1937 rear hub

Hi, I am new to the group and I need some advice. I recently acquired a 36/37 lc/mc Dodge Pickup. I am trying to remove one of the rear wheel hubs, no go. so far I have tried:

heat from a heat gun (concerned with creating a fire)

prying

heavy hammer sides and front

rust buster spray

disconnected break line, unbolted wheel cylinder

adjusted breaks to where the hub feels free of binding

put load on hub (rested on jack )

I need to remove to repair rear seal leak. Any advice, suggestions appreciated.

I am not familiar with all the models of Dodge trucks but if yours is one with the tapered rear axle and a single large nut in the center of the drum/hub, then you will need a special purpose puller to get it off. Prying, pounding, etc. is likely to do nothing but damage the brake drum to the point where you might need to find a replacement.

If you have a full floating, etc. rear end, then please excuse my comments from the peanut gallery.

not sure about floating rear, but I attached a pic of the hub still on axel, It is the hub I want to get off at this time, The left side cam off easily.

Hello,

I pulled mine off last week from my '38 RC, first time for me too. It was simple enough, Hub cap and tire off, two large nuts on the back of the wheel cover, rotated to loosen the brake shoes (Clockwise & Counter Clockwise), crown nut and cotter pin removed. A tap on the top, and a tap on the bottom, and bingo fell right off.

You could have a large lip on the outer edge of the drum, meaning the the shoes are not coming in enough to clear the lip. Not on my '38, but on another car, I had to actually take the entire wheel assembly including the axle (disconnect the axle in the diff, by pulling the locking clip), and used force to break the brake shoes off the locking clips.....not fun. Its is cheaper to break the shoes off, than to replace a drum.....

I am assuming your hub rotates....and the axle has not seized.

Alan

thanks Alan. Yes the hub rotates. According to the parts book it is the wheel break drum I am trying to remove and I suspect there is a lip holing up removal. It is shame you didn't do one of those youtube videos when you did the clips. I will have to research this.

Thanks again,

That looks like the same basic design as the equivalent year car rear axle. If you are really, really lucky as apparently Surf City '38 was, they might come off easily.

But almost always you will need a puller like this one:

Thanks Ply33, I remember that model gear puller, I did try to use the modern equivalent with a breaker bar - one of the lug bolts stripped right out of the hub. I may retry using longer bolts anda hammer, see if the impact helps.

Same design 37 Plymouth. Had to purchase a puller like one shown above (ply33) and an extra jaw. used 4 vice 3 and applied pressure to where it was close to max and applied heat to drum. Sprayed penetrating oil (after removed flame) and heated again. Popped off with gusto. (stand to side).

Same design 37 Plymouth. Had to purchase a puller like one shown above (ply33) and an extra jaw. used 4 vice 3 and applied pressure to where it was close to max and applied heat to drum. Sprayed penetrating oil (after removed flame) and heated again. Popped off with gusto. (stand to side).

After removing the washer, rethread the nut back on just flush with the end of the axle. It does two things: First it helps keep the puller from damaging the end of the axle. Second it keeps the drum from flying across the shop when it finally pops free.

Thanks for the info. I found a listing for 3 leg puller on Napa web site, do you remember where you were able to get the fourth leg?

I got it on Amazon. Came with three and ordered an extra leg. I have gathered 3 or 4 extra rear ends over time (plus two more 37s) and one of these days I'll take them apart. Could not find one to rent anywhere. I have a slide bar I rigged up, but its work smarter not harder now days, had a warning shot across the bow.

Thanks, found the item there, sure looks like the one suggested by Ply33. I just ordered the 4 leg hub puller.

Success, hub came off with only two hits of a maul on the new correct puller. Thanks one-shot and ply33. BTW, the problem was from rear end oil and time.

Thanks again.

Glad it worked for you.

On the car side, there are two seals: An inner seal to keep gear lube out of the bearings and an outer seal to keep bearing grease out of the brakes. Don't know about your application but the inner seal is no longer available for my '33 so I live with the gear lube washing grease out of the bearings. I've found that swapping the original leather outer seal with a modern neoprene one works pretty well at keeping the grease and gear lube out of the brakes.

I've got the same problem on my '38 RC, inner seal is leaking diff oil into the drums......hence the reason it was easy to pull the drum off.

I try to wipe out the oil weekly, to keep the shoes from getting saturated.....until I put in a permanent fix...

Alan

I've got the same problem on my '38 RC' date=' inner seal is leaking diff oil into the drums......hence the reason it was easy to pull the drum off.

