The drums not budging!!!!

[trixman]

I did the drivers side just fine. The drum slipped right off and had the shoes and springs on in 30 minutes.

But the passenger side grrrr. This is my second attempt, Sprayed PB blaster thru the lug post holes and on the lip of the hub. I can't move it. Is there a trick/tip to get this drum off?

 

[PRND3L]

Identification of the vehicle in question may help. If it's your matrix, then check this out.

 

[trixman]

No it's the prizm. Good pics but those threads look stripped
on my drum.

 

[oilyriser]

My car, the drum broke free easily, but it took 10 minutes of fiddling through that tiny hole to adjust back the shoes.

 

[trixman]

How do you know you are adjusting it back and not tighter?

 

[mechtech2]

Does the drum spin freely? Make sure the parking brake is off.
Bang sideways on the drum with a BFH -towards the center. Make sure you lube the center hub and the lug holes first.
Big heat may be necessary, but this should work.

 

[andyd]

Tman, spin the drum. If it spins you're backing it off. If it doesnt budge, reverse direction. I always screw it upmyself. Thankfully, I am down to only 1 car with rear drums

 

[andyd]

Tman, spin the drum. If it spins you're backing it off. If it doesnt budge, reverse direction. I always screw it upmyself. Thankfully, I am down to only 1 car with rear drums

 

[AcuraTech]

You made need to loosen the adjuster to get the drums off. Generally a ridge of rust will build up on the inside, making them hard to get off. How can you tell if you are loosening or tightening the adjuster? There will be more or less resistance to the drum spinning depending on if you are loosening or tightening. If you spin the adjuster most of the way loose, the drum should just about fall off.

 

[chas3]

loosening the adjuster is what you need to do. sounds simple, but its not.

there is usually a rubber plug on the back plate. remove this. reach inside with a smaller screwdriver and push the metal tab away that keeps the adjuster from backing off. then using another screwdriver to rotate the adjuster in the direction that the tab is preventing.

if you already have the one drum off you should be able to see this whole setup.

they guy who figured out how to make brake drums self-adjusting was pretty clever. really.

 

[chas3]

one more thing, an old mechanic once told me that if the drum is rusted to the hub, pry the drum out with a screwdriver and rap the drum smartly with a 2lb. hammer. this has worked for me in the past with a rusty drum.

 

[Sparkman]

I've had drums so rusted to the hub that I've damaged the drum badly beating it with a BFH, but rust here is extraordinarily bad. I have used a couple of tricks, either a really big wheel puller or a combination of my strut compressors, a sleeve from my hub tamer, and a 2x4. A little heat from a torch applied to the flat of the drum where it meets the hub helps sometimes. Preemptive anti-seize is priceless in this application.

 

[trixman]

Yes sparkman anti-sieze is a beautiful thing for rear drums.

This weekend I cleaned and adjusted the Matrix rear drums and they now have anti-sieze aplenty.

As far as the Prizm goes, I called it a day and buttoned her up. Maybe I'll try again next weekend.

Thanks to all for the great links and suggestions.

 

[oilyriser]

Quote:

---

loosening the adjuster is what you need to do. sounds simple, but its not.

there is usually a rubber plug on the back plate. remove this. reach inside with a smaller screwdriver and push the metal tab away that keeps the adjuster from backing off. then using another screwdriver to rotate the adjuster in the direction that the tab is preventing.

---

The guy who invented this must have built ships in a bottle for a hobby. The star wheel had the teeth angled to make it really hard to loosen, so I had to use a very sharp flat screwdriver to get it turning in the right direction. The wheel teeth were very easy to grab in the wrong direction. That's another way you know which direction to turn it.

 

[JTK]

A quick blast with an air/impact chisel between the lug studs breaks drums free in short order. No sweat, no fuss and fast. I learned that trick from a USPS fleet mechanic.

Joel

 

[robl]

I had mine stuck once. Make sure the parking break is off, and I took a rubber mallet and tapped side to side, top to bottom, and did that and it did end up coming off. Not beating it to death, but a good tap here and there

 

[Buffman]

I use a deadblow hammer, PB blaster and mr propane torch.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Two bolts and a rubber mallet is all you need. You can work all the way around the drum with the ruber mallet while you tighten the bolts in to drive the drum off. To be honest strikeing the bottom of the drum with the mallet usualy produces the greatest results along with the bolt trick!

 

[alreadygone]

Unfortunately most vehicles don't have threaded bolt holes. Forget the rubber mallet! This is one of the FEW parts of a vehicle that you can beat the #e!! out of without causing damange! Unfortunately if outer edge of drum has developed a wear ring (similar to that found at the top of a cylinder when ready for a rebuild) backing off the star wheel is a necessity. As stated previously, if you can get drum off one side you can "pratice" backing off adjuster you can see.

Bob