anyone have a tool for removing drum brakes??

Matthew_Thomson · **Posted:** Mon Oct 20, 2003 8:26 pm

i'm trying to remove some drum brakes and theres a gear thing you are supposed to turn to i guess loosen the shoes enough for the outer part of the drum to come off.. the bentley manual for bmw says to use a screw driver.. but the location of the adjuster gear through the lug bolt hole is in a way that you can only get leverage to tighten not loosen the adjuster. just wondering if anyone has a tool that is specifically designed for this that i could borrow.. or if you know what the hell i'm talking about and have done the same thing before and ingenious ideas on homemade tools or other tools to use please let me know..thanks

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Mon Oct 20, 2003 10:11 pm

I don't have the tool you mentioned since screw drivers worked with all my drum brake vehicles. It should be cheap at auto parts stores. If you have never done drum brakes before you might want to pick up something like the Haynes Brake Manual (Pep Boys might have it). There are LOTS of Gotchas with drum brakes. Note that it is common for the drums to rust to the axle flange. There are various techniques and tools for dealing with this problem without damaging the drum. Too many to list. For those of us who don't have most of the special tools the Pros use, they can be a real pain to reassemble properly. Whatever you do, only do one side at a time . . . you WILL need to look at the other side to see what they are supposed to look like . . . just remember the two sides are mirror images of each other. Budget LOTS of time and make sure you have good light and brake cleaner and grease for the pivot and sliding points and the adjuster threads and be prepared for the adjusters to be stuck. Bandaids might be a good idea also.

Dick (I hate working on drum brakes. Rear disc brakes with parking brakes aren't much better. Race car disc brakes are great to work on)

Matthew_Thomson · **Posted:** Mon Oct 20, 2003 10:52 pm

thanks for the tips.. all i'm really trying to do is get the parking brake disconnected from the drum.. i'm doing a rear subframe swap to get the disc brakes and dont care about damaging the drums.. the parking brake cables are in good condition and i would rather labor to get them out than spend $50 to get 2 new ones.. on one side using a screwdriver i think i tightened instead of loosened the adjuster that you're supposed to loosen.. on the other side (just now got in from working on it) i managed to get it to turn quite a bit in the loosening direction but i have a feeling that the drums are definately rusted on to the hub spindle.. have any suggestions to get that off not caring about damaging it? it gave a few wacks on the edge with a hammer to see if it would pop off but no go..

thanks

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

Matthew, This answer depends on whether the Germans faithfully followed the example of their betters at Ford in the design of their drum brakes. (C'mon, no BMW built in the last 35 years has drum brakes. If any of them do, then I INSIST that they be installed in Mike Whitney's 325is, along with a proper 3-speed column shift.)

According to my 1990 Mustang shop manual, when facing the back of the drum brake assembly, to loosen the shoes you want to rotate the toothed adjusting wheel down (stick the big screwdriver in the hole, engage the teeth, and lift the handle of the screwdriver). Yes, the adjusting wheels are threaded differently for each side.

There may be a self-adjusting lever that rests on the top of the toothed self adjusting wheel, on the inside away from you. (This is what turns the wheel the other way to tighten the brakes when you back up and stop hard.) If that is keeping the wheel from turning, you might be able to stick a slender screwdriver in above the bigger screwdriver to lift it free of the teeth.

A large hammer is the other approach, I guess. I've never had trouble removing my brake drums, only getting the brakes adjusted correctly when I was done looking at the shoes and realizing they were just fine.

At this point I should warn you about the probable accumulation of brake dust inside the drum. It has no way to get out. A good mask, damp rags to mop up the dust, lots of brake cleaner. Buy some additional long term life insurance...

Art

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Unfortunately I have spent more time working on drum brakes recently than I would really care to contemplate.

Re - BMWs. We are "blessed" with both disk and drum on the same axle. The drum is for parking brake only. Pretty neat actually. I have been able to loosen the adjuster through the bolt hole with no problem. Try it again?

You can probably beat the drums off with a hammer. That may bend up some of the pieces parts, but it will come off eventually. In fact, the only reason a drum will be tough to get off (without loosening the adjuster) is if there is an appreciable lip formed due to wear. If this is the case, once you get them off, chuck 'em.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2003 12:00 pm

Matthew,

Assuming you have tried Liquid Wrench or WD 40, the next thing to try is heat to get differential expansion between the drum and the hub. Works best with aluminum drums but also helps with cast iron drums. A propane torch should be adequate. Do lots of tapping on the drum with a hammer also. Are there any screws holding the drum on or thread holes for a puller?

Dick

AndersGreen · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2003 12:40 pm

I've removed some stuck rear drums on Amy's truck. You can't reach any of the adjusters or anything.

I generally just beat the h3ll out of them using a 4 pound hammer and a steel punch. Keep working around the rim....

ANders

Chuck Frank · **Posted:** Tue Oct 21, 2003 5:56 pm

A brake adjusting spoon shouldn't cost over 6-7.00 at a parts store. they look like a double ended bent screwdriver, with slightly different bends at each end for different brake adjuster configurations. Most cars from the early 70's on had self adjusting brakes and will have the self adjuster lever that will restrict/stop you from turning the adjuster in the loosening direction as was noted unless you lift it out of the way. It has a fairly stiff spring so use a sturdy tool. The usual problem with getting the drums off once the shoes have been loosened is rust around the center hub. Use a flat fine toothed file around the hub until you reach clean metal, then spray the area with liquid wrench and let sit overnite (WD-40 is NOT a rust breaker/penetrating oil!). Some brake drums have a threaded hole between the studs you can thread a bolt into to push the drum off. It you are extremely limber or have a helper, put two HEAVY screwdrivers between the drum and backing plate one on each side, and while prying outward smack the center hub with a 4# maul. If that doesn't work, hit the surface of the drum between the studs while prying. The final resort is to bring out the "hot wrench". With all the road salt in Buffalo, the drums would often be on pretty tight by the time it came in for brake replacement, but I never had one I couldn't get off using these steps. Try NOT to hammer on the edge of the drum, even if you don't care about the drum the cast iron breaks easily and flying pieces can do a lot of damage!

Just re read your post. I never did a brake job on a BMW, but you usually access the adjuster pawl through a slot in the backing plate. The slot may be sealed with a rubber or metal plug that prys out.

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anyone have a tool for removing drum brakes??

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