Can anyone out there please rent me their magic wand for breaking brake shoes loose from old, rusted drums?
(The adjuster is rusted up too.)

Is the drum stuck to the shoes or the hub?

I had problems with the drum sticking to hub. Eventually I put a big gear puller on the drum and then broke it loose by starting up the car and shifting the tranny from reverse to drive to reverse....... to walk the drum off.........

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

Ross, I've had that same problem. I used a BFH. I did NOT swing it hard enough to break the drum, but kept banging away on the outer surfaces, as well as twisting with a pry bar, trying to rotate the drum. The vibration will eventually break the rust bond loose, and you'll be able to at least rotate those drums, but it may take awhile. You might also have to attack the backing plate some, too, as the shoes rest on the plates and may have rusted to them as well.

There is another possibility. You may be able to gring off the heads on the shoe retaining pins, (on the backside of the backing plates), and get the whole shootin' match out that way. The questionable part will be if the drum is rust-bonded to the center register and the lugs are staked.

Roger

Well, I guess I'd actually have to say I don't know. The first one eventually came off and had been stuck to the shoes. But this one will barely even turn - like a 3 pound hammer will eventually move it 1/4" I guess I'll need to get one of those big pullers. The ones I have will barely pull a tight harmonic balancer. There'll be no walking the drum off like that tho. It isn't on a car yet.

Thanks

Since brake shoes don't reach all the way to the edge of the drum part of your problem might be a rust lip on the edge of the wear surface. If your drum is stuck to the hub the best methods for loosening it are heat (don't go overboard) and an air hammer with a flat hammer bit. The air hammer (aka rattle gun) is the greatest implement of destruction you can use on a drum. Of course it will be seized but have you tried loosening up your drum adjuster.

Thanks. I never thought of heat.

The shoes were REALLY rusted to the drum at almost all edges. I finally got it loose by the old "get a bigger hammer" method. After I got it apart I couldn't turn the adjuster with it in a vise, even tho there was very little rust on it.. It finally popped loose and I could almost screw it apart with my fingers after that. Like maybe there was just a speck of very powerful glue somewhere on it that broke loose.

Thanks

How bad is the drum warped? have it turned before you put it back on.

My friend has a 73 Nova with drum brakes all around. Gets a little scary at times.

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

Because it's Nova?

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70 Dart, 360, 727

What, and lose all those nice rust chunks? Whatchutalkinabout? Really, I don't get it. What is scary about an A-body with a 100 HP engine and 10" drums?

I've never had a problem with my 9" brakes (other than that thumping noise I keep hearing in one) and 10" has to be better than 9", right?. (Of course it's just a driver that never sees more than 70 or 75 and that on the interstate.) The thumping and the 4" circle both get solved by putting these Challenger parts on.

Thanks

His Nova is way heavier than your car. It will definitely catch you off guard in an emergency. We ran in the ditch last week trying to keep from hitting somebody. The fact it is a GM product probably has something to do with it also.

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82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

Never knew a Nova was that heavy. But in that case I'd spring for discs. I just ran off the road to keep from being rear-ended. Felt bad for the guy that had been in front of me. . . Uh - oh. But I didn't feel too shabby for my old fart driving ability.

Thanks