brake drums
 

don't have a jack to lift both wheels. one wheel at a time for me...Can't get rear drum off. don't have sledge hammer or 4 wheeler

what do I do?????

You can try driving it straight forward and backward and jamming the brakes with the wheel nuts lose. It's not nice to alloy rims, but sometimes it works, especially if you have sprayed the drum to axle and wheelstud areas with penetrating oil. You would need to losen the nuts less than 1 turn, just enough to reduce the clamping force between the axle stub and the drum.

HTH

AlpineRAM

Disclaimer: This is a method that can be considered an "outback repair" and doing it this way is inherently risky.

well....fudge..........[tapdshut]............I'm gunna put the wheel back on and leave it to a "proffessional."[laugh] proffessional.....

thanks

What kinds of tools do you have at hand?
If you have no limited slip you can lift one wheel at a time and do the wheels off the ground trick, but you will need to block the other 3 wheels for good (risk of dropping the truck from the jack.) It usually does help to keep the wheel on just not tightened with the wheels off the ground to increase inertia.
If the drum has already moved a bit (the studs aren't centered in the holes) you can try it like this:
Lift wheel, losen all bolts about 2 turns, parking brake set and try to turn the wheel by hand. Sometimes this extra leverage does the trick.

If the drum moves out a tiny bit and then seems stuck you need to open the adjusters to make the shoes restract and get the drum to slide over.

HTH

AlpineRAM

I have basic hand tools...a few air tools. I don't think the rear is limited slip...I spin both tires when it's wet. Tried breaking it loose with the wheel...no go. Don't want to tear up wheels...Brakes are pretty worn. Bought the few months back. Not sure when they were changed last. I hate drum brakes...always have. They will last me a few more days until I can take it to a shop. Not driving it until the 2nd.

I'll let someone else break stuff...[dummy]...that way it gets fixed. The next time should be alot easier. I'll watch to see what they do. I'm not afraid to spend money when it's needed.

Thanks for the info...It's greatly appreciated. I'm done...it's getting hot out there too...LOL

Since you spin both wheels you have limited slip.

When you watch the guys do the brakes make them coat the mating surfaces between the drum and the axle with some never seize.

Good Luck!

AlpineRAM

anti sieze....check...makes sense. Again...I REALLY appreciate the help and info...

Did you try hitting the drum with a sledge hammer, all around the drum? When I took my drums off my truck a little while ago I just hit all around with a sledge hammer to break it loose, then slid the drum off.

Oops just re-read and you said you don't have a sledge hammer. Do you have a somewhat good size hammer that you could pound on it with?

i use heat,either from a propane torch or a oxy-acetylene torch , the propane takes a little longer..... heat the drum until it expands enough to remove it, don't worry about getting it too hot.
just think about how hot the drums get when you are stopping, and before you try to remove them, back off the self adjusters to get the shoes away from the drums....[coffee]

jack up one side and block the axle up with a jack stand, logs, 4x4's......then do the same to the other side. pull the wheels, reinstall a couple lugnuts. put the truck in gear and mash the brakes a few times. remove the loose drums. I would discourage the use of heat and hammers until you have tried this first.

I back High Country on this, except don't mash it, slam on the brakes. That really should jar the drum loose.
If you do not have lug nuts on it you may find that drum up the road a ways after you slam on the brakes, and cause brake system damage, so be sure to leave a couple of lug nuts on, but not tight.

Chris

why? may i ask ...... i have done hundreds of brakes with heat. i have even used hot water when i didn't have any other way to heat the drum.
some heat will prevent damage from a hammer.
you don't need to heat very much. i have been able to pull them off with my bare hands

Before you beat the heck out of the drum try turning the adjusting screw so the shoes move away from the drum. They can rust on the hubs/axles but the shoes can also wear so far into the drum that they will hold the drum on. So if you simply back the shoes out of the drums they may come off. If that doesn't work then try something else but make sure it's not the shoes before hammer time.

to start with I hope this does not sound offensive to anyone.

I would discourage the use of a torch by somone having trouble getting the truck on jackstands. if the drum is heated improperly warping is a serious possibility. I can't imagine having to explain the heating procedure when I can easily say "jack it up and hit the brakes".

l guess you're right, i keep thinking because i do it and had no problems, then anybody can do it. but then not every body is mechanically inclined