How to take off drum brakes?

Is there a place that can show images of the procedures?

First, ensure that the parking brake is NOT applied.. remove any obvious screws that look like they hold the drum to the hub.. use a rubber or plastic mallet and tap around the drum.. you may have to 'tap' fairly hard.. try to use an action that moves the drum towards you.. heating up the drum can help in removal.. start early in the day.. it can take a while..

-- History is only the past if we choose to do nothing about it..

I've had brakes where I had to back off the adjuster a bit, too.

If the brakes are fairly high mileage, it is very likely that you have worn the drum enough to leave a ridge of metal and/or rust around the edge of the drum that the shoes don't contact. Since the shoes self adjust to stay near the drum, they are likely now larger in diameter than this ridge on the drum meaning that they effectively lock the drum into place. The solution is to pull the rubber plugs in the backing plate and use a screwdriver to turn the self-adjuster cog wheel to retract the shoes. Once that is done, typically a good rap on the drum with a small hammer will break loose any rust and the drum will come off fairly easily.

Matt

Ahh - yes - I've seen that to - due to a ridge being worn (or should I say *not* worn) on the inner edge of the drum, or if wear is slightly conical.

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

On my 1990 caravan I had to remove the axle nut and wheel bearings to remove the drum. I had to do the same on my hyundai.

Make sure that you remove the rubber plug from the rear and loosen the "star brake adjusters" by pushing on them with a small flat tip screw driver. You can use the oil and a small hammer as well, but it is the adjusters that are holding the drum by friction with the shoes.

Bob