Cant get my Brake Drums Off

[hlfishman]

I have a 1964 Plymouth Belvedere.With a 440 in it. We took off the single Master Cylinder
Installed a Dual Master with a Power Booster. Installed a Porportioning Valve .
We Have Little to No Brakes . We've replaced the Lines . Bleed them till we are Blue in the Face.
Still No brakes. We tried removing the rear drums to look at the actual Brakes. and see if they were installed correctly. But cant remove the Drums.
We Removed the Lug Nuts , took tire off and took out the Cotter Key. and took off the spindle nut.
The lug nuts are splined to the drum. So how do you take off the drum?
Weve hit it with a hammer from behind and it still wont come off.
Any IDEAS ???

 

[65-440]

can you spin the drum ? is parking brake cable tight ? ...

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Early b pressed on drums, get a puller and a hammer....or as done in the good ole days, put all back together but leave spindle nut loose BUT still on and take your car for a couple slow figure 8's...should break em free (do at own risk .

I see you said you bled them... but have you adjusted the brakes out till wheels stop spinning then backed them off just enough that you can spin them? Sounds like an adjment issue.

 

[Dodge 330]

Every guy I know with a pre-65 car with nutted axles has replaced the rearend with a later one!

Just servicing the brakes, as you found out, is a major PITA!

My neighbor bought a really clean '63 880 and tried to do a brake job.

I told him I had an E-body rear housing (same width/perch location) and backing plates and drums from a C-body that would be a bolt in swap.

After an entire day of using heat, a hammer, puller and almost breaking his hand he sheepishly came over and took me up on the E-body housing!

 

[kdtjb]

You could get Mongo to take em off for you.

 

[64BEL]

There is a special puller for tapered axles to get the drums off. It makes it much easier. When they break loose, it sounds like a gunshot. My original drums were junk from years of people removing them without the right tool. I have a different rearend in my car now, so I don't need that puller anymore. If anyone wants to buy it, PM me.

 

[wannadrag]

Had that type of hub on the front of one of my rods and the drum was just rivited to hub.I just drove the rivits out so no need to remove the hub.Are these early mopar rears made the same?

 

[64BEL]

The '65 cars were the first non-tapered axle cars of that era. With the proper puller, they aren't a big deal. Without it, they are a pain in the rear to deal with.

 

[kikgas01]

Dang. You should have brought that puller up here with ya!:sleepy2:

 

[64BEL]

Dang. You should have brought that puller up here with ya!:sleepy2:

Yeah, we could have worked a partial trade. Doh!:frustrated:

 

[64BEL]

This is the correct puller:
http://www.tooltopia.com/otc-tools-7394.aspx

 

[Dodge 330]

This is the correct puller:
http://www.tooltopia.com/otc-tools-7394.aspx

Jeez, $128.00 for the tool just to pull brake drums!?!?:icon_hang:

 

[HitIt]

Jeez, $128.00 for the tool just to pull brake drums!?!?:icon_hang:

It seems like a lot, but first off this tool is burly (I have one, it probably weighs 20+ pounds) and secondly you'd be hard pressed to get it off with anything else.

One tip I read that really works... Once you have this puller about as tight as it will go by striking the arms with a sledgehammer repeatedly, it will have a lot of tension on it. at that point strike the threaded rod's end forcing it straight inward at the axle. The shock of doing this will often let it break loose and pop off the axle spline.

***Also make sure you leave the big axle nut on loosely so the puller and attached drum don't come flying off at you.***

If you live in a bigger city with a good tool rental company, you might be able to rent it. Ask for a Hub Puller. Nowhere around here had one, but if you're trying to save some money it's worth a shot.

 

[64BEL]

It seems like a lot, but first off this tool is burly (I have one, it probably weighs 20+ pounds) and secondly you'd be hard pressed to get it off with anything else.

One tip I read that really works... Once you have this puller about as tight as it will go by striking the arms with a sledgehammer repeatedly, it will have a lot of tension on it. at that point strike the threaded rod's end forcing it straight inward at the axle. The shock of doing this will often let it break loose and pop off the axle spline.

***Also make sure you leave the big axle nut on loosely so the puller and attached drum don't come flying off at you.***

If you live in a bigger city with a good tool rental company, you might be able to rent it. Ask for a Hub Puller. Nowhere around here had one, but if you're trying to save some money it's worth a shot.

Once you use it for the first time, it's no sweat using it again. But as HitIt said - without it, you're in for a battle. And if you would try using it without the castle nut on the axle, you could get hurt - no kidding. I'd have to say it was worth the money - as expensive as it was - to have the proper tool.

 

[black64]

sears sells one that will work. cost 45 dollars. Some hub pullers you can rent from your auto parts store for front hubs will also work.

 

[b5rt]

Blue Point made one that was very nice, and heavy! One sold on ebay for 52 bucks plus ship a couple weeks ago. It had a large cup shaped piece over the tabs and worked very well. Great idea on tapping on the end once you've got tension on it!