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Ok ive spent the last day and this morning trying to get the brake drums off an IFS rear housing i just got.
I have turned the rachet adjuster the only way it will go until i cant move it anymore without stripping the teeth. I have wound off the hand brake leaver thingamabob so its completely slack and i have stripped about 8 bolts trying to push it off with the threaded holes in the drum.
I have bashed the hell out of it to try and loosen it up to no avail. When i undo the bolts the drum actually moves back onto the hub assembly/brake pads as if something springy is holding the drum in place. As far as i can tell i have wound the adjuster off as far as it will go, but i dont know which way im supposed to turn the adjuster (the way the teeth are arranged it seems you can only turn it one way).
What am i doing wrong? Or is there some special method for getting stubborn drums off that someone would like to tell me Im ready to get the oxy out and cut the bloody thing off
Someone please help me
EDIT: I have also been using plenty of WD-40 to try and loosen it up....
Drop Bear wrote: When i undo the bolts the drum actually moves back onto the hub assembly/brake pads as if something springy is holding the drum in place.
If that is happening then it sounds like the aduster was turned the wrong way and the pads are pulling the drum back in.It's been a long time since I've done this but the adjuster will only go one way (tighten pads) unless you depress or pivot the lever that operates the cog so you can turn the other way.Not a good explanation but you may get the idea.Hope it helps.
Drop Bear wrote: When i undo the bolts the drum actually moves back onto the hub assembly/brake pads as if something springy is holding the drum in place.
If that is happening then it sounds like the aduster was turned the wrong way and the pads are pulling the drum back in.It's been a long time since I've done this but the adjuster will only go one way (tighten pads) unless you depress or pivot the lever that operates the cog so you can turn the other way.Not a good explanation but you may get the idea.Hope it helps.
Neville
This is what i feared, unless youve looked inside the drum brake assembly before there is no way of knowing which way to turn, looks like ive done it the wrong way
Question now is how do i turn it back the other way? all it does is strip the top of the teeth off it appears it wasnt designed to be turned both ways??
I blew a axle bearing/seal at Coffs in my 4Runner on my way to Tuff Truck from the SunnyCoast, and we had the same problem with trying to get the drum off (we were fixing it in the hotel carpark). That adjuster did turn both ways using a screw driver, but even when fully adjusted the drums were still stuck.
So we ended up getting screwdrivers around it and levering it off and bending the crap out of the backing plate. Which only just worked after a lot of swearing and hitting and more swearing.
The backing plate was able to be bent back into shape without too much drama.
There is a lever that the teeth click against when you adjust them up, thats the clicking sound you hear. To back off the adjustment you have to push the lever back away from the teeth (with a screwdriver as Tiwstytoy suggested) and turn the cog the other way. It will not back off without pushing this lever back, thats how it is designed. Once you have backed them off you still may have trouble getting the drums off, thats where you can try the levering against the backing plate and hiting with a large hammer, dont be shy with the hammer either.
thanks guys, after spending all day on it yesterday and still no luck today i took it to a brake place. I rang em to see what they thought but i couldnt see the plate stopping the adjuster so i just gave it to them to fix as i had fully tightened them up (i bashed the hell out of it with the hammer, still wont loosen), will cost more but im not pissed off anymore
Not a yota man, but I managed to get a drum off by loosening the caliper from the backing plate, and carefully rotate it with a gripper tool which loosenend the shoes.
Bit late if you've already taken it to brake fixer people, but you use long full threaded (set screw) M8 bolts - in your drum (if it's anything like a cruiser) there should be two M8 threaded holes on the same PCD (centreline) as the wheel studs - you simply screw the bolts in, and as you screw them in they push the drum off the axle stud plate -good idea to taper the end of the bolts as they will burr over most likely. I did this just the other day on my troopy.
Stackson45 wrote:Bit late if you've already taken it to brake fixer people, but you use long full threaded (set screw) M8 bolts - in your drum (if it's anything like a cruiser) there should be two M8 threaded holes on the same PCD (centreline) as the wheel studs - you simply screw the bolts in, and as you screw them in they push the drum off the axle stud plate -good idea to taper the end of the bolts as they will burr over most likely. I did this just the other day on my troopy.
Yeah i sheard about 8 bolts trying to get it off, i think i had fully tightened the brake shoes so i needed to back the adjuster off, ill find out today anyway, thanks for the help people.
The axle is on its own so i didnt have the hand brake on
Sure enough there is a plate behind the adjuster ratchet that locks into the teeth, its just a matter of using a smaller screw driver to push the plate back and off the rachet and you can easily turn the ratchet opposite to what it was designed to move and therefore loosen off the brake pads and get the drum off.
The guys at Western brake & steering at Toongabbie got them off for me and didnt charge me a cent, champions!
Im ready to get the oxy out and cut the bloody thing off 
it appears it wasnt designed to be turned both ways??
