Dad's truck blew the left rear wheel cylinder. Easy change, right? Wrong! The drum is seized on. Tried PB Blaster, tapping(banging)on the drum, prying between the drum and the dust cover, all with minimal movement of the drum(1/4" at the most). Haven't tried heating the drum up, yet. I feel like the shoes are engaged inside the drum and I have no idea how to get them to release(the wheel won't spin at all, should it?).Other than what I've tried already and heating the drum, any thoughts on how to get the drum off?

 

There are two threaded holes in the drum. They are a metric thread (forget which right now). Put two bolts in there and run them in,working from one to the other. If the shoes are seized to the drums, then you may pull everything off but it will come off.

 

The best way I've found is heat on the flat part where the drum meets the axle flange. Cherry red is best if you can. You can also try a three arm drum puller but I've seen that warp the drum if it's really stuck good. It's possible the shoes are engaged. Can you jack the truck up and rotate the wheel by hand in neutral? If the drum doesn't have a worn lip inside, it may still pull off with a puller. It will destroy the hold down hardware for the shoes if it does. I had one so bad once where the drum had never been turned, I had to cut a hole in the front of the drum to back the shoe adjuster off.

 

I've never had one that wouldn't come off after two or three whacks with the big fu$&8img hammer. I see most people hitting the drum in the wrong spot. If you want to free it quickly don't hit it between the studs where the drum sits on the hub. Don't hit it sideways either.

Whack the hell out of it on the face of the drum as close to the outer edge as possible. This will usually make the opposite side start to lift. Hit the other side once or twice to finish freeing it up.

 

I've used a DBH many a time. (DBH = Darn Big Hammer) The trick is where you hit. Rust has seized the two plates of the center of the drum and the flange of the axle together. Heat, penetrant and a DBH will eventually free it up. I've been doing brakes for nearly 50 years so I sometimes forget to mention little details, like a very thin film of grease on the flange/drum meeting area. Once you get that puppy off, smear a VERY thin film of grease on the inside of the drum between the stud holes. Only a film so the centripetal force of the axle rotation doesn't sling i onto the braking surface. By the way, if you have aluminum wheels, a little smeared on the drum or rotor section meeting the wheel means you can remove it without a really BIG hammer if you have a flat.

I watched a tire shop guy whacking my Alcoa wheels with a sledge hammer once. I was very annoyed. I told him to put the truck back on the ground and showed him how to pop them right off. With it on the ground. Loosen the lug nuts two turns on any particular wheel. Start to wiggle (<-------one of my fancy technical terms) the truck back and forth. Really get that puppy rocking. Eventually you'll hear a pop. Sometimes quite loud. You can then jack the tire up and it will come right off. I probably ought to post this in a thread by itself.

 

yes...maybe even make a video for the thread.

 

I posted a thread under the Tire Rack section. I figure guys buying tires and wheels could use it. As for a video, I don't have anybody to film it and I can't do both the recording and rocking the truck at one time. I don't have anything currently stuck anyway.

 

I think I would have whacked him in the head. I've only had to rock one. I usually just loosen the lugs then kick the tire to free them. They just don't get as rusty in the south.

 

I just asked the service manager why the guy was hitting my truck with a hammer. His response reminded me of the scene in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" when the villain revealed himself and bugged his eyes out.

 

I'm sorry, but it has to be asked:

The parking brake is off, right?

My drums were a PITA to get off, simply because the drums had a lip worn where the pads were. Spent an afternoon wailing away, no dice. Shoved a camera in the inspection hole, and used a flat screwdriver to loosen the brake adjuster. 3 more whacks and off she came.