Removing Rear Brake Drums

Will someone please tell me how to remove brakedrums from a 63? They have been on there for at least 20 years and won't budge. jbeganny

Hi John. I've had this problem a few times before - it's not an easy thing to deal with, but remember with enough persuading, the drums will come off. Keep telling yourself this: "They will come off. They will come off!"

First thing, make sure the rear of the car is lifted and very secure - I prefer jack stands with back-up from a few 6X6X12" wood blocks. With the wheels off, lubricate the lugs and hub area with PB Blaster penetrating oil. Spray some in from the back of the drum if you can. Do this a day ahead of time. Do it again a few hours before you start. Do it again a few minutes before you start.

Try rotating the drum. It should rotate by hand. If it doesn't turn, the parking brake may be engaged - need to fix this before attempting to remove the drum. Some drums have an inspection hole on the inside dust shield. If the drum will not rotate, you can insert a screw driver into this hole and release the ratcheting brake adjuster. This lets you release the brake if applied to the drum.

While turning the drum, strike it on the front and sides with a heavy hammer. This will loosen up any rust that has seized the drum to the hub. Depending on whether or not you plan to replace the drum or not, you can hit the drum harder with the hammer. Obviously, you don't want to hit it so hard that you destroy it - unless you plan to replace. A 2x4 block of wood between the drum and your hammer helps.

If that doesn't work, you can try adding heat to the drum with a blow torch. This will take a few minutes to get it nice and hot. Be careful. If this doesn't do the trick, you'll need to rent a brake drum puller tool. There are a couple types. Basically, the tool grabs the drum by the outside rim of the drum, or by threaded holes in the drum. You turn a corkscrew type handle that turns a threaded shank, like a vice clamp. This applies pressure to the axle, pulling the drum out. You should turn and tap on the drum during the extraction process.

I all of my years removing drums, I've never needed to use a brake drum puller, but your case is pretty extreme. Also, if you want to preserve the rear drums without any damage from pounding, the puller tool is your best bet. Good luck!

I've had cars come in to the shop where I've literally had to split the drum in half to get them off. #1, they rust themselves to the axle in the center. #2, A nice fat rust ring builds up behind the brake shoes and prevents them from coming off. Even with a puller, you can end up yanking the shoes/springs/hardware off with 'em.



Sometimes you just need to beat the sh*t out of em with a sledge.....



Good Luck.

Don't just beat outwards with a BFH. Also give a whap to the flat of the drum in between the lug nuts on occasion. It may help to break the rusted hub loose.

And make sure you go in through the backing plate access slot and retract the adjuster for the shoes. Very important step on stubborn drums.

Use plenty of penetrating oil too. PB Blaster is the best!

Yeah, I should've specified where to beat it lol. Right between the studs is a good start. IF it does get stuck on the shoes, you may have to beat the outer edges to help "release" the shoes as well.



Forgot about those adjusting holes. New(er) cars don't have those

Hopefully they're not frozen....

If PB Blaster does not work for you consider Deep Creep.

Albertj

A trick I used was to get a large screwdriver or prybar between the backing plate and drum and put some outward pressure on one side while smacking the other side on the outside edge. Usually popped of with a couple hits.

a 50/50 mix of acetone and trans fluid works much better than PB blaster.

Thanks for all the tips but I have tried all those except the drum puller. The real problem is that this is on a 63 Riv and the drums are not steel. They are some alloy like aluminum and heat melts them. Also they are not easy to get and are fairly expensive. So now what? I will check on locating a drum puller. Thanks again.

Weren't those the aluminum drums that only Buick used? If I recall they had cooling fins, very high tech when they introduced them.

Aaron,
They are aluminum drums with cooling fins and I don't want to break them. I also have a 64 Riv parts vehicle with identical drums and they won't come off either. Any ideas?

jbeganny wrote:

Thanks for all the tips but I have tried all those except the drum puller. The real problem is that this is on a 63 Riv and the drums are not steel. They are some alloy like aluminum and heat melts them. Also they are not easy to get and are fairly expensive. So now what? I will check on locating a drum puller. Thanks again.

You should have no problem getting a drum puller from a full-line NAPA auto parts store.

You may want to source a set of replacement drums if you have not already. This site may help --> [SITE LINK], looks like around $100.- each.

Aluminum oxide is really hard and not really as friable as iron oxide, I kinda wonder if you will end up cutting or shattering those drums anyway. Hope not.

Albertj

Here's a good link on the subject - lots of helpful info on removal. Some are suggesting that the early 60's Buicks had the front Al-Fin drums riveted to the hub, so the drum and spindle may need to be removed together until you can see what you're dealing with:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92087