ford truck

well I need some one from the brain trust...I have a 1975 350 XLT Ranger and I cannot remove a rear drum to replace a wheel cylinder..spent the morning trying. the drum is on the passenger side. all suggestions will be followed and thanks for taking time to even read this message..

They are a hard part to get off. I have heated the center area (where the wheel studs come through) near red hot before they gave up. Another way id to drill 3 holes near the center of the axle flange (just through the drum) then weld a nut over the hole. Put a bolt in the nut and use the pressure to push it off. If the drums need to be used again, the nuts can be ground off. JimN

There are some good suggestions here, and my post will be a little redundant, but here goes:

Soak the drum with some good penetrating oil a few days ahead of time. Spray the area around the wheel studs and the part where the axle sticks through the drum. Soak it up good with some Liquid Wrench, Kroil or P"Blaster. Forget about WD-40. That stuff is only good for drying out a distributor cap. When you are ready to do your brakes, hit the drum with a sledge hammer right at the 90 degree area. Don"t over do it or the drum or axle could get damaged.
If nothing works so far, you"ll need a big torch. Get the area hot between the wheel studs and move the torch around a lot so the area doesn"t get too hot. Quite often the drum will just "pop" and release itself off the axle all by itself.
When putting this all together, put just a very small amount of lith grease between the drum and the axle so this doesn"t happen again. Keep the grease amount very small so the grease doesn"t ever get on your brake shoes.

I don't know if it will work on your drum, but I have driven a few of the lug nut studs back inside of the drum and then take an old screwdriver and try driving it in the stud hole between the drum and the axle flange. If the hole in the drum gets deformed a little you can put it on a wooden block and hammer it straight again. I have already seen guys torch the drum off.

does that truck have inboard or outboard mounted rear drums? thats right about the time that they changed from inboard[ the axle and 2 big nuts must be removed] to remove the drum, to outboard[ the drum will come off without removing the axle and nuts]

Take a torch and heat the drum around the axel so it is red hot and then pour cold water over it and they will usualy pop loose. Bob

If it is a F350 it probably has a full floating rear end, and you need to pull the axle to remove the drum , hub and all.

The F 350 of that vintage definitely used a full floating rear end. To get the brake drum off, you have to remove the 6 or 8 small bolts at the end of the axle shaft flange. They usually have lock-tight on their threads, so use an impact wrench if you have one. Pull the axle all the way out, nothing will drop in the pumpkin. Now look in the hole the axle came out of and see a big approx 2.5" diameter nut. You need a special socket to take that nut out. Sometimes they have 2 nuts for locking against each other, and sometimes they have a special lock between the 2 nuts that is bent up against one of the flats of the outside nut. Sometimes you need to take a chisel and drive it between the flat and the bent over lock, wedging it apart. The lock must be spread before you can get the big socket in there. Most auto parts places sell the needed socket, about $20. Take both nuts out and then the outer wheel bearing will come out. Now if the drum is stuck on the brake shoes, you loosen the auto adjuster as much as possible and get out the BFH. Hit on the back edge of the drum, working your way around it. DO NOT hit the backing plate. If the outer wheel bearing is out, you may be lucky and just pull the drum and hub off together. On these early type Spicer 60 rear ends, the hub and drum are press fitted together. Usually there is no reason to separate the hub and drum, unless you are replacing the brake drum. If so, you need the penetrating oil, heat, and a press to get them apart. No need to press the 8 wheel studs out of the hub, unless they are damaged and need replacement.

I have also seen this axle fitted with a single self locking big nut, instead of the 2 nuts and a lock between them, but I think that came after 1975.

Sometimes I have taken the torch and split the drum to get it off the brake shoes. This is a problem that may occur with a long period of sitting and the shoes and drum rust together. If you have to split the drum, make your torch cut at the bottom so you don't blow hot steel into the brake area, but aim your torch so the hot metal is blown towards the ground.

The easily removed drums did not occur on F250 HD and F350 Fords until almost 1990...on the full floater axle, which is what you have. The semi float axle used in the 150 and light duty 250 is a completely different deal, and some of the answers below refer to that semi float axle. I have worked on these things since the early 60s, and I do know what I am talking about.

When you put it back together, grease both the inner and outer wheel bearing and install a new axle/hub seal (inside of inner bearing). You use the 2 big nuts to adjust the tension on the wheel bearings, so check that carefully when you reassemble...not loose, but not tight...kind of like adjusting the play on a front wheel bearing. You will probably need a new lock for between the 2 big nuts also.

Good luck, I know it is a stinking dirty job, but not near as bad as dropping a tranny.

Paul in MN

Put it all back together, wheel on, and take it to a trusted brake shop. Let them deal with it! Since you have not done this before and probably won't ever do it again, save yourself the time, sweat, and agony..

Our 1981 F350 rear drums you still have to remove the axle and then take the bearing lock nut off and remove the hub and drum together. Switch likely didn't happen until the late 1990's or later to easy remove drums.

Mike,

I think my 93 E350 full floater axle has the easy to pull drums, so probably the change over was late 80's or very early 90's. I know for sure that my 86 Dodge W250 has the old style miserable rear drums.

Maybe somebody really knows when this great change was made. It sure makes a huge difference in the ease of doing rear brake work.

Paul in MN

after all my efforts of heating and beating that could be the answer but my good friend how do I do that??? this 350 has a gross weight of 9000 plus for gross weight and oversize tires used for logging..and all I wanted to do was change the wheel cylinder..this old man is desperate..living in the boonies...but thanks for replying...may you live to be a 100 in good health..

(quoted from post at 02:52:51 05/31/09) after all my efforts of heating and beating that could be the answer but my good friend how do I do that??? this 350 has a gross weight of 9000 plus for gross weight and oversize tires used for logging..and all I wanted to do was change the wheel cylinder..this old man is desperate..living in the boonies...but thanks for replying...may you live to be a 100 in good health..

Click to expand...

Sorry it didn't work for you... try asking your question here:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum38/

These folks are usually pretty helpful and the site gets plenty of traffic.

Good Luck,


Dave

Well Paul reading your detailed description of work to be done I realize now I have a great deal to accomplish..and you do not know much I appreciate your knowledge..my problem is to fulfill the goal of just changing a wheel cylinder or blocking that line until I can gather some help..living in the boonies is not easy..plus being 85 and still coping..may you be in good health and comfortable till the end of time..

Lumpy that would solve my problem but this is a farm truck with no plates my nearest trusted garage is 10 miles and I would not be tormented..maybe I will find a backyard mechanic from a nearby town to do it..I will consider..thanks..

Paul is right except you have a Dana 70 axle,not a 60 when you need to get parts.

Massey,

Yes, I did think about the possibility of it being a Dana 70, and I think you are right. The HD Fords of that time period were stout. But as I had written a lot of info, and I type miserably slow, I decided to not add any more "confusion". The procedures I described are exactly the same for the Spicer (Dana) 60 and 70. If I recall correctly, the Dana 70 has bigger wheel bearings, and maybe a larger ring and pinion gear. I am pretty sure it has heftier axle tubes. I do not know if all F350s of that time used the Dana 70, or maybe just the heavy pullers having the 460 engine. It has been a lot of years since I worked on a 1975 Ford!

Thanks for confirming my procedural description.

Good Day!

Paul in MN

Paul in Mn has given you a good step by step instruction - I will add a couple things. Back off your brakes before you try to pull the drum. Remove ridge of rust from outer edge of drum before you put it back on. Be sure and use new seals when reassembling. If you have too much trouble it may be wise to take it to a garage or get some help.