1931 Sr. 60 - How do I remove the rear drums?

I'm doing brake resto work on my '31 8-60 and I don't know how to remove the rear hub and/or drum. I have the big nut removed and I'm looking at a keyed shaft. The axle end has a dimple that looks like it would accommodate a puller but I don't know where the other part of the puller would hook. Might be time to buy a book but hopefully someone who knows the next step will chime in. After finishing up most of the engine work on this car, I've come to expect the unexpected. Thank you all very much!

Puller should hook to the lug nuts or bolts. Apply pressure with puller and then tap end of puller with hammer. After years of being on the shaft, it may be stuck. People have been known to tighten puller and leave on for a few days, and with a BANG the drum pops off (don't have the restored car next to it, big dent will occur). Sometimes the big nut is left on the end of the shaft to keep the drum from flying off.

Speaking of big nuts, this big nut is done with suggestions! There'll be more I'm sure....

If you have artillery (wood) wheels, you will need a puller that threads onto where the hub cap fits. Like the one in the photo below:

Although I have wire wheels, I'd bet the puller would work because my hubs have an outside thread that otherwise would be for naught. It looks to be a bit finer than a pipe thread. It's nice to know that all I have to do is find a way to pull it. Thanks again!

joel

Joel,

on my 31 90 series I used a standard puller and strapped a couple heavy duty wire ties around the fingers and tightened the ties with the fingers resting on the small ridge of the hub. It popped a couple times, but it worked.

Chuck

Take the axel nut to a auto parts store and find a trailer hitch ball that has the same thread. Then take the nut that comes with the hitch ball and thread it halfway onto the axel and then thread the ball into the other end and tighten it so that it is sitting firmly next to the axel. With the tire of the wheel that you wish to remove sitting on the ground, jack up the other side so that tire is off the ground. Now hit the trailer ball squarely with a sledge hammer and the axel should pop loose.

Glenn Manes

Wheat Ridge CO

Glenn, that sounds very clever and is something I would love to try. Right now, my whole frame is suspended from the ceiling with everything else gone. I'm gonna first try a couple things with my standard pulley puller that were mentioned above. I'll bet I've got a hitch ball close by that will do this.

Last night I found a place on the internet that will make a correct hub puller for $200. I'll try a lot of things before I buy one.

Thank You,

Joel

My grandfather showed me that trick for my first model T back in the seventies. I have seen it mentioned on other forums, and have used it on some axels that other means have failed. The trick is to be sure there is no gap between the ball and the axel, otherwise you can damage the threads.

Glenn, that sounds very clever and is something I would love to try. Right now, my whole frame is suspended from the ceiling with everything else gone. I'm gonna first try a couple things with my standard pulley puller that were mentioned above. I'll bet I've got a hitch ball close by that will do this.

Last night I found a place on the internet that will make a correct hub puller for $200. I'll try a lot of things before I buy one.

Thank You,

Joel

I followed up on your internet source and had a long discussion with George McMurtry, a gentleman who has been making hub pullers for years for any particular brand and model. He is going to make a puller for me for my 1932 Model 67 drums and has a no pay clause until one receives the puller, tries it and it works. I am looking forward to receiving my puller in about two weeks after George returns from vacation. A couple of hours fooling aroung with other ways that might work etc. will burn up $200 real quick so I think it is worth having a puller that travels with the car in the trunk and is always available.

My $0.02 :cool:

Joel,

Wise choice. George is the best.

Dwight

I puller pictured above was made by George McMurtry. I loaned it to one of my Buick buddies in Boise ID. He brought it with him to a HCCA tour that we both attended so he could return it to me. He told me that the HCCA President was also on that tour and had an issue with his Chevrolet. So he also used it to pull his rear wheel to fix his car in time for the tour the next day.

It just goes to show that having one can be very useful to others too.

Just to follow up on this, on friday I got a chance to try the ball hitch idea and it worked great - both sides. This was after I tried and failed with my standard two-arm puller using the lug nut shoulders (screwed on backwards). The drum didn't come flying off - when I noticed the least bit of movement, I put the puller back on and it took almost no effort to remove.

Thanks again for the great ideas,

Joel