Stuck brake drum

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Marietta, GA
So yesterday I attempted to clean and adjust the rear (drum) brakes on our '93 Civic. I did the right rear first and then when I was ready to do the left rear the drum would not come off.
I tried tapping the drum with a hammer but it wouldn't move. If you're not familiar with Honda drum brakes, the adjuster is not accessible thru a slot in the backing plate. The drum has to be removed to access the adjuster.
I appears that the parking brake is stuck. When I first jacked up the car, the wheel would spin freely, now it's stiff.
I tried running two bolts thru the holes in the drum to press the drum off but ended up breaking one of the shoe retaining pins. So now the clip and part of the pin are inside the drum.
Any tips or tricks to get the drum off? Do I need a bigger hammer and beat on the drum, not just tap as I was with a smaller hammer?
Car's at home and I'm at work so I do not have access to it right now.
I'm not sure how the parking brake cable I routed thru the backing plate. Will have to check it out later.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks.

CAR1.jpg
 
BFH on the face of the drum without hitting the studs should help loosen it up if its rusted to the hub. If the brakes are dragging, and there is a ridge where the drums are hanging on the shoes, they make a brake drum puller!
 
I would think there is some way to back off the adjustment on the shoes ?

https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuine/honda~plate~43110-sr3-a01.html

Looks like the adjuster is at the top ( I am used to them being on the bottom on GM & Ford vehicles ) . Take a closer look with a flashlight . The " aduster opening " in the backing plate may have to be punched out . If so , pic up some of the rubber plugs to put in the hole , when you finish .

Wyr
God bless
 
If it's stuck to the hub face, spray some penetrant where the lugs poke through. It should work its way in from there.
 
Originally Posted by EricG
BFH on the face of the drum without hitting the studs should help loosen it up if its rusted to the hub. If the brakes are dragging, and there is a ridge where the drums are hanging on the shoes, they make a brake drum puller!


The drum is not rusted to the hub. It appears as though the parking brake is stuck. And yes, I backed off on the parking brake adjustment. I did that before I jacked up the car.
Guess I just need a bigger hammer.
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
I would think there is some way to back off the adjustment on the shoes ?

https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuine/honda~plate~43110-sr3-a01.html

Looks like the adjuster is at the top ( I am used to them being on the bottom on GM & Ford vehicles ) . Take a closer look with a flashlight . The " aduster opening " in the backing plate may have to be punched out . If so , pic up some of the rubber plugs to put in the hole , when you finish .

Wyr
God bless


Even if there were an opening to punch out, there is no way to back off on the adjuster. There is an adjustment lever that must be moved away from the adjuster before you can back off on the adjustment.

Thanks.
 
Is there not a rubber plug on the backing plate for access to the adjuster? Edit: Just looked that question up at Rock Auto, and there is a rubber plug that comes with the self adjuster repair kit. Not in the hardware kit though for some odd reason.

To pull back the adjusting lever from the star wheel you can use a 90 degree mini pick. A small flat head screw driver could work too. Harbor Freight sells a mini 4 piece pick and hook set for $1.99.

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-pick-and-hook-set-66836.html

You could try loosening the brake cable at the adjuster just enough to get some slack in the cable, or try to manually pull on the cable at the wheel to see if that will help.

If there is a ridge holding stopping it, the drum will have to be turned or scrapped. In the past, I have had to beat the heck out of them to get them off. Some of them can be a royal PITA.
 
Wait!! I've had a whole heap of those old Honda's in The Infamous Rust Belt💀 Give it up! Put those 2;10MM HEAD BOLTS BACK IN. Start tightening and attack with the M1-A1 2-3 lb hammer. Also oil he'll out of that hub area. They just love to fuse the rim to the hub believe me. If it's loose on the hub you'll see the circle open up a bit and it's good nuff.
Move on with the BFH option. Start rapping and prying to force it off till something breaks. Mine alway are easier doing the back sitting in front of it. You can often get the drum forced enough to get at the shoes side and force it in enough to let go. It will let go with a bang but no biggy. This is the place for your small pry bar or big HF flat blade screwdriver, not a nice snap on driver. It'll let go once the shoe prys past the rust built up and wear lip🤗
You can get the parts kit w/ springs and retainers at Autozone ect cheap, as are shoes . Even drums aren't much over $20 last one I did. . Get all new clean up the adjuster threads ect . Wear a mask doing that stuff too. Asbestos is gone but all that powdered brake crap can't be good for you. Make sure cars both jacked and blocked really well with wheel chalks under a couple of the other tires . Those are light cars and y can rock them around really easy all the while being too close for comfort, so be careful.
Last. Take those 2 meteric bolts and paint them red. When dry tape together and stash in your special tool drawer. You be glad you did next time🤨
 
