Hey, I can't get the rear passenger side brake drum off! I know the trick of backing the spring off (small hole on inside of assembly) to release the brake pads, but its not working. Anyone know what gives here?

Another C clip? :p
h*ll I dont know ,it should just come "right out".... :rolleyes:

You need some heat on it. A propane torch works good. Make sure you clean the hub really good. Most likely your drum is stuck to the axle.

if it isn't too tight you can put a screwdriver between the plate and the drum and tap it with a brass or metal hammer. the vibration and the force of the driver will cause the drum to move foward slowly. thats my solution. dont be too forcefull with it. after its off check the backing plate too make sure its straight.
good luck!

It just ain't ever easy with me, folks.

I'll try your suggestions in the morning.

PB blaster and a BFH again huh???
Man did you wrong someone in a prior life?

This is normal! Get used to using heat on these old parts. The heat expansion of metal is the mechanics friend.

John,

Also make sure your brake shoes are adjusted "in". Sometimes the drum develops a lip due to wear from the brake shoes and prevents the drum from coming off.

Remove the rubber plug on the lower part of the backing plate to gain access to the adjusting star. You will want to rotate the star using a downward motion with a flat screw driver or brake adjusting tool to go against the normal action of the adjusting lever.

Tom

Yes, make sure that you have the shoes back in as much as possible, and of course, they can seize to the hub.

Oh, and you're experaincing anything unusual. That's life as a grease monkey, and that's the reason why many people cannot work on their cars. Some people think that twisting bolts is a fairly mindless action, but the fact is that, often, it requires a fairly high skill level and experaince.

Working on it with a bfh can help solve the problem.

Folks, adjusted the "star" all the way in both directions but no luck on this.

By the way, the 68 manual has erroneous info: Description paragraph says to turn the star "up", meaning clockwise, but this is wrong. Ironically enough, the diagram itself shows turning the star "down", counterclockwise, which is the correct way.

Either way, I've bottomed it out and got alot of play but the drum won't pop. It now comes about 3/8 inch out but is stopped by the brake pads or a bad lip. This project is ALOT of fun!!

Finished the rear leaf-springs and shocks, at least that job is done.

Need more ideas friends!

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> By the way, the 68 manual has erroneous info: Description paragraph says to turn the star "up", meaning clockwise, but this is wrong. Ironically enough, the diagram itself shows turning the star "down", counterclockwise, which is the correct way </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">haha,
guess the pic is upside down.... :p

I remember when I was a kid that I had a 76 Firebird that had the same problem with it's drums. I recall tapping the drum back on with a rubber mallet and then pulling and wiggling the drum, it will take several trys, but each time you pull and wiggle, the drum should move a little more outward. Just remember on off on off.
I hope that works for you.

Jerry

And rotate a little at the same time.

Thanks all. Finally popped it off, though it took a small corner off one brake pad. What a pain!! Massaged this thing for two days and nights (while working the other projects) but finally got it off.

Bottom line is alot of patience got me through the entire leaf-spring, axle bearing, wheel stud job. (8 days of patience!!) Thanks for all the posts and advice.

One problem with the book is that on one side, the direction you turn the star is one way, and on the other side, it's the other direction--at least I think it's that way. One way to tell is that if it flaps away from the tang that is supposed work in conjunction with the adjuster, it's tightening, and if it flaps into the tang, it's loosening.

Often acting as the sfb that I am, I used bonded shoes rather than rivited. Come on folks, cut me a brake! I just wanted to get it done, it was my second stop in the parts hunt, so I took the bonded shoes. ALWAYS USE RIVITED SHOES.

THe problem I had with the back shoes was that even with the adjuster backed all the way closed, I had trouble getting the drums on. Well it's not that I had trouble getting the drums on. Yeah, I got'em on. The thing is that I really had to hoss them on, rather than the drums simply slipping on.

It wasn't a case of a ridge on the drums. All 4 drums are drums are virgin with only a handfull of miles on them. The brake failure was caused by letting the car sit. I'm assuming that the manafacturere figures that the drums are going to be enlarged by multiple turnings, so they made the shoes extra thick. And they are the correct shoes because the back shoes will fit a whole bunch of GM cars, almost like a GM distrbutor cap.

They were a little tighter than I normally use for the initial setting, but they were probally set good enough for the professional brakeman, not wanting to do multiple adjustments as the shoes seat.

I yanked them a while ago and the adjustmet is good enough for now. I also noticed that the shoes have barely seated, but I have only driven the car about 300 miles since I did the brakes.

If you have any questions about getting the shoes adjusted, I'll walk you though the process. Obviously, the drums have ridges. Have them turned or replace them if they don't mike out when they go to the shop.