Rear drums...

Put the wheel on. Rock the tire violently top/bottom and pull HARD! Have adequate jack stands to keep it from falling over.

You can also try driving (slowly) for a short distance to see if it loosens.

Last is a puller, but it's difficult to get a grip with the usual pullers.

Jim

Had the all car on jack stands while I tried rocking and pulling... No go. Driving it with the bolt untighten? Isnt that kind of risky?

I have used an 8' length of pipe welded off-center to a sacrificial wheel. Bolt it up to the drum and use the leverage to release the drum. Park brake off, out of gear. If you salvage any number of abandoned VWs this tool becomes invaluable. Make one for either side.

While they may not be stuck on the brakes, the shoes may have worn into the drums creating a groove. Have you tried adjusting the brake shoes inward (instead of the normal out) so they clear the "lip" they may have formed in the inside of the drum.

If not that, how about a BFH against the drum snout to break it loose from the axle. This is probably not so good for the bearings and you probably want to put the axle nut back just so you don't mess up the threads when you miss ;-)

AshMan40

When mine are like that I give them a moderate tap all round with a hammer, usually works a treat.

I tend to agree with AshMan... what year BTW are we talking about? swing axle or IRS?

The shoes maybe are stuck in a groove in the drum. But from the original post "after many hours of pounding" typically I dont like pounding on wheel bearings...but yeah put the castle nut back on the axle enough to protect the threads... not against the drum and use a piece of 2x4 against the nut and give it a few good sharp hits with a hammer... it may loosen it up. dont hit the axle directly with a hammer... you DONT want to mess up any of the grooves or threads!

I´ll try this. The year is 1970. Thanks guys!

You can reinstall the castle nut without tightening it, and secure it in place with a wire or safety pin. Leave 1mm between the nut and the drum. That way the wheel wont come off. Then drive a bit arround and stop every now and then to check if the drum has unstuck from the axle. Try some braking while cornering (low speed) and alternation between accelerating and coasting, or some rough terrain.

Bill Spiliotopoulos, '67 Bug.

? "Manuel Macedo" ?????? ??? ?????? news:C305A7E4.9E7% snipped-for-privacy@netcabo.pt...

Hi Manuel,

It's nice to see more people from Portugal here I do hope you have already manage to remove the drums. Espero que tenhas aliviados os cal=E7os antes de tentar tirar os tambores

Jo=E3o