Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) rear drums

[JRS]

I give up. How do I get the rear drums off? (yes, the emergency brake is off) There doesn't seem to be any threaded holes for jacking bolts, which was what I was used to on other vehicles with drum brakes.

 

[Dieselnerd]

With the wheels off, if the little clips have been removed and a hammer didn't work, do the following: Make sure it's on jackstands, at least one nut on the studs loosely, start the truck and put it in drive, hit the brakes, do the same in reverse. This usually breaks them loose fast.

 

[Blakers]

I just use a BIG hammer and go around them. They almost always get loose that way. Sometimes, if you have a lip worn on the inside of the drums, you may have to back off the adjustment first.



Good luck.



Blake

 

[Dennis Garrett]

I just changed out the original rears on my 97, at 160k. They still had pleanty of shoe left, but I thought I'd wear out the lug nuts if I kept checking them. I put a big screw driver between the edge of the drum & that backing plate, pryed a little, and tapped around the drum with a big copper hammer I have, and they pop right off. Even with that many miles, the drums looked nice, & didn't need turning. I did install the bigger cylinders from NAPA while I was at it, and flushed the fluid on all four corners too. The cylinders are for a 3500, and are a little bigger in diameter, but I don't really notice any difference in braking.

 

[fortunate1]

My original rear brake shoes lasted a long time (173 K), like Dennis'. The guy I bought the truck from in '97 gave me lots of spare stuff as a part of the deal. Among the parts were new rear shoes. The originals were still in good shape, but I went ahead and replaced them with the new ones; I also turned the drums. Should have just left everything alone. Because somehow all that happened was a squeak during slow-speed, light braking. That stinks! What could have gone wrong? I hate to think that I might need to buy new shoes and turn the drums again.

 

[jtadysak]

Here's a trick I've been using for 35 years and it's worked everytime..... take a propane torch and heat the drum right around the hub and studs get it to 200 - 400 degrees depending on how hard its stuck. . as your heating tap face of drum with a med sized hammer, until loose. . by all means wear gloves. . and eye protection. . when loose pull drum off with gloved hands. . this take about 3-5 minutes... good luck and be patient it will work as long as there isn't a large rib on outside of drum and it hanges up on shoe's . . drum will be loose so just back off shoe adjuster. .