48 dodge rear brakes & hub

[Ed McDermott]

Hi

I am trying to refresh the rear brakes but cannot get the hub off.  I have watched many you tube videos on the subject.

Attached are two images for reference.  The hub will rotate and I have applied rust buster where I could.

I have tried a manual hub puller and a hydraulic (10 T one )  but he problem is that only two of the three claws attach.  the third does not fit.

I am inserting the claws as shown in the attached image.  Its seem that a three claw puller is not the correct tool to use.

Any suggestions, as i don't know what to try next?

Thanks in advance.

Ed

[Doug&Deb]

You need the proper puller. It attaches to 3 studs and has a center that inserts into the center of the axle shaft. It should have 2 hammer ends. Keep the axle nut on. Back it off a few threads to keep the drum from flying across the garage. Don’t ask how I know that. I’m at work so I can’t send a picture of the puller. Also make sure to bolt the puller onto the studs tightly. Don’t ask how I know that either. 

[knuckleharley]

Ahhh,the magical world of Mopar drums,where you will learn to speak many bad words.

[busycoupe]

At the top ofthe page is a header with several topics.  The pull down menu under"resources" has a listing for brakes. This section shows the proper puller and describes how to use  it.

[Los_Control]

They are not to bad with the correct tool. These old vehicles have a tapered axle. You need a decent Hub puller to get them off easy ... while there are other home made tricks.

Here is a photo of pulling my hub, I bought the puller off of ebay for about $80 and with shipping came to about $110 or so.

But I pulled each hub in just a few min ... one of those tools you just need when you have a old car to maintain.

 

 

[Andydodge]

Los shows the correct type of hub puller......get the biggest you can afford, hire or find..........the correct type BOLTS onto the hub using the cars bolts or nuts as in your case.........BTW this is the puller I bought 49 yrs ago when I got my 1940 Dodge........it has never met a tapered axle it didn't like..........lol...........regards from Oz............andyd

[Ed McDermott]

Thanks everyone for the information.  i now understand the difference between a claw type and a lug type hub puller and have a lug puller on order.

Ed

[Los_Control]

 When you do pull the hub, put axle nut back on and leave it loose. You will use a hammer to work the puller. I used a 3 pound sledge and did not swing it, just let the weight do the work tap  tap  tap.

When it does pop lose, it will have great force behind it.

The nut will prevent the drum from landing on the floor. When mine came loose in the photo above, the dog bone handle flew off and hit the side of my house.

If I was sitting on the tire in front of it, would have hit me in the ribs. I also suggest standing to the side 

 

When installing it, I asked for some advice here in forum. clean the taper on the axle, light film of grease, and the nut goes tight. Think the torque specs is 165 pounds .... or as tight as your impact gun will get it.

I could not find anything on torque specs in the manual and why I asked here. So wanted to pass that info to you.

 

[Andydodge]

And check the condition of the KEY, think its either 1/4 or 5/16th, they do sometimes wear and key material is cheap, get a piece, cut to length and replace, also a new tight fitting cotter pin is a good idea..........andyd  

[Loren]

I bought one of the eBay pullers so that I wouldn't have to borrow my friend's again.

Well, first it wouldn't fit. The 5 on 4 1/2 inch bolt pattern was too small for the puller, so I ground the offending part down.

Then after beating the thing silly, I got out the hot wrench and repeatedly heated and allowed the hub to cool.  At the arm end which fits on to the disc, I noticed it was stretching!

So I borrowed my friends old puller and within 5 minutes I had a very stubborn drum off and no broken parts.

I am thinking you can't buy a new puller with the heft that the old pullers had.

So... you might find one in a pawn shop or Craigslist or you might have a friend who will take pity on you and gift you his that he hasn't used in 40 years.

Well I keep hoping...

[knuckleharley]

Well,the key thing with ANY of these pullers and Mopar rear drums is patience. Generally speaking,you can NOT pull a stuck drum off a car that has been on there for decades by simply hooking up the puller and smacking on the tension arm,

 

It takes PATIENCE.

 

Bolt it on,tighten it up pretty damn tight,then smack all along the outside circumference of the drum with a hammer. Do not think "brute force". Think "vibrations". Do that a couple of times in a row,and if things seem to be progressing,do it some more. If,after tightening it up a time or two and then putting more pull on it by smacking the tension arm it doesn't seem to be loosening any more,take a break for a while and let the tension do it's work.

 

Check on it every few hours,and if it seems to be loosening,smack the outside and the face of the drum several more times with the hammer,tighten it up a bit ,and go take another break.

 

Remember,this is NOT a contest. Get frustrated and in a hurry,and you will be looking for  a new rear drum,and these things ain't cheap these days.

 

Repeat as necessary,and it will come off without breaking anything. If it takes two or three days,so what? The important thing is that you get it off,and you don't have to buy a new drum.

 

BTW,I did read where you borrowed a HD puller and pulled it off,but chances are that was more due to the work you had already done to the hub having already loosened it than the new puller.

 

"Heavy Duty Puller" generally means it will take abuse and last longer. Buy one,and it will last longer than you,even if you are a brake man in a commercial shop.

 

BTW,you DID adjust the brakes shoes away from the drum before you started,right? I can't remember at the moment if the Mopar brakes have the spring-loaded "floating" brake shoe locators on them or not,but my first move on a old one is to cut the heads off the pins  so the shoes are free to "float" once they start to loosen.

 

IF,as I THINK,the Mopars have the bolt sticking through the backing plate to adjust the shoes,take the nuts off and smack the bolts with a hammer so they  move. h

 

Been several years since I have done this,and am I am now eaten UP with CRS.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by knuckleharley

[John Reddie]

I was fortunate to buy a drum puller from a man who was retiring from his garage back in the '70's for $5.00. I have used it several times successfully but as knuckleharley said, many of these drums have been in place for a long time and require patience to remove. One that I removed would not give up so I squirted it liberally with penetrating oil, tightened the puller up as tight as I could and left it in place overnight. The next morning when I went to the car it had popped loose. As has been stated, be sure to leave the nut on loosely when attempting to remove the drum.  Good luck to you.

John R

[Go Fleiter]

Yes, and You can loosen the nut a bit and drive around the block.

I drove 2 years with loosened nut.

We made two holidays touring Europe, wrench and new cotter pin always on hand,

but the hub didn´t move.

So, the next winter as the brake job became urgent , I had heavy puller custom made.

With puller´s torque itself absorbed by a heavy bolt

and the spindle held by another support, I gave the spindle

a couple of good whacks every day.

As protection the nut was left on and blanket + wheel was put against neighbours Peugeot 504 Conv.

After a couple of weeks I bought a new drum, but it came without the hub

and was right hand threaded.

Then I got a left hand threaded with hub, used but perfect.

Well, and then we cut drum and hub.

 

These cone axles always can provide surpises...

Good Luck!

Go

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Go Fleiter

[Ed McDermott]

Thanks for all the advice.

Success with a big bang.  Persistence is the key.   Laid off for a week and worked on the gas tank.  returned to the wheel, put the puller on a wacks and a bang and it was off.  Best loud auto bang I have heard.  It is possible that the temperature in the garage is al lot colder and may have helped.

Ed