rear drum removal with problems

[Ed McDermott]

I have a 48 Dodge Custom., and I have previously (2 yrs ago) removed the rear drums with a puller to replace brake component

I need to remove the rear drum again and check for a leak.

The threads on the bolts are worn and one of them will pull off when cranking hard on the puller.

Is there a way tp get the drum off with this condition?  The drums are original and have apparently been treated rough in the past.

Thanks 

Ed

[desoto1939]

are you using a 3 arm puller or a 4 or 5 arm puller? If one of the threads are weak on one of the studs then move the arms so that the week threaded stud is not being used to pull the drum.

Also which drum is in question you also might have left hand threaded studs on the driver side of the car versus right handed threads on the passenger side of the car.

 

You could have the mechanic change to all right hand threaded studs on both drivers side drums.

Then go to a good mechanic and have him replace the band studs. This can be done.

 

Rich Hartung

[Tom Skinner]

Ed,

I know this sounds hackneyed but here goes:

In the old days us poor boys would loosen the Castle nut on the drum you want off and drive in a circle until you hear a loud pop.

Then your drum is loose and ready to open up. But I seem to like Rich's advise better now that I am older and have an old reliable Drum puller.

Life is about choices, your call. 

Good Luck!

Tom

[Ed McDermott]

I have a 3 arm puller.  The studs are left hand. I did move to other studs but similar results as all are in poor condition.

I have had this drum off before which was a tuff job.

 

[Sniper]

Studs?

 

I am confused, should they be bolts not studs?

[busycoupe]

Dodge has studs on the drums. Plymouth has bolts.

[desoto1939]

5 hours ago, Ed McDermott said:

I have a 48 Dodge Custom., and I have previously (2 yrs ago) removed the rear drums with a puller to replace brake component

I need to remove the rear drum again and check for a leak.

The threads on the bolts are worn and one of them will pull off when cranking hard on the puller.

Is there a way tp get the drum off with this condition?  The drums are original and have apparently been treated rough in the past.

Thanks 

Ed

ED: when you say the threads are worn and you state that one of them will pull off the stud when cranking on the puller. I would be real concerned right now becasue if they are that bad then how do you tighten down each lug nut to insure that the rim is on tight to the drum? If they are that bad then your first concern is to get new studs installed.

Since they are lefthand threads did someone try to take them off incorrectly at some point in time?

 

Rich Hartung

[Sniper]

59 minutes ago, busycoupe said:

Dodge has studs on the drums. Plymouth has bolts.

 

Why in the heck would Mopar do that?  lol  Seems like something Ford would do.

[Young Ed]

19 minutes ago, Sniper said:

 

Why in the heck would Mopar do that?  lol  Seems like something Ford would do.

Idk it's weird for sure and it's only a car. My trucks still have bolts. 

 

If I had this problem I'd weld nuts on after the puller is on and get the drum off. Then you could install new studs. 

[Ed McDermott]

The studs on the drum were bad when I first got the car.  Been working on it in the garage so only a little driving.

  I previously replaced the pas side rear drum, but had not got to this one yet.  Welding the bolts on a good idea but don't have a welder.

Ed

[Plymouthy Adams]

you can try to go down one size with the lug nuts by taking a die and running it on the studs....As both the 7/16 and 1/2 lugs share 20TPI....however you may have problem with 7/16 lug nuts locally but they are available online.....you will wish to upgrade your studs for certain.

[Veemoney]

Driving in a circle with the retaining nut loose would be the first and least damaging option as Tom suggested. 

 

I'm not sure what type 3 arm puller you have. Some set-up rigid while others can flex and not pull straight putting more load on 1 stud then the others. You said welding was not available so here are some other options that might help:

• Warm up the hub some.
• Get some mag wheel lug deep lug nuts, they will use more of the threaded studs available to hold on better.
• Call the local auto parts stores and see if any have a 5 lug puller. They usually lend them out if they have them. More studs you use the more you spread the load.

