I want to inspect my rear brakes on my 1969 123 GT, but the drum just will not come loose from the backplate. It certainly appears that it has not been taken off for some time and is heavily rusted.

My local garage tackled the job and even with two different mechanical devices normally used for the task, the drum would not release.

I'd be interested to hear how others have solved this problem. Thanks for your help.

Jerry

one way to get them off if a puller won't work is the following:
1) jack up opposite side of car so tire just comes off the ground
2) find a normal nut that fits the theads and screw it onto the end of the axle of the wheel still on the ground.
3) get very large hammer a piece of wood and starting with gently taps hit the piece of wood, try to hit it square so you don't damage the threads.

This woorks because the tire is still on the ground and won't move sideways, the rest of the car is supported by the jack on the other side.

I was shown this trick when i still drove a 61 544 many years ago and until now have never owned a puller.

The only thing to be careful of is the threads on the axle.

good luck

Jerry,
Just one thing to add to the excellent advice so far.
To help prevent damage to the end of the shaft do not remove the drum nut completely, just undo it until the face of the nut is level with the end of the shaft and then push/hammer on both of them.
This also prevents the whole assembly from heading your way at a rate of knots if the taper lets go suddenly.
If the hub nut is castellated, reverse it on the shaft first to avoid damage to the pin slots.
Also once you have a good tension on the puller, one almighty clout with a big hammer is more effective, and does less damage, than a lot of lesser blows!
Colin.

I recently had the pleasure of trying to remove my rear brake drums. I went through two puller type tools without success. Through some research I found a tool on the internet that worked great.

It can be purchased at http://www.ToolParadise.com, item #7394 @$90.56 Universal Hub Puller.

Use a two pound hammer to drive the screw mechanism with occasional blows to the center point. I was able to remove the drums in a manner of minutes.

The rear wheels turn predominatly from the Morse taper on the axles which the drum slips over. The keyway mearly keeps the drum inline with the axle. In order for the taper to properly drive the drum, it must be dry. This is common machining knowledge. Any 1-2degree taper has unbelievable locking power. Just buy the proper puller or make it from an old rotor. The drums are supposed to be hard to get off.
-GIl

Gil;

You're absolutely right about the tapered shaft having "unbelievable locking power"...and if the assembly never needed to come apart, I'd bolt it together and wouldn't worry about it either. BUT, as everyone knows, those drums must be periodically removed for service, and when it might be years until that needs to be done the next time (allowing those parts to get pretty "friendly"), and since I just don't feel like having to beat the bejesus out of the assembly at that time, I like having that slight film on the taper to decrease the removal force just a bit. The alignment certainly is NOT compromised by the film, so what downside is there?...in fact, with the film, the contact is perfectly positive, so that a puller is STILL required for removal...just not with lug-bending force!

It's a call I make from experience and judgment. I don't see any advantage or your reason for recommending dry assembly, and since I DO realize a noticable advantage when I use the anti-seize, I'll keep on doing it that way.

I love America!

PS Wanna discuss the other places where I use and recommend it?

...like lugnut threads and tapers, head-bolt threads and headflats, manual and automatic rear-brake adjusters, heater/choke/e-brake control cables, SU jets and linkages, door hingepins, exhaust system hardware threads, anywhere steel meets alu (wheels to discs/drums), or hardware is threaded into or through alu bushings (like 1800 steering couplers, or 122SW trailing arm inserts), brake fittings, motorcycle swingarms...

...that's all the specific applications which come immediately to mind where I definately use it, and would'nt even start the job without having one of my containers handy, but as a rule, there are few places where I DON'T use it...like maybe on the threads of the dashboard switch nuts...

Cheers from the tinman!

Ron,
I don't mean to start a war or anything. I have had a 122 sit for 18 years and with the proper puller, you don't bend the lug nuts. As far as your other list I would agree with all of them. I've seen it cause failure on machinary tapers in the past. No big deal.
-Gil

Gil;

Im not offended...it just that your post sounded as though you were saying it is wrong to use it, and I just feel that it is so helpful in decreasing the amount of force needed to remove the drums, and it makes such a big difference, and with no apparent downsides, that it surely cant be wrong or bad...

If you've seen failures due to use, please elaborate...I'd certainly be interested if there is a possibility of similar situation in the Volvo application!

Cheers

Hey Ron,
The only failure I've seen with anti-seize had to do with someone applying it to a morse taper on a lathe. The tapered head flew out of the lathe and ended up against the wall instead of through his chest.
The advantage the rear axle has, now that I think about it is that it's bolted in so the taper does not just rely on itself for traction. Next time I do brakes on my 122 I'll give the anti-seize a try.
-Gil

Jerry;

...a minor point, but its not connected to the backing plate...what it is connected to (seemingly forever), is the tapered axle shaft...whatever!...the two still need to be seperated...

Drums can be a real bear to remove, and high static and impact forces are typically required, so it is crutial to apply these forces correctly, and ONLY to pulling the drum off (and not into bending lugs, or mushrooming the axelshaft, or breaking the drum, all of which complicate the job considerably and will make for a rotten day!)

...before doing damage, I highly recommend you check brickboard archives and/or my notes at: http://www.intelab.com/swem/service%20notes.htm#Braking%20System

Once you get the drum off, and before you reinstall it, I have one word:
Anti-seize ...er, two,
two words: Anti-seize application ...er, three,
three words: Anti-seize application on shaft ...er, four, ....er, five
...nevermind, I'll come in again...

Good luck

...and my apologies to Monty Python!

The factory puller has a very heavy flange that bolts to all the lugbolts.
It is about 9 or 10mm thick, and is shaped sort of like a very heavy
hat or maybe a regulator bonnet. It has a BIG, fine-thread screw in the
center with a hex head, and the "wrench" used to turn the screw has
striking faces on it for hammering. In general it WILL work.

I simplified the design, and mine is even more like a hat, with a flat
crown and no screw. The spacing is such that the inside of the top
bears on the end of the axle when the flange is about 6mm from the
mating surface on the hub. Tightening all the lug bolts in rotation pushes
the axle through the hub. This one always has worked rather easily for me.

The "commercial" puller has a heavy ring with 3 heavy arms that bolt to
the lugbolts, and its complexity is somewhat at odds with the required
rigidity, so it is not as positive in its action, but will usually do the
job. If not, I would recommend tightening it up just as tight as you
can, and put on the teakettle full of water. While it is getting hot,
tighten up the puller some more. When the water is boiling strongly,
hustle out and pour the boiling water over the hub QUICKLY, and then
strike the end of the screw very hard with the biggest hammer you have
(Not less than 1.5Kg but much bigger {5-10Kg) is much better).
This will combine thermal shock (and differential expansion between hub
and axle) with mechanical shock accompanied by very heavy static force
and really ought to get the cotton-picker off whether it wants to come off
or not.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

You need a bigger puller, and a bigger hammer...

Lots of stuff here on the Brickboard on the subject in the achives... these two recently for instance...

http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=620361&show_all=1

http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=620336&show_all=1

Good luck, and do be careful!
-Matt