View single post by NigelK
 Posted: 12-01-2015 10:32 pm
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NigelK

 

Joined: 07-16-2014
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I stripped the drum brakes on my GT over the weekend, and was anticipating issues removing the drums, but got lucky as they came straight off.

OK, starting with an obvious question, presumably you have removed the single screw which fastens the drum to the hub? If so, and the drum turns but you can't pull it off, it's unlikely (but not impossible, see below) that slackening off the self adjuster mechanism (which is the procedure you refer to in your original post) will allow you to remove the drum. If the self adjuster was holding the shoes against the drums, then you wouldn't be able to rotate the drums.

Next step is to spray some penetrating oil around the wheel but studs, and gently tap around them with a hammer to encourage the oil into the space between the drum and the hub. Some heat may help as well. The idea is to loosen up any corrosion between the flat face of the drum and the hub.

If you can move the drum a few mms along the wheel nut studs but it then hangs up, then there may be a ridge of corrosion on the braking surface of the drum, inboard of the shoe. Slackening off the self adjuster may allow the shoes to move inwards towards the hub sufficiently to allow you to slide the drum off despite this ridge, but if not you'll need to use a combination of heat and gentle taps with a hammer around the circumference of the drum to free it up.

If all that fails, then you may need to remove the circlip holding the wheel cylinder in place and try to unfasten the springs through the hole to "collapse" the mechanism inside the drum, or as an absolute last resort cut the drum off. Chances are if it's that difficult to remove you'd need to replace it or reskim it anyway.

Hope this helps. Good luck!