Frozen brake drums

[Guest]

I know this was recently posted but I didn't need the advice back then. Now I do.<P>Three of them are frozen so bad we had to drag it onto the trailer to load. Anyway my question is if I heat them with a torch do I hammer it when it's still red hot or wait for it to cool off some?? <BR>Thanks guys

[brad54]

I've found another way that has worked for me in the past. If you can comfortably get under the car to work, use a very thin screwdriver and pry the "nail head" away from the backing plate. By "nail head", I mean that little nail-like thing that holds the brake shoe retention springs in--That little coil spring with the hat that keeps the brake shoes tight against the backing plate. (Yes, I'm too lazy to find the correct tech words for these right now!)<BR>Cut that head off the nail, and there's nothing keeping the shoes locked to the backing plate. Then you can work the whole drum off, shoes and all. What's frozen is the shoes to the drum. by disconnecting the shoes from the backing plate, you can remove the drums.<BR>It worked on a WildCat I was getting the front drums off of in a junk yard.<BR>Craftsman used to sell a small (like 6 inches) pry bar that is about the best 95 cents I ever spent on a tool. It's perfect for this job. Otherwise, sacrifice a screwdriver.<BR>-Brad

[Guest COMPACTBC]

Try pushing the car BACKWARDS sometimes this will release the brake shoes. Also, FIRST back-off the brake shoe adjustment device all the way. Also put some WD40 type stuff on the center hub area and if all of this doesn't work spray a LOT of WD40 in and around all of the area inside the brake drum. Some LIGHT taping on the drum after you have done ALL of the above may help. Good luck. <p>[ 07-20-2001: Message edited by: COMPACTBC ]

[BuickNut]

Good idea about the "brake nails". But with cars that don't have integral bearings in the brake drums, usually the drum corrodes to the wheel hub. Usually have to use heat or lots of PB Blaster sprayed into the wheel bolt holes and the "big 'ol hole" in the center. To prevent this in the first place with this type of drum, you might want to try using anti-sieze to the drum mounting face of the wheel hub every time you do the brakes..BUT BE CAREFUL YOU DON'T GET IT ON THE BRAKING SURFACES !!!!!

[Dave@Moon]

Buick Nut?<P>Brake drums frequently get hotter than any other part, even engine parts. Wouldn't the heat cook the anti-seize out of the drum, or worse heat it up so that it runs down inside the drum onto the friction surfaces? Or is anti-seize heat resistant like high-temperature brake grease?

[Guest]

I got them unstuck---only one was very difficult, the other two unstuck with a little persuasion by hammering a screwdriver where the drum meets the backing plate & applying a little heat to the drum. Thanks guys !!

[GSMAG]

Dave, with respect to cooking anti sieze...it's used on spark plugs as well as oxygen sensors. I cannot imagine brakes getting as hot as those two items, I could be wrong though. Any else?

[BuickNut]

Good question about the brake drums cooking out the anti-seize, but it doesn't happen. With both brake rotors and drums, the center of the unit runs cooler than the actual brake surfaces. This idea has been used, though not often due to the cost and because of the material handling issues of hazerdous materials and possibly getting the anti-seize on the brake surfaces in producion settings (..hard to control...) recently by the big 3 in particular on either the hub rotor mounting surface or the inside of the rotors. I have used this idea on my truck rear drums for years without a problem. Granted, front brakes do get hotter, but as long as you apply the anti-seize with moderation (just a little dab will do ya...), it also should not be a problem since they do use it on some applications with rotors on the front from the factory in recent years. Just a trick I came across.