Brake drum hell. Stuck.

[TheRealDavid]

So my passenger side front brake drum is on there like Excalibur. Left one came off with a bit of hammering, not too bad.
Heat, gear jaw puller, hammer time and plenty of it.
It does look to be the original drum, its still has the red paint and long sound dampening spring that goes around the drum.
I've been combing through the forum and seems like some of the bolts are swedged? somebody did this to get them out

Stuck front brake drum

Lol. That’s why I posted the pics of mine. :) I saw that, but I was assuming that was a rear one! lol

www.forbbodiesonly.com

For now it seems I need to remove the entire assembly
Does anyone have some super cool trick?
Thank you in advance. Will add some pictures from my phone.

 

[dadsbee]

I assume that you backed the adjuster star wheel off...

Front wheel? It comes off in one piece, take the spindle nut off please and lose the hammer.

Drivers side probably came off because someone switched it to right hand thread lugs and didn't re-swage the lugs.

 

[khryslerkid]

What vehicle are we working on???

More than likely the studs are swedged. You have to use the appropriate hole saw or drill them out from the back. Search "swedged brake drums"

Not sure who's video you posted but you'll notice after pressing, the brake drum was ruined.

 

[TheRealDavid]

yeah adjuster is off, the drums spins freely.
I'll look into removing the spindle nut or a hole saw.
I got some bad advice and hammered the outside of the drum which bent it and slightly cracked so that one is toast which sucks cause it's original don't know if it still had some life left in it.

 

[TheRealDavid]

This guy gets it pretty much.



Metal will need to be cut.
There is a special hole saw meant for this, $75. I only found one available on ebay.
Swedge Swadge Swage seem to be common spelling for this. Adding these spellings here for anyone looking for answers in the future.
I'll continue to update.

 

[moparwacko]

Be careful pressing through the hubs with the swedges still on, bad things will happen. You will most likely damage the hub, and or the drum. If you are successful pressing them through, you will probably need oversize wheel studs, or end up tack welding them in.
Reference pics:
64 D100
First pic shows the swedges still there.
2nd pic shows them cut,
Note metal shavings where swedges have been cut off. This was done with a drill press and 1/2 inch hole cutter (Home Depot) THEN press them through with support on the bottom.
It not all that hard.
In this instance there are no new hubs/drums to be had, so being careful was important.

 

[MoparLeo]

Download a free Factory Service Manual and look it up in the brake section.
Click-> MyMopar

 

[dvw]

Swedges are easy to cut. Get an 11/16" hole saw. Remove the center drill bit. The stud will guide the hole saw. Only need to cut about .060" deep. Cut around all five studs and the drum will come off without damaging the hub,
Doug

 

[s/w theo]

If you're trying to remove the drum from the car itself, not the hub from the drum, which has been addressed here in detail, just remove the hub nut & outer bearing then, go around to the back of the backing plate & cut off/ grind down the little pin heads that hold the brake shoes in place. You'll obviously have to buy new pins but, they should come in the new brake spring kits you buy. The complete brake assembly should pull right off with no damage to the drum or hub. Works for me.

 

[TheRealDavid]

@khryslerkid It's a 1967 Plymouth Belvedere I

I'm 30 minutes outside of Fresno, CA

So I ran out of time. I have to have this done by tomorrow. Going to be out of the country for 2 months.
Yesterday I called a mechanic guy that my family recommended, mistake.
He also tried hammering and heat, didn't work. He didn't listen to anything about the studs being swedged, I insisted, he didn't give a f***.
The guy took the drum off with the spindle attached.
Placed the whole thing on the ground and began hammering the piss out of the spindle, he did place a metal slab on top of the spindle to, I guess, prevent some damage. This got the drum loose.
So he left off and I kept working on it.

Test drove, now I'm pretty sure my bearing is screwed or something. Any slight turn to the left makes a horrible metal sound as the weight of the car shifts to the front passenger, I drove a few blocks and stopped and the spindle felt hot, the other side felt normal.

Also the grease cap won't slide in anymore, I'm assuming it's from the spindle getting hammered.

Y'all think I have a chance of fixing this in the morning? I can drive another car into town. My flight leaves late at night.

I may have call a tow truck to tow the car into my storage unit.

I have new front brakes on an undriveable car, sigh.

Thanks for the advice all, my time crunch made me seek "professional help" and I should have just towed the car and drilled the damn swedges out myself 2 months later.

 

[Cop car wagon]

10" or 11"? I guess it doesn't matter till you get back.
Everyone thinks old cars are simple or easy and they are.
But not if you are young, or didn't work on them way back when.

 

[dvw]

For normal service the drum shouldn't be removed from the hub. If it was, it should be replaced. Especially if the swedges were not cut. It's now more than likely bent. The studs should be replaced as well.
Doug