1935 Dodge Rear brake drum removal

Hi i'am currently restoring a 1935 dodge and i was wondering how to remove the rear brake drum for brake repair. There is a key pin as in the picture below and i'am not sure how you can remove it to get the brake drum off. hope you can help

To remove the drums from early MoPars and Fords, you need a heavy duty, dog bone wheel puller. In most cases, nothing else will work. If you try to pull on the perimeter of the drum, you will, likely, break it. Once it is off the car and you're ready to reinstall it, DO NOT PUT ANTISEIZE OR GREASE ON THE TAPER. Tapers are to be assembled clean and dry. They are supposed to be difficult to remove. That's why they make the dog bone pullers

You need a hub puller (what 58Mustang called a wheel puller). Take the nut off the end of the axle, turn it around and reinstall it flush with the end of the axle. Put the three legged puller on the wheel studs and install the wheel nuts tightly. Screw the long centre screw against the end of the axle shaft, put the dog bone on and hit it - HARD - with at least a 2 pound sledge hammer. Five pounds is even better. Do not be afraid to hit it. then hit the end of the centre screw equally hard. With luck it will break loose. If it doesn't loosen right away, get it as tight as possible and walk away. Leave it overnight, even. You may even hear it come loose, they can make quite a noise (like a 22 going off). DO NOT GREASE THE TAPER WHEN YOU REINSTALL IT. Doing so risks splitting the hub.

Terry

This topic has been covered several times in the Chrysler section. Have a look, and you will see what success others have had, with pictures.

So, silly me who put a very small amount of grease on his rear hubs on his 52 Plymouth now needs to remove and clean them? What might cause the hubs to break?

Tapers are supposed to be clean and dry. Ask any machinist. I don't know about them breaking, but, as stated earlier, they are supposed to be hard to break loose. That's the whole idea. Otherwise, it is just the axle key keeping it from spinning. A little 1/4 key won't stand up to a lot of abuse

Thank you all for your help I will try and find a puller and give it a go, let you know how I get on.

I can testify to all of the above. I just ruined a rear drum on a Studebaker by using a puller that grabbed the outside diameter of the drum. It bent the drum. And yes, the dry taper is also true. The last guy that had my drum off used anti-seize compound. I am now the proud owner of a hub puller and a spindle thread chasing tool. Both were purchased at a reasonable price on eBay. Beside ruining the drum I wacked up the first few threads on the spindle. Having the correct tools is half the battle.

Sigh... More work. I will remove them in the Spring and clean.

So, silly me who put a very small amount of grease on his rear hubs on his 52 Plymouth now needs to remove and clean them? What might cause the hubs to break?

Greasing the taper allows the hub to slide further (a few thousandths maybe) up the taper putting added stress on the hub. One other thing. When you reinstall the hub, put the end of the axle key flush with the end of the axle, then slide the drum on. Push the key in flush with the end of the hub and install the flat washer and axle nut. If the key slides too far up the axle the hub may not seat properly on the taper.

Terry

Greasing the taper allows the hub to slide further (a few thousandths maybe) up the taper putting added stress on the hub. One other thing. When you reinstall the hub, put the end of the axle key flush with the end of the axle, then slide the drum on. Push the key in flush with the end of the hub and install the flat washer and axle nut. If the key slides too far up the axle the hub may not seat properly on the taper.

Terry

Thanks for the information. I have noticed that removing the drums seems not much if any easier with the little bit of grease that I have put on them. Still have to really tighten the three arm puller and use the hammer judiciously.

Tapers are supposed to be clean and dry. Ask any machinist.

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You guys are correct, technically - with this qualification. The assumption in designing this nonsense ( GM was smarter than Chrysler Corp. and Packard - you don't have that kind of rear-axle - to - drum set up on GM cars). is that the car is going to get thrown away in a few years, so why worry about corrosion "locking up" the tapered axle/drum deal.

Some of us actually LIKE our old cars, and plan on keeping them and servicing them for many years into the future. I started putting a film of hypoid gear oil on my tapered axles back in the 1950's. Reason - the process of getting a 20 year old brake drum off a tapered axle scared me.

Over the years, (typically for replacing a leaking rear axle seal, or a "routine" re-greasing of the wheel bearings), I have had to remove rear drums many times. Sure, I tighten the nut holding the drum on the shaft. VERY tight ! But over the years past, and, hopefully, many years in the future, I can get my drums off for servicing without risking breaking anything.

And no - the drum doesn't slip on the keyed axle. And be assured, my particular old car has a LOT more power than most. (if you don't know what a torque wrench is, or how to use it, or where to find the torque specs. for the rear drum nut on your particular car - STRONGLY recommend you go get that stuff....!)

For every rule, there are people that disregard them and get away with it. Just because you fall into that category does not negate the fact that the rules regarding the proper assembly of tapers requires that, as stated, they be clean and dry. A properly assembled taper will not corrode and lock itself together. It will lock itself together via molecular attraction, much like wringing gauge blocks together. It's just science and mechanics. I do know what a torque wrench is. I have 5 or 6 of them. The use of a proper dog bone hub puller makes a difficult job, routine

Were my Model As or my 25 T old enough to meet your criteria of "really old". Just because I have no old cars, at this time, does not mean I am unaware of their peculiarities. I have a few miles under my belt.

How "whacking" the puller will damage you wheel bearings escapes me.

You may recommend oiling the taper. Much like the cheese, you stand alone. I will heed the advice of thousands of machinists and mechanical engineers that disagree

But you and I can agree to disagree

OK guys, calm down.

It is my understanding that lubricated drums can "walk" up the taper. Every time to you round a corner you apply rotating lateral force to the drum and it works on the taper. Perhaps drums on oiled tapers have walked up and that is why they are still damned hard to get off, even with a spot of lubrication. I wouldn't risk splitting my old hubs.

How does oxygen and moisture get between a clean, dry taper and drum that fit together well? "Clean" also means no finger prints - you leave acid oils on the parts.

I have often wondered where that lateral force in hitting the puller and is reacted. Something is stopping the axle from going inwards. It can't be the brake drum, that is only on the axle and not on anything else (other than the oil seal). I haven't studied any diagrams. Perhaps Mr "Is it Duck or Pelican" could show us some? It must be the system that stops the axle from coming out or going in during service.

I find it easiest to put the puller on, tighten it up as much as possible, hit it a couple of times, then leave it overnight. Come back and tighten some more next day, perhaps a couple of hits. My last one took two re-tightenings to get off (more than 48 hours - 1930 Dodge, for which, BTW, the puller screws onto the hub not the wheel bolts). But then I am not in a commercial situation.

Torque wrenches are a pretty hit-and-miss affair. The result is affected by a number of factors - oil, dirt, rust, moisture, other fluids on threads, any deformation of the threads, how good is the torque wrench (most are not very), temperature of the parts and the torque wrench, thread pitch, the steel type (some have rougher surfaces on cut threads than others) and so on. I can usually get a bit more at the same torque later, once the elastic deformation on the parts due to tightening is relaxed a bit. The Dodge axle nut asks for 150 lb-ft, which is me standing on the end of a bar a foot+ long, which is what I do.

Hello again everyone, thank you for recommending the dog bone puller. The hub came right off with no worries thanks again.

SHM 1935 Dodge dv

I am still confused by the possibility of "breaking" a hub. Does that happen often? What causes it?