I know that this question has been asked before. And I feel like I've tried damn near everything that has been suggested. But I'm at my wits end. We've spent probably 20 hours trying to get these damn things to move and they just won't budge! We started off trying various pullers. Today we got an old beater wheel. Used an acetylene torch to light it up. And then hammered on the rim with a 4 lb sledge and a 2 lb dead blow at the same time. We thought it would do the job, but the thing just won't give!!! We have been really careful to not mushroom the tip, and so far we have been successful. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help!
I forget what its called, it has a tapper (on axel ,funnel shape) with a key way,that mates to hub/drum. I have not haded a problem removing myself ,but the ones who have suggested loosen the nut up a couple of turns from seat and take it for a ride around the block to break loose.
Get your puller on there.. load it up with tension, almost to the point of stripping the threads or bending the puller, get that torch lit and warm up the taper of the hub. The hub will expand and it should shoot off there with great spirit... Unless the brakes are holding it place, however you should be able to dislodge the taper with this method.
They made a puller just for this, what you have will not work. I don't know the model number of the real puller but @alchemy does
here is a thread on pulling rear drums https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/flathead-ford-brake-drum-removal-with-krw-tool.343596/
I have a repro of the KR Wilson and it always works. But I think my brother needed to use some heat on one hub when he borrowed it once.
The good news is...if its that tight then nobody ran it loose, so the keyway and the taper are probably in good shape once you you the correct puller and get it off
Make sure the brakes are backed off. Mount your puller as shown and tighten it up. (The puller shown by moriarty does make life easier, but since you already have the type shown, use it. That type has been used successfully MILLIONS of times over the years!). Heat the tapered portion of the hub and let it cool. Do this for several cycles while keeping tension on the puller. After a few cycles of heat and cool, get it good and hot and add tension to the puller and smack the center adjusting stud with a BFH. Since this is a tapered fit, penetrant probably won't work, but heat will. Good luck!
Put a nut on the axle and run it down flush with end so the end isn't damaged. Those co**** thread bolts running into the bearing splitter won't be able to generate enough force. Weld some bolts together to make studs with fine threads sticking thru the bar, lube up the threads, and give it a go. Better chance it will work than the current set-up.
Another thread on hub puller. nice homemade one on page 2. what ever you do have the nut on there, when they let loose they can do some serious damage otherwise. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-lo-buck-early-ford-hub-drum-puller.575135/
This. Cry once, but rest easy knowing you have the proper tool in your box. Best puller out there in my opinion.
I almost bought the one from vintage precision but found an original KR Wilson version right before I pulled the trigger, you want the force to be right in the center of the axle, your puller will just try and bend that plate over the axle threads and not apply the amount of force needed to pop the hub off. I also leave the castle nut on so when it lets go it doesn't come flying in your direction and also protects the ends of the threads. The right tool and a little heat will release it. Those axle nuts are torqued up quite a bit too, usually north of 250 ft/lbs, so as you can imagine the hubs are on there quite snug.
did you look at his picture? no center adjusting stud to smack, co**** thread bolts mean low clamping force, and looks like the cross bar is bending, He really needs the correct puller
I'm definitely no mechanic. On a Model A I had I could not get the drums off the rear end. Went over to a friends house and told him what was going on and he loaned me one of those dog bone pullers. Now this guy is probably the best mechanic I've ever met. He has put together some incredible motors and built some really one off type hot rods that you will ever see. I know it worked on my A with no problems, don't know if it would work out for you. https://www.public.asu.edu/~grover/willys/puller.html
They make a very strong puller that actually has a thing that you hit with a hammer to tighten the threads. I have one somewhere in my shop , but haven’t used it in a while, not sure where it is! I actually bought it to pull the hubs off my lawn mowers when I was a dealer! Works great! I ***ure you it will pull your hub with no damage. Just make sure you back the nut off a little, but not off! Bones
Here's my home made jobber. The guys at the barn laugh at it, and most here will too I imagine, but it has never failed me on a couple dozen rear ends. The notch was rough cut with a torch, then ground/filed to be a tight fit that has to be hammered on. Fine thread long nut from a truck U bolt, and the threaded rod out of one of my other pullers. I imagine one day it will fail, and then I'll need the vintage precision puller too.
Using the 3 arm puller on the wheel studs can definitely destroy your hub and drum if the hub was installed with sufficient torque.
One other thing you can try (along with your best friend heat) is to put the wheel and tire back on the drum you want to remove and set that on the ground with the other side jacked up. When you deliver the blow to the puller more of the force will transfer to the hub which is more likely to stay stationary with part of the weight of the vehicle on it. Do this along with the other suggestions above.
It can , if you just put it on there and go to whacking away with a BFH. But if you put it on the hub, put some torque on it, tap the bolt and apply some heat to the hub, not a lot but some, then tap the bolt again, the hub will come off, with no damage! Or at least they have for me….and I have had some real tight ones! Bones
Slow and steady will win the race every time as Mr Bones says . I have done many on early Ford , Jeep and International axles same process as he described not one issue to date .
This is the Plomb Tool Company hub puller that I've used with great success. I bought mine on eBay a year ago for just under $100 - the little crescent 'thing' is what you use to capture the wheel.
That’s what Dodge said to do, they made a “bolt” for it. I have one and made one with a nut and bolt welded together. Both worked.
I tried this method on a 46 tudor that sat forever. I wasn't my idea, an old guy across the street and sitting on his porch was watching my monkey motions for hours and decided to offer information. He was a retired Ford mechanic. He said to put the tire back on, reinstall the puller and loosen the nut a couple of turns, then set the tire on the ground and jack up the opposite side. At this point my friend and I thought he was nuts, but decided to do what he said. After jacking up the other side, he told us that one of us needed to go on that side and rock the car side to side while the other one hit the end of the puller we had tightened completely as hard as we could. Following the "crazy" guys instructions, we did this in less than 3 minutes and heard a loud "pop" and the hub was loose on the axle and sitting against the loosened nut! Well, being the well versed wise guys we were, we figured all of our gyrations had primed the hub to come off. But, we repeated the operation on the other side, which we had nut touched prior, and "pop", off it came the same way. That was way back in the dark ages of 1971 and I have used that same process on every old Ford tapered axle hub since, always with success! All thanks to one old retired "crazy idea" Ford mechanic!
This is a very nice puller. Way better than others I have had. This one will not get loaned out never to return.
The Jalopy Journal
