Date:         Mon, 29 Oct 2001 09:15:13 EST
Reply-To:     KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Subject:      Re: Removing rear brake drums?
Comments: To: Gnarlodious@earthlink.net
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;

This is a job that we have been doing alot of lately as people have been
coming in to have brake work done.  Very easy way to remove your rear drums
EVERY time no matter how rusty they are.
Remove the wheel and the two 11mm head bolts.  Take a large hammer and begin
beating between the studs on the face of the drum.  This is backed to the hub
so you can't hurt anything.  Hit back and forth side to side and up and down.
 This may take only a few seconds of hitting or a minute.  The sound of the
hitting will change.  Drum is broken loose from the hub and will come right
off (please be sure your emergency brake is off!)

You can change the brakes with the hub on very easily.  I like to use a pair
of "Vise-Grip" TM needle nose pliers to unhook and hook those springs that
are harder to get to.  Also you can turn the hub so that the cutout makes it
easier to get to some spots.

The real downside to removing the rear hub to deal with the rear brakes is,
how can you be sure that you are torquing the nut back on to the proper
torque specs.  I mean you could do the math and make up a bar that is a
measured length and have someone with a known weight stand on it at a certain
spot (ala David B.).  To me this is alot of extra work to go through just to
change rear brakes which is something the average person does once every
couple of years at the most (most westy owners probably do this every 5-6
years since they aren't driving thier campers in the winter).

In my opinion, get out the hammer and the vise grips and do the brake job
with the hub on.  My opinion is free and many would argue that you get what
you pay for :)

Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com
Phone: (856)-765-1583
Fax: (856)-327-2242

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