Removing rusted on brake drums?

"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich) 06/04/2015 at 12:43 • Filed to: None

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In the very near future, I’ll be changing brake drums on my wife’s Cavalier, and possibly my Civic. On both cars, they seem pretty well rusted on. The drums on the Civic have two small bolt holes where a person can insert a pair of bolts and use that to push it off the hub, but the Cavalier doesn’t seem to have anything like that. Anyone have any tips/hints on how to get them off?

bob and john > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 12:46

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crow bar.

doesnt work? bigger crow bar.

STILL doesnt work?! replace car. its just a cav at the end of the day.

505Turbeaux > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 12:46

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smack the drum face on opposing ends with a BFHammer and it should pop off the hub easy enough

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 12:47

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No, really.

TheHondaBro > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 12:47

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WD-40.

crowmolly > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 12:47

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Can you adjust the shoes all the way in first? After that I’d say a block of wood and a BFH.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 12:48

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Blow torch to heat it up and a hammer to knock it off.

Party-vi > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 12:50

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Dead blow hammer. Smack the drum on the sides back and forth. When you put the new drums on, make sure you coat the mating surface of the hub with WD-40 or some other lubricant to prevent the drum from sticking in the future, but spray onto a paper towel first as you don’t want WD-40 on your pads.

Also, have you adjusted the old pads back in? If the drum needs replaced it probably has a ridge around the inside and the brake shoes are pushed past this ridge, which contributes to holding the drum in place. Make sure you back the brake shoes back before you take the drum off.

JGrabowMSt > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 12:51

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Did you use the adjustment screw inside the drum to make the pads move in to clear the drum?

CalzoneGolem > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 12:52

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This is what I tell everyone about drum brakes: “Pay someone else to do it.”

64Mali > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 13:13

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I had to use a 20lb sledge to get drums off a junkyard rear end once. Just hit them with a hammer to break the rust.

settsu > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 13:17

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Step 1. Apply PB Blaster liberally.
Step 2. Pour yourself a beer and enjoy leisurely.
Step 3. Take a dead blow hammer the back of the drum.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > CalzoneGolem 06/04/2015 at 13:27

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Funny you mention that. I did the brakes on my wife’s Corolla a few weeks back. I looked at her front pads (pretty much at their end of life), put new ones on and took it for a spin. Car stops fine. I left the drums where they were. Eventually I’ll have to tackle them, maybe. But since front discs do the majority of stopping in disc/drum setups, I’m really in no rush to do it.

CalzoneGolem > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 06/04/2015 at 13:29

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I hate working on drum brakes.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > bob and john 06/04/2015 at 14:13

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Problem is, the back plate that covers the rear of the drum isn’t all that thick - it’ll likely bend it back before popping the drum off.

Like everyone mentioned on here, I’ll try giving it a few more good whacks with a hammer to see what I can do.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > 505Turbeaux 06/04/2015 at 14:14

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BF hammer?

505Turbeaux > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 14:26

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Big Fucking

BaconSandwich is tasty. > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 06/04/2015 at 14:30

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I’ve got a 3 lb hammer. I guess I’ll have to try hitting it harder next time.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > CalzoneGolem 06/04/2015 at 14:31

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Oh, I know. Last time I did my own, they were a nightmare. I told myself I’d never buy another car with drum brakes. Technically, I didn’t buy the Cavalier - I married the owner.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > CalzoneGolem 06/04/2015 at 14:31

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I don’t think there is anyone who actually likes working on them.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Party-vi 06/04/2015 at 14:34

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Good call. I hadn’t thought about backing the shoes off. I’ll have to be sure and do that. Also, I’d think some sort of anti-seize compound might work better in the long run. Not that I hope we still have the car next time its brakes are due...

BaconSandwich is tasty. > 505Turbeaux 06/04/2015 at 14:35

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Ah.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > crowmolly 06/04/2015 at 14:35

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I’ll be sure to do that when I take a crack at it.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > JGrabowMSt 06/04/2015 at 14:35

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Good call. I hadn’t tried that yet.

Party-vi > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 14:42

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Yes an antiseize type applicant would work fine.

CalzoneGolem > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 14:43

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I’m sure there are some people that will tolerate working on them.

CalzoneGolem > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 14:43

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Gotta take the good with bad.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BaconSandwich is tasty. 06/04/2015 at 14:49

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The correct weight entirely depends on application and angle of swing. Something heavy, you often have to hit with a heavy hammer because otherwise too much energy is absorbed - not enough momentum transfer. Something lighter that can move, it’s less about overcoming momentum... capacity I guess (mass), and more about maximum shock. Something like a brake drum, it often makes more sense to use a mid-weight ball peen and not something any heavier - a sledge is counterproductive. The impact velocity is higher, so the max instantaneous force of the impulse can be higher - the impulse period is shorter, so it has to be. This isn’t hard and fast, though, if the workpiece has spring to it - feel for whether you’re transferring all your energy and graduate up sizes if needed. As long as you can get it shaken loose from the hub, you’re most of the way there: the brake shoes usually grab somewhat, but typically have enough slack in their mounting to allow the drum to not be pinned to the hub, and once you’ve shocked it off the hub, you’re only fighting one thing. The others are also correct that sometimes you can back off the shoes to help out...

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > CalzoneGolem 06/04/2015 at 15:31

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YO

CalzoneGolem > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 06/04/2015 at 15:36

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Freak!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > CalzoneGolem 06/04/2015 at 15:47

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E-brakes, which make drum brakes more complicated, often make rear disc setups comparatively much worse. I’d rather work with a straightforward setup like on an MG than setups with a baby-drum + disc or a pawl/screw piston disc e-brake. That shit ain’t right.