Originally Posted by Driz
Wait!! I've had a whole heap of those old Honda's in The Infamous Rust Belt💀 Give it up! Put those 2;10MM HEAD BOLTS BACK IN. Start tightening and attack with the M1-A1 2-3 lb hammer. Also oil he'll out of that hub area. They just love to fuse the rim to the hub believe me. If it's loose on the hub you'll see the circle open up a bit and it's good nuff.
Move on with the BFH option. Start rapping and prying to force it off till something breaks. Mine alway are easier doing the back sitting in front of it. You can often get the drum forced enough to get at the shoes side and force it in enough to let go. It will let go with a bang but no biggy. This is the place for your small pry bar or big HF flat blade screwdriver, not a nice snap on driver. It'll let go once the shoe prys past the rust built up and wear lip🤗
You can get the parts kit w/ springs and retainers at Autozone ect cheap, as are shoes . Even drums aren't much over $20 last one I did. . Get all new clean up the adjuster threads ect . Wear a mask doing that stuff too. Asbestos is gone but all that powdered brake crap can't be good for you. Make sure cars both jacked and blocked really well with wheel chalks under a couple of the other tires . Those are light cars and y can rock them around really easy all the while being too close for comfort, so be careful.
Last. Take those 2 meteric bolts and paint them red. When dry tape together and stash in your special tool drawer. You be glad you did next time🤨



The drum is not rusted to the hub, it does move a little. Looks like the parking brake is stuck and the shoes are pushed out against the drum. I have already broken one of the retaining pins but the drum will not come off.
Stopping by the parts store on the way home today to p/up a hardware kit. I plan on taking a look at the cable to see what I can do and then if all else fails, I'll take my BFH to it and replace whatever breaks.
 
Originally Posted by Driz
Put those 2;10MM HEAD BOLTS BACK IN. Start tightening and attack with the M1-A1 2-3 lb hammer. Also oil he'll out of that hub area. They just love to fuse the rim to the hub believe me. If it's loose on the hub you'll see the circle open up a bit and it's good nuff.


I have had threads on brake drums removal bolts strip out, and the drum still stuck.
 
Never had to do this. Cut the heads off of the shoe hold down pins on the back side of the backing plate. Should be able to pull it out enough to cut the heads off.
 
If the drums won't clear the P-brake shoes, you'll have to drive it around with the P-brake engaged to wear enough material to clear the drums. I've been down this road before and have broken P-brake hardware just as you experienced. If it's not a parking brake shoe hanging it up, I use an impact chisel with a blunt tip and blast around the hub face between the studs, etc. This does the trick too.

EDIT- Sorry.. not parking brake shoes.. Forgot these are dual purpose braking on this model. LOL
 
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We have used a thick impact chisel in the past, hammering the ridge on the drum all the way around it. They can be a real PITA sometimes.
Sometimes a bit of heat on the drum also helps, but this is usually only if it's stuck on the hub.
 
I like to do the easy stuff first..thats just me...

I would drive it around the block a few times using the parking brake on and off..to see if it frees itself before using the BFH. If that fails.. then check to see if the drum is hot to the touch (or spit).. if so put a few miles on it then bring it in and zip off the wheel.. the drum will be expanded if good and hot and you should be able to use a smaller hammer to remove the drum.
 
Not sure how the Honda drums are set up, but if they are anything like the 87 Subaru wagon I worked on you might be able to use a large gear puller. I removed the brake shoe hold down pins and used the large gear puller from Harbor Freight to pull the drum.
 
When the shoes wear too far. The backing hits the drum, so much scoring occurs that the drum often can not be removed. There are brake show hold down pins, you can cut them and the shoes will pivot and come off sometimes.

My uncle had an old international, we had to cut the drums off. The adjuster was frozen from rust. the shoes had gouged the drum so car, with the hold down pins cut the shoes still could not pivot enough to break free.

Take a cut off wheel and cut groove in drum, then BFH to crack it. It was a total mess in there. About all that could be saved was the park break lever, and the wheel cylinders. The brak bac plate was gone, and there was a vertical groove in the drum probably 1/8 inch deep.

Good learning experience. BTWT international drums are not cheap, and not easy to find in wrecking yard.
 
You've got a super ridge that the shoes are caught in. Cut or smash the "nails" that hold the shoes, you already got one, it sounds like.

Parking brake hardware can be oddball, expensive, and not included in either shoe- or hardware kits.
 
Got the stuck drum off. A BFH and a couple of bolts thru the drum to push it off.
We've had this car for over 25 years and this is the first time that I have had this issue.

Thanks for the replies.
 
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