VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Rear brake drum removal 1930

I am replacing the front brake shoes on my car and now am trying to remove the rear brake drums. After reading some of the posts I realize I should have started with the rear brakes so I could drive the car and try to loosen them by swerving from side to side after loosening the axle nuts. I tried jacking up one side and pushing on it but that did not work. I also tried to use a light duty puller by hooking underneath the lug nuts and that did not work either. I guess I need to rent or purchase a heavy duty wheel puller. Could you tell me what brand of wheel puller would work? There are some listed on ebay right now but non of them seem to be correct. My 1930 repair manual shows a picture of a good heavy duty one. Nothing I have seen is that sturdy!

Why don't you just finish work on the fronts, then loosen the axle nuts on the rears, and take her for a spin?

As to the puller question, I don't really know. Have a look on one of the big tool manufacturers websites maybe?

All the Best,

Chip

The usual tool among Ford people is a large nut completely protecting the axle threads. That and a large hammer does the trick perfectly. I've never seen that method suggested here for Chevrolets even though the tapered shaft with key is the same set up. Any reason why not?

I tried all of the above methods on my 30 model, none worked.I finally rented a heavy duty three prong puller that hooked to the wheel studs at the local rental shop, it worked. I have since seen the same type pullers at swap meets, price runs $80.00 to $100.00

i have tried to remove the rear hubs on my 31 with this puller. no luck so far. maybe the drive with the loose nut will work.

http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h355/joe15747/puller.jpg

hope this picture link works. i still don't know how to post a picture. :-(

i says blue point on puller and it is heavy duty.

i even tried a little heat with a propane torch.

Back the nut off to the end of the thread. Tighten the screw on the puller as tight as you can. Hit the end of the screw with a heavy hammer and the drum will probably pop loose.

Were'd you obtain that puller if i may ask. I need one for my drums. I pulled ours the hard way becouse like you, no other way worked. All i had were scrap peices of steel tied together while using a pully puller. Not the best way but it was all we had. Put pressure on the puller and hit the center nut with sledge a few times and POP!! the drum came loose.

purchased the puller at coolspring PA hit and miss antique engine show from a tool vendor. i think i paid $50.00.

i did try hitting it with a hammer. no luck. maybe i am not aggressive enough. when the weather is better i will try the trip around the parking lot routine. if that fails i guess i'll get a bigger hammer.

Coolsprings eh. Thats a place i havnt the privlage of visiting yet. I do go to Portland In. every time the ocasion however. Are you fimiliar with Portland?

My drums were on so tight that I stripped the threads on a 3 jaw puller. My dad was an engineer and he designed a puller for me. I built it and it works fantastic. Soak everything with pennetrating oil, before you start, just good practice.

Directions for a cage puller.

1. 2 sheets of 1/4 inch plate steel. 8" X 8"
2. 1 sheet is cut with a hole in the center for the axel hub and lug nut pattern. I brought this to a machine shop with my cardboard hole pattern and they cut it out for me for a few bucks. The wheel stud holes are cut to match the pattern of the car exactly
3. Find a 6 ton hydraulic bottle jack. 4 ton is too small.
4 Mount the 1/4 plate steel to the wheel that has the holes in it.
5.Back the axel nut so it is flush with the end of the axel shaft.
6.Place the bottle jack on the end of the nut and take a measurement to see how long you need to make the cage.
Then remove the plate from the wheel and begin to fabricate your cage.
7. Weld angle 1 inch iron to the top and botton plates of 1/4 plate steel to make a sturdy cage with 4 corner posts.
8. weld angle iron along the perimiter edges of the 4 sides of both top and botton plates this prevents bowing and bending.
9. Weld 3 angle iron strips on the outside bottom of the flat plate without the holes, this reinforces the back plate where the jack is pressing against.
10. Place the cage back on the wheel. Install the lug nuts firmly to hold the cage onto the car.
11. place the 6 ton bottle jack inside the cage resting the bottom of the jack flat to the inside bottom of the 1/4 plate steel while pumping it by hand until the piston of the jack is centered against the nut of the axel.
12. Rotate the jack so you can place the handle into position and to make sure it is sitting center and square.
13. Insert handle and start pumping on the jack until it is as hard as you can get it. Basically the jack wont pump anymore and you can hear the stress on the steel cage so make it very sturdy. Let it sit under pressure because chances are it wont just fall off. You can litterly hear the steel strain under 6 tons of stress. Almost scary.
14. Take a ball pein hammer and tap, (not BANG) around the outside of the drum. This will set up some resonance and the drum will pop off with a BANG so don't be allarmed when it happens. (It almost sounds like a gunshot). The cage will not fall on the floor because the whole thing only moves just enough to pop the drum and relieve the stress. Then you pull out the jack and remove the lug nuts.
15. This cage works better than any 3 or 4 jaw chucks invented
because it places direct force linear to the axel without any chances of pulling or bending a flange or drum like I did using the jaw type pullers.
If you can understand my directions, you will have the best axel puller in town.
Hope this works out for you. If you or a friend can weld the whole thing costed me about $15.00 to make including the machine shop labor.
Good luck because this if the only type of puller that will remove those drums without damage. I have been there, done that and learned from my mistakes.
You will be very pleased with the results.

