2" in size so it will give you an idea on the size of puller you need.....big is best.....lol......andyd Quote
deathbound Posted May 31, 2015 Report Posted May 31, 2015 This is the puller I bought when I first got my car in 1971........it hasn't met a mopar rear brake drum it didn't overpower.......the axle/drum is a tapered keyway affair and the centre nut holds them together, when you get your puller reinstall the nut to the same level as the end of the axle threads to protect them, bolt your puller back onto the drum, screw the large centre bolt or whatever it has hard up to the axle/nut and then a little more if possible then what I do with mine is give the centre of the large centre bolt a wack with a good sized hammer...........then you will find you can do up the centre nut again a little bit......another wack on the centre bolt and the drum will "pop" off the axle(don't stand right beside this as it can come off with a bit of a bang).......then just undo the drum from the puller and there you have it......that large centre nut on mine is about 2" in size so it will give you an idea on the size of puller you need.....big is best.....lol......andyd I've read on here quite a few times NOT to hit the center of the puller, as it can do damage to the axle/bearings. Quote
soth122003 Posted May 31, 2015 Report Posted May 31, 2015 A little heat from a torch can help as well. Just don't over do it. When you put the drum back on, put a very fine layer of grease/anti-seize in the spindle. That way if you have to pull them at a later date, they come off a whole lot easier. Joe Quote
Andydodge Posted May 31, 2015 Report Posted May 31, 2015 That maybe correct however I have found that once the centre bolt is tight against the axle/nut face, one solid wack usually jolts the hub/drum away from the axle and I haven't found any buggered bearings afterwards..........not, I admit, that I went looking for them closely........anyway it removes the hub & drum............andyd 1 Quote
Robert Horne Posted May 31, 2015 Report Posted May 31, 2015 Here's a question...: How do I remove the rear drums? On my 38 Coupe, After trying everything I knew off, I ground off the drum rivets, and the drums came off easy. Glad I did, since I had to take off the drums many times to work on the brakes.... Quote
thebeebe5 Posted May 31, 2015 Author Report Posted May 31, 2015 I had a feeling this question was coming when you said you were going to check the rear brakes.....heavy duty drum puller. Check Tech tab at the top, go to brakes, or search function. *EDIT:Tech link under "Resources", "Tech", then "Brakes" @top of the page. You can get replacement leather boots from most of the old Mopar parts suppliers, places like Roberts or Bernbaum. I have a list of vendors at http://www.ply33.com/Parts/vendor and I believe there is also a list on this forum's site but I haven't looked in a while, maybe under resources. With a damaged boot, you may have gotten dirt into the universal or lost lubricant from it. I'd inspect that one for signs of wear (there should be no rotational free play to speak of). These things are basically primitive CV joints and just like a CV joint they can go a long time unless the boot gets damaged and not repaired in soon enough. As part of another repair, I describe how to remove the drum at http://www.ply33.com/Repair/axle_seal/ tf20101009-07.jpg I did refer to Tod's pages after asking the question and saw that I was probably fighting a losing battle. My whole point yesterday was to see what I would need, and then go back at a later date with all my parts and get it done. So, I'll be rebuilding all four wheel cylinders since the front were a little weepy and it would follow the rears could be as well. I need a rear brake hose. I need tie rod ends, grease seals, rear U-joint boot and a few other items. Outer bearings on the front looked new, but the inner seals looked really old so I'm betting someone took a shortcut and only replaced outers.... I'll get inner and outer bearings to have available in case I need to go that far. I tried to grease all the fittings I could find, but some were clogged and I'll look for replacements. Area they a standard size? I had asked in my initial post if anyone knew the max ID for the drums.... Anyone? I could not find a number printed/stamped anywhere on the front drums. Thanks for the help all! Never a dull moment with an old car... Quote
