Hi again,

The plot thickens. My mechanic friend is less than thrilled with my "bargain" Ebay Century-brand drums since they came without hubs.

Can a machine shop safely remove the hubs from my worn drums and press them into the new ones? If so, about how much will this cost?

Zweistein

I think they all come without hubs.........

Yes they can be removed. There's a retaining clip on the lug bolt that holds the drum to the hub. Once that's removed it should come right off (theoritically, as I have not personally done it.......)

Don't have a clue about cost, but if you can remove the clip a rubber mallet might work (see above about not having done it)

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I am under the belief that these are front drums, correct?

The lug bolts are swedged to hold the drums in position.

I have pressed the lugs out, replaced drums, and pressed new studs back in without swedging. People will tell you not to do this, but it has been done a bazillion times. The drums have been loose on the front of my race car for years.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Since you're replacing the drums and don't need to reuse the old ones this is the quick and dirty way to do it. I would use a grinder and smooth off the old swaging marks but you should have no problems reusing the old hubs. You can reuse the lugs or replace them - now would be the time to get rid of the left hand nuts if you have them. The replacement lugs will not be swaged. The rear drum should just slip off but they might need a little persuation. Just be sure the udjust are backed off enough so that the brake shooes are not dragging agains the drum. The might be some spring steel clips or washers on three of the studs; I just grab those with a pair of dikes and give a twist until they break off. You can safely discard them.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.