Frozen brake drum

Farmerwilly2 · #1 08/13/07, 09:03 PM

Anyone have a trick to removing a frozen brake drum? '02 Grand Vitara. I don't see any access to release spring tension, not sure about beating on it or heating it.

OkieDavid · #2 08/13/07, 09:12 PM

Should be an access panel/slot on the inside covered by a rubber cap. This will be on the opposite side from the wheel studs. Insert a brake tool and activate the star wheel to release the brake shoe. Does the current drum rotate/turn or is it completely frozen?

Rocky Fields · #3 08/13/07, 09:44 PM

Hey.

Squirt WD-40 into drum holes by studs. Firmly tap (not beat because you don't want to distort the drum) on drum with hammer where drum meets axle flange. Keep repeating the process. Lots of times the drum rusts to the axle flange and you need to loosen it.

RF

Farmerwilly2 · #4 08/13/07, 09:49 PM

I am familiar with normal break drums. The problem here is I don't see any panel/slot to turn a star wheel on this model vehicle. The drum won't turn since it has 5 studs coming through it. I tried spraying it with PB blaster, tapping it, spraying it, ect. Tried prying it loose with a big screwdriver. Seems like it is just rusted to the hub.

Edited to add: Anyone think of a reason I couldn't try to put a large 3 jaw puller on the drum and break it from the hub that way?

Rocky Fields · #5 08/13/07, 09:51 PM

PS: If you have a rubber plug on backside of brake backing plate remove the plug. Insert large screwdriver blade to engage starwheel and rotate starwheel until the shoes loosen their grip on the drum.

Sometimes it takes both backing off the starwheel and the loosening with WD-40 I talked about above.

If you use heat to loosen drum, you may end up warping drum.

Rocky Fields · #6 08/13/07, 09:55 PM

Keep spraying and tapping...even the toughest ones loosen eventually. I forgot to mention to spray around the stub that comes thru the middle of the drum also. That is usually where it will let the most spray in where you need it.

Rocky Fields · #7 08/13/07, 10:00 PM

The drum is soft, so the puller may bend the drum or slip off the edges.. You may not care if you want it off bad enough tho...

Farmerwilly2 · #8 08/13/07, 10:21 PM

Talking to the fella here at work, I'm thinking just snug the puller plus a smidge more, enough to have a little pressure on it while spraying and tapping. I think I need to buy the anti-sieze by the quart.

Beeman · #9 08/14/07, 06:15 AM

In between lug studs are there 2 smaller holes? On foreign cars they put those holes for bolts to thread in to push the drum off.

Sand Flat Bob · #10 08/14/07, 09:10 AM

Just got through with complete brake job on 1998 S-10 pickup. On a lot of the later model Chevy's and other makes, there is no plug to adjust the star wheel. Solid metal. Make sure your emergency brake is releasing completely and it is out of gear, then see if you can turn the drum. Put lots of WD 40 or other juice like PB blaster around the Axle flange in the center of the drum. Then let it set for 24 hours. Then use your puller, just put high tension on the drum then tap Drum with a hammer straight above the axle flange. Keep going around the flange tapping and use plenty of WD 40 and keep tension on the puller. If it doesn't pop, just let it set for 24 hours under tension of the puller.

Good luck,

Bob

Rocky Fields · #11 08/14/07, 10:02 AM

Hey.

In total desperation, you can knock the studs out(back) into the drum. I did this on a collector car that had been sitting about ten years outside rusting. If you don't damage the studs, you can wirebrush them and reinstall them. If not, buy new ones as needed...studs are cheaper than a new drum.

RF

Farmerwilly2 · #12 08/14/07, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beeman

In between lug studs are there 2 smaller holes? On foreign cars they put those holes for bolts to thread in to push the drum off.

I did see two holes, didn't notice if they were threaded or not so I'll check on that. I will keep up with the PB BLaster and if I can't use bolts I'll use the puller.