I try to wipe out the oil weekly, to keep the shoes from getting saturated.....until I put in a permanent fix...

Alan[/quote']

You pull the rear drums weekly? Yikes! That would be way too much work for me to do on an ongoing basis, my car would just be parked if that was the only option.

I was able to take the original seal assembly, which on my car is a pressed steel carrier that bolts onto the axle, and replace the actual seal in it with a modern seal. It has been a couple of years now with no issues so I think I've solved it.

http://www.ply33.com/Repair/axle_seal/

This is great information, thank you!

Just a temp fix, regarding the rear drums, while I play with it, prior to going into the frame off stage.

My '38 RC is exactly the same setup, in the rear drums.....as your information web page.

Alan

You do not need the 4th leg to remove Plymouth and Dodge rear brake hubs. The 3 legged version works fine. (Just a comment for anybody contemplating ordering a puller.) Clean up the axle stub with a right angle grinder with a wire cup brush. Apply a silicone grease smear to the axle stub and the inside of the brake drum where it will contact the axle to slow down the 'welding' of the 2 parts over time. As ply33 says put the axle nut back on to keep your shins in good condition and even the far wall of the garage! You don't have to pull the inside seal to cure those leaks. There is room to jam a modern thin bodied neoprene seal up against the original. A 1/4" metal bodied seal with a plain lipped,as opposed to spring loaded,rubber seal will stop the leakage. Finally DO NOT run your fingers along the key,neither the key itself or the slot in the axle stub. Their edges are RAZOR SHARP! Something to do with the slight movement of the axle over time. Whether smearing grease or just cleaning, be very careful around the key and it's slot ,both in the brake drum and on the axle. Been there,done that.,

I purchased the 4th leg for two reasons. If one is lost and a more even pull.

Did you use the Timken 350936 seal as a replacement or another method/seal?

Some time ago I 'invented' a method of reusing the 5 bolt shell of the outside rear axle seal by replacing the original Chicago Rawhide leather seal with a new modern spring loaded neoprene seal. I believe ply33 picked up on it and it is on his site now. Is that the Timken number you gave? I'm talking about the inner seal that surrounds the main axle further in towards the differential. It's this seal that the posts are complaining about. It's quite far in and difficult to get out. However it can be used as a backing for another modern seal pushed up against it.

On the ply33 site, the five bolt seal (spring rawhide) is replaced with the Timken seal 350936 (on Amozon)( I ordered some). The inner hard to replace seal is not addressed. Ive already had a hard lesson or two on rebuilding rear ends of this type. I can tell by memory how to get the correct spacing/clearance for the trunion block using shim/spacers. Any help/knowledge is greatly appreciated.

On the ply33 site, the five bolt seal (spring rawhide) is replaced with the Timken seal 350936 (on Amozon)( I ordered some). The inner hard to replace seal is not addressed. Ive already had a hard lesson or two on rebuilding rear ends of this type. I can tell by memory how to get the correct spacing/clearance for the trunion block using shim/spacers. Any help/knowledge is greatly appreciated.

I hope that the seal that works for '33 will also work for your '37. They made some significant changes in the rear axle design between those years so it might not. If it does work, please let me know. If it doesn't, then when you find one that does work please let me know that too. In either case I can update that page to indicate what works for '37 for the next person who needs to know.

I have never owned a 4th leg for my puller that I bought when I was 15. Removed hundreds of Mopar, Hudson and Ford tapered axle brake drums with it over the last 52 years !!!

When I looked on e-bay and another tool site, I saw half a dozen or more that were for sale with only two legs (lost one/broke). The fourth leg was cheap insurance. The second drum came off so easy. The first one was more than challenging and I lost my patience with it. I have not always worked smarter not harder. I have 3 or 4 rear ends (37/39) to take apart one of these days. (covered outside).

I don't want to derail the thread but my drum puller uses cones instead of arms. It came with three or four different cones to cover just about any size drum. Used it many times over the years and loaned it out more times than I can remember. It hasn't lost a fight with a drum yet. I have never seen another one like it.

Is it this one?

It Is a photo from the 1936 Dodge manual.

No, mine is shaped more like a flower pot, about 6" tall (the tallest one). It has a "T" handle with a screw like the ones with the arms. Unfortunatly I'm better at using the puller than I am at using a computer to post pictures of it.

how about this ....

I'm not sure if mine is exactly like that one but it is close. The cones with mine range in size from Crosley to three quarter ton Dodge size.