How To Remove A Brake Drum

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Drum brakes (as opposed to disc brakes) are a braking organization that slows a vehicle by pressing brake shoes into the inside surface of a metallic drum attached to the bicycle to create friction. Like whatever braking arrangement, drum brakes undergo wear and tear with apply. Brake drum maintenance and replacement requires that you kickoff remove the one-time restriction drums from the wheels. This procedure is usually fairly simple, requiring no more a half hour or and so and mutual vehicle maintenance tools.

1
Park the vehicle in a clear, flat expanse.
- Turn the vehicle off and make sure that information technology's in park with the emergency brake on to minimize the danger of rolling.
- Put on protective eyewear — goggles with a face guard or hard safety glasses work well.^[one]
- Gather your tools and materials earlier proceeding.
2
Loosen the lug nuts before raising the vehicle.
- Take hold of your tire iron and give each lug nut one plow or and so in the counterclockwise management. Do not remove the lug nuts yet — merely loosen them.
- If you wait until the vehicle is on a jack, it can be quite difficult to remove tight lug nuts. Loosening them before using a jack allows the ground to concord the wheel in place so that you tin get plenty leverage confronting the nuts to break their initial resistance.
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3
Lift the vehicle with a jack.
- Attach a jack to the vehicle nigh the brake drum to be removed. Choice a sturdy metal part of the vehicle's undercarriage for the jack — don't put it under any plastic molding or flimsy metal parts or it may damage them when the motorcar is lifted.
- Safely and gradually raise the vehicle with the jack. If you're unsure of how to do this, follow the instructions that came with the jack for attaching it and raising the vehicle. Alternatively, check out our guide on irresolute a tire for more data.
- Use jack stands or sturdy wooden blocks to back up your vehicle. Never use materials like cinder blocks which can break or compress nether the weight of the vehicle with potentially deadly results.^[2]
- Identify wheel chocks around the wheels to secure the vehicle every bit you raise information technology.
4
Unscrew the lug nuts and remove the wheel.
- Use your tire iron to cease removing the loosened lug nuts from their bolts.
- If necessary, remove the hubcap and utilise it every bit a user-friendly "dish" or "plate" to hold your lug nuts.
- When all the lug basics are off, pull the tire away from its mounting. If you haven't done this before, don't remove more than 1 bicycle at in one case — it tin be handy to use the other cycle every bit a reference when you're putting everything back together.
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1
Turn the adjuster screw to loosen the shoes.
- Locate the access hole on the outside of the brake drum.
- Plough the brake pulsate and then that the admission hole is aligned with the drum'south adjuster screw. The adjuster screw is large and slotted, and is located below merely beneath the centerline that runs horizontally across the dorsum of the drum.
- Turn the adjuster screw counterclockwise until it comes to a halt. The shoes on the drum should come up loose from the bicycle.
- Pull the drum off of the bike. If the drum will not come up off the wheel, unscrew the drum and pull it off (come across below).
2
Unscrew the brake drum if needed.
- Use a screwdriver to remove the screws securing the brake drum to the bicycle.
- Depict the restriction drum forcefully towards you.
- Use a screwdriver and rubber mallet or a brake drum puller to take the pulsate off of the bicycle if you are unable to remove the pulsate by unscrewing information technology and pulling information technology.
three
If you're having trouble, use a screwdriver and rubber mallet.
- Slide the screwdriver beneath the flange of the drum.
- Use the mallet to hammer confronting the elevation of the screwdriver's handle or the drum itself (lightly). Don't bring the mallet down with excessive force — you desire to apply it to pry the drum abroad from its mounting, not chisel away at it.
4
Alternatively, remove the brake pulsate with a brake drum puller.
- Place each of the brake drum puller's three hooks evenly around the brake drum'southward flange.
- Ensure that the screw in the middle of the restriction pulsate puller lies to a higher place the middle of the cycle hub.
- Use a screwdriver to attach the restriction drum puller's spiral tightly. Tighten the screw until the restriction drum puller is securely fastened around the brake drum. Do not over-tighten the spiral on the restriction drum puller.
- Knock the back of the brake drum lightly with a hammer. Tap the hammer against the restriction drum with an outward motion. The brake drum should come loose from the wheel.
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1
Clean the drum.
- Over time, brake drums can accumulate a good amount of grime and debris simply from their normal utilise. Once you accept the brake drum off, take the opportunity to clean it of this debris if needed.
- Sources differ on which types of cleaning solutions you lot should apply. Some recommend just specially-formulated brake cleaner, while others say that you lot can normally get away with soap and h2o.^[3]
2
Supervene upon the shoes.
- Over time, the shoes which press against the within of the drum can become worn (much similar brake pads do for disc brakes). Check your manufacturer's specifications — if your brake shoes are thinner than recommended, take the opportunity to replace them.
- Use a pair of pliers to pull dorsum the shoes' return springs. Next, use a brake jump tool to remove the hold-down pins and springs. At this point, some brake shoes will be able to be removed. If not, you may demand to use a screwdriver to disconnect the brake cable.^[4]
iii
Check the bicycle cylinder for hydraulic leaks.
- Almost drum brakes on cars and other mutual vehicles are hydraulically powered. If in that location is a leak in the hydraulic system, you may discover fluid inside the pulsate and on the brake shoes. Normally, this is accompanied by decreased brake performance.
- If necessary, replace the leaky wheel cylinder. Loosen the restriction line connected to it, then loosen the bolts at the rear of the cylinder. Insert the new cylinder into its proper identify, attach the restriction fitting, then the brake line, then finally re-screw the bolts.^[5]
4
Inspect the brake lines for damage.
- Every bit a common rule of thumb, if the car pulls to i side while braking and the brake caliper appears undamaged, you lot may have a leak in your restriction line.^[vi]
- To replace damaged brake lines,you'll first demand to loosen and remove the old brake line at its fittings with a flare nut or wrench cap. Be sure to cap the line to prevent spilling any fluid if necessary. And so, cut a new length of brake line and mate it to the quondam line with brass connectors or only install it directly into the old line's fittings.
- Every bit with other forms of restriction maintenance, it'due south important to replace any lost fluid and bleed the brakes after completing your maintenance.
v
Consider repacking the bike bearings.
- Since you lot have easy access to the inner parts of the bicycle, you may want to take the opportunity to make clean and repack the bearings. To brainstorm, disassemble and remove the vehicle'southward hub associates. Remove the bearing associates's races (this unremarkably ways breaking them) before finally removing the bearings themselves.
- Clean the bearings by putting them in a container with gasoline and shaking, then rinsing with water.^[vii]
- Add plenty of fresh grease to the bearing past hand or with a bearing packing tool.
6
Replace the restriction drum when finished.
- When you're washed with your maintenance, carefully reassemble the wheel and supercede the brake drum by performing the disassembly steps in reverse lodge.
- If you replaced the wheel cylinder, brand certain it's secured properly. Hold the restriction shoes to the backing plate and re-attach the springs (pliers or vice grips are usually a must here).
- Earlier replacing the adjuster, clean its threads with an anti-seize compound. Finally, supersede the drum.^[eight]
seven
Replace the wheel to finish.
- Lift the tire back onto its mounts. Screw the lug nuts on near of the way, merely don't attempt to tighten them all the way.
- Lower the vehicle back to the ground. Stop tightening the lug basics until they are firmly secured. To evenly distribute the stress across the wheel, tighten the basics in a star-shaped sequence.
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Add New Question