[soth122003]

Something else you can try with the puller is a constant pressure approach. If you keep cranking on the puller until the drum pops, this puts a lot of stain on the lugs threads. If instead you tighten the puller to about 30-40 ft lbs and wait about 10-15 minutes and tighten again, you'll find that the torque loosens as the drum starts to pull away from the axle. A couple of taps with a hammer will send vibrations thru the mating surfaces to help loosen the bond. You might also use a heat gun on the drum when the torque is tight to help it loosen as well. 

 

I did this on my car and the passenger drum came off after about 30 minutes, but the drivers side took about 4 hours and it let go with a loud bang that scared the begesus out of me and I was 30 feet away when it let go. Also to note make sure the castle nut is still on while doing this, otherwise the drum can fly with out wings and hurt someone. Once the drums are off and fixed, prior to reinstalling them, clean the mating surfaces with a scotch brite pad to remove the surface crud and then coat the mated surfaces with grease and then wipe off with a rag. This will fill the micro pores with grease and keep corrosion to a minimum and make removal next time an easier process. (hopefully)

As far as the grease goes, some will claim that the drum and axle are mated surfaces and not to apply grease. They are right, but after 70-80 years the surfaces no longer mate true IMHO, hence why I use a grease to keep corrosion down.

 

Joe Lee

[Ed McDermott]

Thanks to all for the ideas.  In the past.  When I first got the car, I successfully tried the slow tighten the wheel puller and wait method .  it took a very long time but worked.

I may reconsider the using the 7/16 die as I have one but it seemed to be  a tough cut  to complete.

The only other ting I have not tried is to loosen the axel nut and drive the car a little.  Sounds easy so will try.

Ed

 

[Sniper]

Last time I pulled the drums on my 51 the driver side came off fairly easy with the puller. The passenger side however I had to leave sit overnight with the puller on it. I would go out periodically in bang it a little tighter next morning I went out there started banging it again and it popped free finally. I had had both drums off in the recent past as well. That didn't seem to help

[desoto1939]

five lug rear brake drum puller with the sixth hole for the mounting pin that was used on the MoPar cars that use bolts instead of studs. I like this style because you get equaly amt of pulling on each std or mounting bolt versus the three arm puller that has more pulling on the arms that are close to each other.  Took me awhile to find this puller but was worth the wait to purchase one.

The 6th hole is the one at the top of the puller at 12 o-clock

 

Rich Hartung  desoto1939@aol.com

 

 

 

 

Here are pictures of the pullers taken from the Miller tool company that supplied tools to the Dealerships

 

Edited July 3 by desoto1939

[Veemoney]

6 hours ago, desoto1939 said:

Took me awhile to find this puller but was worth the wait to purchase one.

Rich shows the best style in my opinion for this application. I made one and it was easy enough to fab up. I have a few 3 jaw pullers but I could see the issues for this application and wanted a 5 hole +1 for the locator pin. I did not slot it for multiple applications like the one Rich shows. I can say I used this many times on some where others could not get to budge and never needed to let it sit under pressure for any length of time. I do use an impact gun if it doesn't come with a few turns of the wrench.

[andyd]

This is the puller that I have used for over 50 yrs on both my cars and others, it has never met a brake drum or hub that it didn't like........but I will admit that those 5 hole pullers like what Rich has and Veemoney made would certainly be the way to go if you could obtain/make one.....andyd 

[Los_Control]

I'm all for using the correct puller .... Is a must to have the right tool for the job. .... sadly think I spent $75 for mine.

 

Also the first time I took mine off of a truck that had been sitting for 20 years in a field. ..... The drivers side was a little rough to pull.

I remember I had so much pressure on it I was feeling uncomfortable with it.

So with a 3 pound sledge hammer I applied pressure then just walked away and sat and drank a beer .... get up and apply more pressure to it then walk away .... after 2 or 3 beers and repeating the process, I heard a loud POP.

The drum came free, the dog bone handle of the puller flew 3' in the air and hit the side of the house. ..... take the axle nut loose, be sure to leave the nut on or the drum will fly off also.

 

The passenger side came off with no fight. .... driver side took time. ..... apply pressure then walk away, come back and apply more .... let the pressure work for you and drink a beer  just do not get in a hurry.