what aabout heating the drum with a propane torch? any other suggestions are welcome...thanks,,,kris

When the puller is as tight as you dare to get it, strike the end of the puller center bolt very hard with a large hammer.

kris;

No one has reminded you to put the nut back on (reversed) to keep from mushrooming the halfshaft from the im[pact force of the puller, so I will...other than that, I would recommend patience, and a three pound hammer...(and although early and not even of concern yet - anti-seize upon reassembly!).

...and even though George is correct in what he writes about using heat, and the thermal equilibrium...I believe ANY microscopic movement resulting from heating, in combination with the static (and impact) forces from the puller, can only help toward removal...

See additional notes on drum brake servicing at: http://www.intelab.com/swem/service%20notes.htm#Braking%20System

Good Luck

Oops, posted my reply to Erik below before reading your post, Ron. Agree with the anti-seize, too.

A heavy hammer, and lots of pounding. When I took mine off of my PV after the previous owner had parked it 15 year prior due to a tuck and overheated rear brake I had one of those heavy duty pullers and a heavy hammer. I gradually ponded hard and harder on it until veins bulged and expletives flew. Finally I walked away sure something was going to snap inside my head, leaving the puller on the car pounded as tight as I could get it. About an hour later I heard a loud bang, went back into the garage and the hub had popped loose.

So spray around the axle with penetrating oil (PB Blaster stuff, possibly WD40). Put on the puller and hit it harder than you think you should with a heavy hammer (a heavy hammer used gently works better than a small one used hard in this case). Hit it as hard as you can, alternating between hitting the spinner to screw it tighter and hitting the end of the shaft to shock it loose. And if it still doesn't come just try letting it sit in traction for a while.

A propane torch, even a big one, can't heat the hub suddenly enough
to give differential expansion between the hub and the axle.

If your 3 armed puller is bolted down to the lug bolts, it'll work.
May be traumatic, because you gotta tighten it REALLY tight and you
gotta hit it pretty hard with not less than a 3# hammer.
If your puller does not hook to the lug bolts, you probably will not be
able to pull the drum if it was properly installed. You'll damage the
drum first.

I made a puller that looks like a very heavy steel hat, that has holes
in the brim for the lug bolts and fits over the end of the axle. You
tighten the lug bolts against the brim and the crown pushes the axle into
the hub. In some cases I have to use a spacer but it has never failed to
pull a brake drum and is fairly easy to use. If you like I can get dimensions
for you.

Back in the 50s my grandfather caught me trying to pull a drum off my
1940 ford pickup, pretty much the same design. Didn't have a puller.

After I had used an oxyacetylene cutting torch to heat the hub without
success, he came out with a teakettle full of boiling water. He wrapped a rag
around the end of the axle to keep the water off it and poured the boiling
water over the hub. After about 3 seconds he told me to hit it (14# hammer).
I did and it popped right off. The deal is that water has a very high specific
heat, so it can heat other things with a lower specific heat (like metals)
very suddenly. If you heat and expand the hub before much of the heat
conducts to the axle (a fairly slow process, especially from one piece to
another) you develop maybe some clearance, or at least less interference,
and if your timing is good, BEFORE you achieve equilibrium, you can get it off.

The right puller still works better though, and requires NO sense of timing.
Just brute force. (One of my favorite things!)
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

You need a hub puller, which bolts onto the wheel studs; if that's what you have, tighten the screw really tight and whack the puller bolt with a 3-5 lb. hammer, HARD!

It just takes time, one of mine took over an hour to remove.
And remember, if your tapping it with a hammer, move your head and body out of the way!!!!!!!!!
When a particularly stuck drum finally "popped" off, it landed three feet from the car. Not pretty if I had been sitting in front of it swearing in swedish :)
-Erik

It's a really good idea to loosen the castle nut just a bit, but leave it on. That way, you don't mushroom the axle with the hammering, and the drum goes nowhere when it finally pops.

Excellent point.