Rusted rear brake drums

[neweagle]

Has anyone had to deal with rust frozen rear brake drums? I have an 82 sedan and have tried a 5lb sledge, heat on the drum, overnight liquid wrench soak. I have never been beat by a drum before. Any ideas or what worked for you fellow Eagle owners. Thanks.

[Jurjen]

Remove the three little screws, and keep hammering around.
You don't have to hamer it very hard, just keep up the good work for 15 minutes or so.
Hopefuly it will work its way of the hub.

[eagleman]

Had the same problem this week on my sons jeep! Just make sure the three screws are out like Jurgen said and keep tappin in with a hammer as you turn it. It should in time come off!

[captspillane]

The drums can form lip around the outside as they wear. That lip will not let the drum come off no matter how hard you beat at it until you loosen the brake adjuster. The brake adjuster is accessible through a hole in the backing plate. There is two rubber stoppers that should be in the two oval holes, but they are often missing. If you get one side off you can visually see how this adjuster is accessed and practice the motion before tackling the stuck side. The trick is to push one screwdriver against the plate that engages the notches to keep it from ratcheting closed, while at the same time using another screwdriver to push against the notches and slowly turn the brake adjuster. Once it is turned all the way the pads are able to pull closer together and disengage from the lip that formed in your brake drum. Its impossible to see what you're doing as you push two screwdrivers into the tiny oval, but its easy to feel when you've pushed on the spring plate and its easy to feel once you've found the notches.

[captspillane]

I stole this picture from Phil. At the bottom you can see the screw brake adjuster and the gold plate that pushes against it with spring pressure.

[neweagle]

Thanks, I'll give it another go round. Can a brake drum shatter from too much hammering?

[captspillane]

Your sledge handle will shatter long before the drum does. Just make sure to avoid hitting your threaded studs. Those can be popped out of position if you hit them hard enough.

[Jurjen]

And when they finally do come off, make sure to remove that edge with a course file or a dremel before putting them back on. It will make things much easier next time.

I found it helpfull to keep one of the brakes assembled, so that I could take a look at the other side during assembly.

This is a good time to give the e-brake cables a good lube job.
I hung them from the ceiling and used wd40 to get them going again and after that some normal engine oil until it came out of the bottom of the cable.

[carnuck]

I take a wire wheel to the hub before trying to remove the drum. Whacking it with the hammer needs to be done on the wheel face only and near (but not on) the outer edge.

[Alcology]

Any luck with one of these methods?  I released the brake adjustor to get mine off.

[BenM]

If you're having trouble with the adjuster, use a wire or screwdriver in the other rubber hole to hold it off the whee so you can spin in. Remember, one is left-hand and the other is right-hand.

They also make brake drum pullers, you may be able to borrow one from a chain store. You may have studs on the back with threads holding the drum on, clean them off well with a wire wheel regardless.