Brake job continues. I removed dust cap, cotter and nut. The drum came off with the hub attached. I found a refernce that states: "The brake drum is held to the hub by serrated hub bolts which in addition to the serrations are swedged into countersink in hub bolt hole. 1. Support hub and drum in an arbor press and press bolts from hub and drum. 2. place new drum on hub, position new gasket and grease deflector on drum." Ok don't have arbor press. I have attached pictures. Where is the gasket/grease deflector and where can I get new ones? Which side do you press? I see 3 heads on the wheel side of the drum, are these the bolts? Anyone have a procedure that may help?
Thinki I got it. Ok I see there are three rivets. I found on another site (stovebolt) that I need to drill/grind them out. Now one person suggested that if the drums look decent to leave them alone as they are better drums than replacements. There are no deep cuts. I bought new ones as my plan was to redo the entire brake system so that I know what I got. The brake lines are in poor shape so they have to go. The shoes are borderline so I will replace them and wheel cylinders. Opinions please. Thanks, Denis
Just a little persuasion I beleive that you just need to get the bearings out of the drum. I "knocked" mine out with a block of wood, tapping with a hammer...they dropped out without too much persuasion into a greasy mess on the floor. It might have been better if I had spread something to catch it on. I've attached photos of my 'huck' brake setup, I believe you should have the better bendix brakes, but they might help you figure out how to proceed...BTW no photo was attached to your post. FYI - I eventually installed roller bearings, as the original ball bearings and races were damaged when I cleaned everthing up. The raceways took considerably more persuasion to remove and "press" back in, but I didn't use a press, just careful determination.
Thanks Larry. Are you suggesting the new drums came with the hub that holds the bearings? I am under the impression the two must be seperated to replace the drum by removing the three rivets. Denis
Denis - My post only referred to used drums, sorry I didn't catch the new drum part. My drums cleaned up nicely to keep, only the bearings were wasted and had gouged up the raceways.
Drum to hub attachment Denis the hub is attached by three rivits I drilled mine out in steps using a 1/8 drill bit, drilling it the depth of of the head. I then up the drill size to 1/4, that took the rivit head off. Ithen drove the rivit ou witha punch seperating the drum from the hub. The two shall never be attached by rivits again as tehy dont need to be. The newer drums from China I have been told are not very good, though I have no proof of that but I believe what others here have told me about them. I have also been told not to "cut" the old drums that I have as most shops today will take off to much material making the drums true. I fortunately have drums and shoes in good enough shape that I dont need this done. THe only reason I took my brakes apart was to convert to disc brakes on the front and an inspection of the rear. THe conversion will have to wait till next year due to financial reasons and some more research as some members of the forum have made comments about having soft brakes after converting to a power brake and dual master cylinder set up for the front disc conversion BIll
Brake Drum Service O.K. , this from my Bendix Factory Training (Bendix is the Co. that designed your brakes) : Dums should NEVER be trued on a lathe unless : the brake pedal pulsates severly upon application -or- if they're severely bell mouthed . The reason is : the cast iron drum needs thickness to dissapate heat buildup and so avoid brake fade or failure just when you need it most , cutting (' turning , truing up etc.') them on a lathe , removes too much metal so they'll heat up quickly . By the time you own a 50 year old vehicle , the drums have already been turned once or more so LEAVE THEM ALONE as your life depends on it . But , you ask , what about the nasty rust from sitting or the deep grooves where the DPO ran it metal to metal for three years ? simple : use 600 grit sandpaper to smooth up the rough edges a bit then install the new or relined shoes and make the first few stops slowly and carefully to bed the friction materiel into the grooves , then you'll need to cold re adjust them a few times and you're good to go . I know this sounds odd but it's the way your brakes were designed . I hope this helps .
Great comments thanks. I am going to reuse the drums and rebuild replace the rest. Thanks for all your efforts. Denis
What Nate said Just have to tell you my experience with cheap Chinese drums. When I picked up my 235 from the nicest guy in the world, he also threw in an all new brakes system, including four drums, wheel cylinders, hoses, etc. Excitedly, I began by rebuilding the rear brakes. when I put the rear drum on, it swayed back and forth severely until it found it's own "level" and the heaviest part stayed at the bottom. Turns out, the drums were cast or machined improperly. The braking surface was not machined in the center of the overall casting which made the drum severely out of round. I had already read one of Nate's posts on cheap Chinese drums. I took them off and re-used my old drums without cutting them and all is good. Andy
