how do u get the friggin drum off

[jgilbs]

got a blowtorch today, heated the drum and still didnt budge(i seriously think all that heat did more harm than good). i give up and im takin it to midas for one of their free brake "inspections" if they can get it off, great. if they break something in the process, at least its not my fault.

 

[jgilbs]

so i took it to midas and paid them their $10 to get the drum off in the hopes that i would be able to get it off easy when i got home. STILL wouldnt come off. so i went out and bought a brake spoon. was able to adjust the brake shoes (went the wrong way and drum wouldnt budge at all, went other way as far as i could, and drum shifted from side to side now) but i still cant pull the thing off! what the heck am i doing wrong?! i just took off the wheel, adjusted the brake shoes(retracted them) and tried to pull the drum off. is there some step that im missing?!

 

[general x]

what did the brake inspection say about your brakes??? Were there any super deep gaouges in the drum???

 

[jgilbs]

i didnt do the brake inspection, because its $20, and they waive that only if u get the work done with them (what a scam) so i just asked them to get the drum off for me(charged me $10). they said it was just a large amount of rust holding it on was the problem. but i still cant get the darn thing off. should i take it back there, make them do it again, and bring me the drum so that i could be sure they actually got it off (i looked on the axleshaft, and u could see where the old position was, so it looked like they did in fact move it) but i was in the waiting room and my view of my truck was blocked by another car. there shouldnt be deep grooves in the drum because i had the brakes replaced/new front rotors in feb of '03, and when i took my fronts off, there was still a large amount of pad left.

 

[Carl D.]

Just beat the dam thing from side to side, it'll come off, promise.

 

[jgilbs]

thanks carl. boy do i feel like an idiot. i started a 3 page thread and all i had to do was pound on that **** from the SIDE. **** FINALLY came off.

 

[glfredrick]

Glad you finally got it off... You seem to have more patience than I. By now, I would have broken out the torch and made a lot of little pieces...

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

thanks carl. boy do i feel like an idiot. i started a 3 page thread and all i had to do was pound on that **** from the SIDE. **** FINALLY came off.

Everything is a learning experiance. Next time you'll have the drums off in no time flat.

I'm tearing down the entire upper end of my V8 right now (rebuilt heads, new head gaskets), and when look back on some of the threads I started last year, the answers to my questions are quite obvious. I've learned a lot about working on the truck by getting greasy - and posting/starting threads. Sure, those old threads look pretty silly to me now, but when I posted them I sure needed the help!

 

[Rhett]

So true..a few years back it took me 2 hours to tear down a hub and bearing assembly and now I can do it in 25 minutes with no air tools. Some of you guys can probably do it even faster than that..

 

[410Fortune]

hahaha Oh man the good old days.
I remember the first clutch I did on my BII, about 6 years ago. Took me and a friend 3 days almost!

Before I converted to an auto I could do an entire clutch job, by myself, in about 5 hours TOTAL including clean up and bleeding
I remember when I did my radius arm bushings, took me all day! now it takes about 2 hours to do both sides working slow.
Wheel bearings, 30 mins MAX per side including cleaning the knuckle, caliper, and greasing everything
hahaha oh man. Learn by doing, its the best way...

You figure they put it together, its got to come apart, then you learn the tools and the tricks of the trade along the way..

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

a mechanic once told me, "all you need is a big hammer"

 

[glfredrick]

a mechanic once told me, "all you need is a big hammer"

There are two tools that commony go by the moniker "Ford Wrench" where I come from...

A TORCH

and

A BFH (big FAT hammer - for those of you unfamiliar with up nort' terminology)

I regularly use both.

Henry Ford also included one other special Ford tool with his Model T's. A "monkey wrench" (sort of a non-serated pipe wrench - fits all). I use a small pipe wrench as one of my favorite "what do you use when the bolt is all rounded off" -- as in brake bleeder screws, etc. Get one in the 6-8" size. Perfect tool...