DJ194950 Posted May 31, 2015 Report Posted May 31, 2015 Have read on older brake drums (pre72 that have max. overbore size on drums) that the maximum allowable Wear was 0.060 which allowed the maximum after turning at 0.090. I also read that beyond a 0.20 oversize the shoes were shimmed under the brake material to closer match the new drum diameter. Who can now do this? Who has the closest shim dia. needed? The shoes where also ground to the correct arch on a specialized machine. I don't think these days that I would go past 0.60 after turning due to age and other considerations. Any signs of heat cracking will make the drum Junk. Others here have put snad paper between the drum and shoe and tightened the adjustments with the sandpaper glued to the drum and rotated the drums back and forth to get the desired arch established to match the over sized drums. A search of same should bring up older posts on the subject as there were many in the past year or so. Get her on the road regularly soon and enjoy! Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 1, 2015 Report Posted June 1, 2015 Have read on older brake drums (pre72 that have max. overbore size on drums) that the maximum allowable Wear was 0.060 which allowed the maximum after turning at 0.090. I also read that beyond a 0.20 oversize the shoes were shimmed under the brake material to closer match the new drum diameter. Who can now do this? Who has the closest shim dia. needed? The shoes where also ground to the correct arch on a specialized machine. I don't think these days that I would go past 0.60 after turning due to age and other considerations. Any signs of heat cracking will make the drum Junk. Others here have put snad paper between the drum and shoe and tightened the adjustments with the sandpaper glued to the drum and rotated the drums back and forth to get the desired arch established to match the over sized drums. A search of same should bring up older posts on the subject as there were many in the past year or so. Get her on the road regularly soon and enjoy! most reputable shops will not turn a drum past what is "considered/deemed/recommend/suggested" as safe.. even if the drums are not stamped most only have a allowance of x thousandths to be removed...most shops have this data in a book..most without data will not go beyond .060...and it really does not make a rats butt what they go on either..my buddy was refused turning of drums for a golf cart as they would have busted the tolerance listed....it all boils down to liability... Quote
thebeebe5 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Report Posted June 1, 2015 .most without data will not go beyond .060... I understand, but a starting diameter value must be known by someone. Somewhere. Quote
TodFitch Posted June 1, 2015 Report Posted June 1, 2015 I understand, but a starting diameter value must be known by someone. Somewhere. If they are 10" drums then it would be 10.000, for 11 inch drums it is 11.000. 1 Quote
greg g Posted June 1, 2015 Report Posted June 1, 2015 Try putting a little heat on the zerks that wouldn't take grease. I believe that there should be 21 to 23 grease fittings on the front end, depending on whether you have a fitting on the water pump,if you do boat trailer wheel bearings grease will work in the absence of water pump grease. There are two plugs on the outer ends of the rear axle. These are not meant to be force fed with a gun. Rather they are meant to have grease pressed in with pressure from your thumb or finger. Quote
janan5243 Posted June 1, 2015 Report Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) I've removed the zerk fittings from various vehicles $ equipment & used a small drill bit to clean the grease passage. Before reinstalling I shoot a little grease thru it to makes sure it's clear. As far as the rear drum removal, I know everybody cautions against using a hammer on the puller to avoid damaging the axle & bearings. I believe the puller was designed to be hit with a hammer. I suppose from some of the posts I've seen on the various forums, where the removal is very difficult, it would be possible to damage something. I'll be removing my rear drums shortly & hope I don't have a difficult time. I'm going to try my impact wrench on the puller first. Good luck. I stand corrected. It's been so long since I used a drum puller that I forgot about the wrench that comes with them that you can use a hammer on but your tightening the puller, not hitting against the axle. Edited June 1, 2015 by janan5243 Quote
thebeebe5 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Report Posted June 1, 2015 If they are 10" drums then it would be 10.000, for 11 inch drums it is 11.000.Perfect. Thank you Tod. Quote
thebeebe5 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Report Posted June 1, 2015 Try putting a little heat on the zerks that wouldn't take grease. I believe that there should be 21 to 23 grease fittings on the front end, depending on whether you have a fitting on the water pump,if you do boat trailer wheel bearings grease will work in the absence of water pump grease. There are two plugs on the outer ends of the rear axle. These are not meant to be force fed with a gun. Rather they are meant to have grease pressed in with pressure from your thumb or finger.I lost count at about 18.... Didn't think to look for one on the WP but I'll check this afternoon. Thanks for the heat idea. I'll give it a try. Quote
Don Coatney Posted June 1, 2015 Report Posted June 1, 2015 I think the actual count is more like 24 so you should continue counting. Quote
Young Ed Posted June 1, 2015 Report Posted June 1, 2015 I think the actual count is more like 24 so you should continue counting. If this car has the silent U spring hangers it should be about 35. All the shackles have them. 1 Quote
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