Farmerwilly2 · #13 08/14/07, 08:55 PM

Rocky, I'm not sure its the studs that are froze, looks like it is on the hub, still I'll keep in mind if I'm still stuck.

blufford · #14 08/15/07, 05:15 AM

Here is a list of saints to cuss while you trying to remove that brake drum. Let me know if you need any more. Blufford

St. Joan of Arc St. Juan Diego St. James the Greater
St. Jude St. Christopher St. John of Damascus
Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha St. Mary Magdalene St. Luke
St. Matthew St. Anthony the Abbot St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. Jerome St. Valentine St. Dominic
St. Nicholas St. Padre Pio St. Monica
St. Thomas Becket St. Roque de Santa Cruz St. Rose of Lima
St. Philomena St. Anthony of Padua St. Teresa of Avila
St. Therese of Lisieux St. Bernadette St. Francis of Assisi
St. Josemaria de Balaguer St. Martin de Porres St. Martin of Tours
St. Lucy St. Ambrose St. John the Baptist
St. Clare St. Rita St. John the Apostle
St. Victoria St. Augustine of Hippo St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Angela Merici St. Bernard of Clairvaux St. Thomas More
St. Leo the Great St. Hilary of Poitiers St. Peter

Rocky Fields · #15 08/15/07, 06:53 AM

Willy,

Removing the studs makes it easier to work drum loose because you can wiggle it more with them out of the way. If the 2 hole thing doesn't work and the puller doesn't work, try it because I know from experience it helps...trust me.

RF

foxtrapper · #16 08/15/07, 10:23 AM

You don't tap a brake drum, you *HIT* a brake drum. And not with a small hammer, but a big one. You set up large vibration and forces that way, and they tend to gradually come off.

A puller on them works well to encourage them to "walk this way" as you bang away on it.

Drums are cast, they don't bend, they crack and break. They will flex, but they are not soft.

The cute threaded removal holes, frequently on japanese imports, work only on new drums that haven't rusted in place. Once they've rusted in place, the threads promptly rip out of the drum.

Don't pry against the backing plate, you just bend it that way.

Don't go squirting solvents on a brake drum. Unless you want contaminated brakes that is. It's got a habit of getting onto friction surfaces.

Having 5 wheel studs coming through the drum won't affect it's ability to turn. Are you saying the brakes are jammed on, binding the drum? If that's the case, cut the drum. You aren't going to pull it off with brake shoes jammed up against it locking it all up.

WisJim · #17 08/15/07, 11:36 AM

We had to heat the drums with a torch on a car recently to break it loose, after pounding, penetrating oil, etc. didn't work.

Jim S. · #18 08/15/07, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxtrapper

You don't tap a brake drum, you *HIT* a brake drum. And not with a small hammer, but a big one. You set up large vibration and forces that way, and they tend to gradually come off.

Yep. I don't spray them with anything, I just rap on them sharply with a sledgehammer. Has worked every time for me.

The Japanese have a great idea. On many vehicles, they put two threaded holes on every drum or disc, so that a bolt tightened in them will run up against the hub and break them away from it.

Farmerwilly2 · #19 08/15/07, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxtrapper

Having 5 wheel studs coming through the drum won't affect it's ability to turn. Are you saying the brakes are jammed on, binding the drum? If that's the case, cut the drum. You aren't going to pull it off with brake shoes jammed up against it locking it all up.

I'm not sure I follow you on that. The studs go through the hub, from inside to out and the brake drum slides over them and the shoes. I don't get how a drum could move when you have 5 studs going through it. The hub might turn with the drum on it, but not the drum by itself. Can't say if the shoes are groved into the hub or not since I haven't gotten the drum off yet. Hoping that's not the case since I don't have any way that I can see to retract the shoes away from the drum. If that's the case I suppose the drums would need to be cut off and replaced. Thanks for the tips, thanks to all you fellas. I'll take another crack at it when I'm off work this week.

foxtrapper · #20 08/17/07, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farmerwilly2

I'm not sure I follow you on that.

Grin, I'm not sure I'm following you either.

Lets try this, a wheel bolts to those studs. If everything is ok, you can spin the axle. I'm trying to figure out if you are saying you cannot spin the axle.

If you cannot spin the axle shaft because the brake shoes are pressed against the drum, cutting the drum is the easiest solution. It's also frequently the cheapest.

The typical feel of pulling a drum with frozen brakes or a deeply grooved drum that is catching the shoes, is the drum will pull out about 1/4" - 1/2", and then stop. It's taking up the slack in the springs that hold the shoes against the backing plate.

If that's the case, just cut the drum. Trying to pull it off frequently tears up the backing plate and the mounts that hold the brake shoes in place. That's a more difficult and expensive repair than simply replacing the drum.

---------------
If the axle shaft spins, and the brake drum hasn't budged a bit on the axle shaft, it's still in place because of rust. More banging is required. Big hammer, hard blows. Back and forth from opposing sides, around it in circles. Sides and face. Until you get it to start walking. A puller keeping tension on it really is quite helpfull.