Dasher rear drum removal problem

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:54 pm

My Dasher project is progressing nicely. The engine is now in tiptop shape, thanks to you folks on the forum. New hoses, belts, glow plugs, oil & filters, antifreeze, and I've rebuilt the injectors and IP. It now starts immediately and no leaks. Thanks to all for the help so far.

My latest problem relates to the rear brakes. The shoes appear to be "hung up" for want of a better term. Working thru one of the lug nut holes in the drum, I push up the adjuster wedge to it's stop and it just pops right back to where it was. The wheel turns, but there's not enough clearance between the shoes and drum to remove the drum. The car had been sitting for some undetermined time when I bought it.

I have a noisy wheel bearing and I need to get the drum off. I'm sure I'm not the first to have this problem. Assistance greatly appreciated. Thanks.

TonyB
81 Dasher 1.6na
Jacksonville, FL

82vdub · Post by **82vdub** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 1:54 pm

If the shoes are stuck and the wedge keeps falling back down, you're going to need to free up the shoes to get the drum off. You can try pounding on the drum a bit and see if that helps. You may have to spray something inside and still beat on things a bit to get them to free up.

hjalbert · Post by **hjalbert** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 2:10 pm

Its good to know there's another one out there. Is the ebrake cable loosened? Did you read the thread with my questions? Dust cap, axle nut and outer bearing removed? If you push the adjuster up with one screw driver, and then in one of the holes on the other side push the lever that actuates the ebrake towards the outside of the drum/ rear of the car. it should pull them in, another thing is to just wack the back side edge of the drum with a rubber mallet or put a 2x4 block against it and hit it with a metal one, going from one side to the other, and trying to pull drum off in same manner, inbetween ever few hits. Something I am going to try and do when I pull the drums off today to replace the defective shoes I bought it to leave the wheel and tire attached to drum, just remove dust cover, axle nut and outer bearing and pull the whole thing off together. The only way I could see how this might help you is if you still can't get it, it would allow you to wack the tire or side of rim really hard with a rubber mallet to free drum. FYI- I didn't check to see if Jack sold the parts I needed, and wish I would have based on quality of the shoes I got from advanced, but advance auto does have the wheel cylinders, bearings, inner wheel seal, and drum brake hardware springs. They have the seals and bearings and cylinders available in either their cheap brand, or beck arnley. I would def get the beck arnley bearings because they come with the races. And either them or the national seal, because the motor city seal doesn't match up to the original, allthough it does fit. And the spring kit comes with everything for both sides, all the springs work and our the original color codes, and its nice to have em speciall since they are under 10 bucks.

82vdub · Post by **82vdub** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 5:59 pm

Funny, but after spending 3 hours doing one side of the rear brakes on the wife's 92 Corolla, I thought I'd post my findings. After spending 30 minutes or so trying to get the rear drum off, I noticed that the two little holes in the drum had threads in them. The holes were placed close to the center of the drum opening and in the area where behind it was the flange that the drum would sit on when tightened down with the wheel nuts. I got some bolts out, and inserted one in each hole and in 60 seconds had the drum off. I screwed them down until tight, smacked the drum and kept doing that. What a great idea! I think these are there from the factory, but I suppose anyone can drill and tap their drums before reinstalling to allow this in the future.

hjalbert · Post by **hjalbert** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:40 pm

yep, i had those on my 69 gmc. it made life grand

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:03 pm

Thanks, folks, for the tips. I will try yet again in a few days. Hjalber, I had seen your post but not the last few entries. The pictures are worth a thousand words! Nice job.
I'm also going to see if I can find a wheel position where a couple of bolts thru opposite lug nut holes will hit the backing plate - sort of a knock-off of the Corolla idea. That might help if my efforts to loosen up the shoes fail.

TonyB
81 dasher 1.6na

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 4:10 pm

The drums are off! Thank you for all the tips. I ended up slacking off the parking brake cable, using a drift and hammering on the inside rim of the drum and wacking on the outside as I worked it off. Things were quite rusty inside. I'm using electrolysis to remove the rust, then will paint and reassemble, using new parts as necessary.

TonyB
81 Dasher 1.6na

Quantum-man · Post by **Quantum-man** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 8:14 pm

TonyB wrote:The drums are off! Thank you for all the tips. I ended up slacking off the parking brake cable, using a drift and hammering on the inside rim of the drum and wacking on the outside as I worked it off. Things were quite rusty inside. I'm using electrolysis to remove the rust, then will paint and reassemble, using new parts as necessary.

TonyB
81 Dasher 1.6na

Sounds interesting, please elaborate

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 10:57 pm

Electrolysis is a great way to de-rust parts. If u google "rust removal electrolysis" you'll get lots of hits. Good summary here:

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/rust/ ... usting.htm

I use it all the time to clean up rusted parts.

TonyB
81 Dasher 1.6na

Former VWDieselParts.com Forum

Dasher rear drum removal problem

Dasher rear drum removal problem

Rust Removal