Question

How do brake drums work?

Rather than the pads being pressed against either side of the rotor (like in disc brakes), in drum brakes the pad is expanded and pressed against the inside of the drum. Both use friction to terminate the wheel, but disc brakes are known to heat up less and thus work improve in driving conditions where you are on the brakes hard and for long period of time...steep grades, hard stops, frequent curves, etc. Pulsate brakes are more frequently seen on older vehicles and require less equipment than disc brakes. Sometimes they are cheaper to maintain, but information technology depends on use.
Question

What is the advantage of restriction drums and how do they work?

Drums brakes are only used in the rear of smaller cars. If the car is the size of a Toyota Corolla or smaller, so it is likely to take drum brakes. Disk brakes are actually more efficient and provide more braking power than drum brakes, then most cars opt for 4 deejay brakes. Drum brakes are used on the smaller cars considering the rear brakes don't work as hard as the front brakes in stopping the car. A manufacturer may opt for rear drum brakes to save weight and coin on their vehicles.
Question

What if the tire is stuck on the studs?

Well, the tire shouldn't be on the studs, so by that I assume you mean the wheel. If the bicycle is stuck, I would doubt that information technology is truly stuck to the studs given that, when the bicycle is secured, it should exist centered, giving very trivial contact between the actual wheel and the stud. A more than common trouble would be that the cycle is rusted directly to the pulsate. In this state of affairs, I would recommend that you loosen the lugs (not fully remove, just dorsum off a few turns), have all the weight off that bike (jack it up), and give it a few good kicks or hits with a safety mallet. The wheel should come free.

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If none of the methods for removing a brake drum succeeds, accept your vehicle to a professional mechanic.

The brake drum is delicate. Do not hit it with too much strength.

Things You'll Need

Brake drum
Car jack
Owner's transmission for car jack
Bike chocks
Screwdriver
Rubber mallet
Restriction drum puller

About This Commodity

Article Summary X

To remove a brake drum, start past removing the car wheel with a tire iron and a jack. Once yous've removed the wheel from the car, await for an access hole on the pulsate brake. The drum brake is a metal cylinder that should have a few holes or studs in the centre. When y'all've found the admission hole, turn the drum to align it with the adjuster screw, which is a large, slotted spiral on the dorsum of the drum. Plow the adjuster screw counterclockwise until it stops, and pull the drum off the wheel. If the brake drum is attached to the wheel, you might need to unscrew it first. For more than tips, including how to remove a brake pulsate with a restriction drum puller, read on!

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