Expert: Brad Sears - 9/13/2009

Question
a friend just inherited this beauty.  asked me to help with brakes.  completed front brakes ok complete rebuild was necessay.  I am unfamiliar with rear drum set up.  it appears the axel nut removal and a wheel puller in required. with axel nut removed I can see a key way and I have used what I believe enough force to pull drum. And it will not budge.  Is this the correct process?  No the emergency brake does not work with the rear drums only on the drive shaft. please advise rodger pietsch  thanks

Answer
The rear brake drums on these cars have a tapered hole in the center and fit over a tapered shaft. They are fitted with a square key to make a positive drive to the wheels. The drum is secured to the shaft with the big nut in the center. The puller used to remove this set up is a real heavy duty rig that bolts three legs to the wheel lugs. the center screw of the puller presses against the shaft end. For this reason when using the puller I usually put the nut on backwards so that there is clearance between the inner end of the nut and the drum and the outer surface of the nut is even with the end of the shaft. This keeps the puller from damaging the threads on the shaft. Then the puller is tightened by hammering on the built in cross wrench to add pressure. It deliverers a lot of pull needed to break the grip of the tapered shaft. It is a special puller and some Rent A Tool stores still has them.
Brad