Hi Chevy1778,

I would like to invite you to join the VCCA. I feel sure you will receive additional value by having access to more information on this forum. When you become a member your entry would make an excellent technical article for the club's Generator and Distributer the monthly publication.

Great suggestion for your cage puller.

A picture is worth a thousand words!

In the Chevrolet repair manual for my 29 series AC on page 72 "To Remove Rear Wheel" there is a CAUTION note "Do not hit end of shaft with hammer to loosen as this may damage axle shaft or break pinion shaft."

Thats why you put the nut back on about half way. And these are not heavy blows at that. Just enough to send resonance through the hub.

I leave the tire on and hit the back of the tire with a heavy mallet. The tire provides enough leverage.

How do you insert a picture?

Go to the top of the forum and click on "FAQ & Help" on the righ-hand side of the page. When the next page comes up, scroll down and click on "How do I add an image to my message?"

Here is a link to an article I wrote for our Region's news letter about how I had to fight to get my brake drum removed. Thought you might like to see that your not the only one having trouble.

http://members.doubleknot.com/vccapsr/June2005TCpages/p10.pdf

I use a hub puller that uses three wheel studs and a slide hammer. Seems to work fairly well, have not ran into one I couldn't get off yet.

Hello, another easy way to get the drums off in case it is possible to drive with the car.
Just open the big center nut, open it just a bit, maybe 2 or 3 turns so you can get the end of a screw driver between hub and nut.
Sorry, I forgot the word for it, (spline?) put a nail or anything else into the hole to prevent the opened nut from opening more and getting lost. Same what you do after a repair when having tightened that nut. Hope you did understand.
But sorry, sometimes I run out of words when typing english.
OK, after doing that, just drive a bit and shake the car left right, left right with steering (just slalom). Or drive a circle where it is space for. usually after a short time the drum comes loose and you can hear a "knock" when it touches the opened nut.
After that proceed you have just to stop, jack the rear end up, loose the nuts by hand and take off the drum. It did work out all the time I did need it.

When I bought a loose axle without car from a junkyard I had no chance to drive, having just the axle without car.
So I had to try it with the puller. Did work too. Tighten the puller to give pressure and bang with a hammer in the center area of the drum, close to the shaft and soon it will pop out. If not a bit heat may help. Did get all drums off without damage of anything. Of course you have to control your hands and how hard you work with the hammer. But dont worry. These old buckets of bolts can take a lot.

Regards
Stefangermany

Hey ShadeTree,

Would you be willing to rent your wheel pulling cage?

This invention is the most robust custom method I've read of.

I find it helpful to have a good reliable regular mechanic/shop who does all your work on your regular cars. Usually they have specialized tools (like a puller kit)that they will lend you for a couple hours, at least mine did. When they know your working on an old car they don't seem to mind as they realize your not stealing their work. I've also used their heavy duty vise on occasion, and a couple of other specialized tools. Sometimes pays to be a loyal customer.

Photos of hub remover that Chevy1778 used. See the instructions in an earlier posting.

Hint: Place a bottle jack horizontally in the middle of the "cage" with the end pressed against the axle nut. Then jack it to force the "cage" to move OUT and it pulls the hub off.