1949 Dodge Wayfarer rear brake/axle repair

Hello, everyone.

I have a 1949 Wayfarer Sedan. It was a running survivor from Texas until a short time ago. The rear wheel cylinders starting leaking. I did not have the time to do the job and left the car at a local brake shop to do the job. They replaced the passenger side but butchered the left hand thread lugs trying to loosen them. Of course they were tightened instead. The car then went to a welding shop. The welder removed the lugs but could not pull the drum so a hole was cut into the drum to remove the five nuts that hold the axle shift in place. The shaft was removed with the drum still attached as well as the backing plate and brake assembly. The welder tried cutting the drum off but gave up with the job 80% complete. In the process the backing plate was damaged. Then the whole mess was delivered to my home where my Wayfarer sits forlorn and waiting for me to find a solution. The best I can figure is that I need a new backing plate. I can't locate one. Can someone suggest a source? I found a used drum. It's a bit crispy but I can turn it and use it. I'm not sure how to separate the drum from the shaft so any ideas would be apreciated. If all else fails I would swap the axle. I wouldn't mind a newer one with more modern brakes as I'm installing a Andy Bernbaum disk brake kit up front. Any help with compatible axle assemblies would be appreciated as well. I do intend to keep the original driverline with the Fluid Drive transmission so the pinion would need to accept the CV plunge joint.

Thanks in advance. I am getting quite desperate.

Welcome to the form

You will have to get the proper wheel puller and a hammer (BFH ), it will be harder to do off the car.

You may be better off swapping the whole rear end. I don't think they changed much 1946ish-50ish , check Plymouth also.

Maybe someone familiar with these newer cars can a bit more specific.

You need to find someone who lives by you and knows these year Chrysler products to see exactly what has been done. I was glad to read it was in your possession and no further butchering is taking place.

Replacement parts should be no problem and the stock brakes are more than adequate with original power plant.

Jay

Welcome to the form

You will have to get the proper wheel puller and a hammer (BFH ), it will be harder to do off the car.

You may be better off swapping the whole rear end. I don't think they changed much 1946ish-50ish , check Plymouth also.

Maybe someone familiar with these newer cars can a bit more specific.

Thanks for the reply.

At issue here is the lack of wheel studs to anchor the puller. I did obtain a unit that threads on the end of the axle shaft in place of the axle nut but the years of corrosion seem to be holding fast.

You need to find someone who lives by you and knows these year Chrysler products to see exactly what has been done. I was glad to read it was in your possession and no further butchering is taking place.

Replacement parts should be no problem and the stock brakes are more than adequate with original power plant.

Jay

Thanks,

I have a neighbor who worked on these old Mopars in the service. He gave me the puller he used way back then. It is a device that threads over the axle end threads and is struck by a hammer. The drum still will not budge. The biggest issue, however, is finding the backing plate. Neither of us have been able to do so. If anyone has a source I would appreciate a tip.

You should be able to get a backing plate from these guys....http://www.wildcatmopars.com/

With the axle shaft out, you could use a big press to press the shaft out of the hub. Any good machine shop should be able to do this in minutes.

The hubs will come off with a suitable puller. There are threads on this, in this section, on this page. A good mechanic would not destroy your car, unfortunately there are some bad mechanics out there who are not familiar with old car, or left hand threads.

Go to the P15/D24 site and post this. You will get the necessary parts and info from someone there.