Hi all, I just wondered if anyone out there is familiar with the intricate workings of the dodge coronet? I built a 50 ford for myself and my wife brought home a 1949 Coronet for me to build for her. I have 0 dodge experience. Mine is all ford and chevy. Im doing fairly well finding parts and such but I have hit a roadblock and need some help. I cant seem to get the brake drum covers off of any of the wheels????? Am I just a puss and not trying hard enough or is there a special procedure or special tool needed? I want to do a complete brake job on the car and I cant even get the covers off! Makes me just a bit embarrassed! Any help, tips, tricks, ideas, etc on anything for the dodge would be greatly appreciated!!! Im in central IL and my email is ridearigid@yahoo.com. Thanks Mike. And if you are in the area....Dont forget, September 5th is the 3rd annual Bombers Car Club "Bombs Away Bash"!!!!! http://www.myspace.com/bomberscarclub
Ok, I was able to get the fronts off after some serious muscle! But the back ones are NOT moving??????????
Not sure on the dodges specifically but I have had luck removing stuck break drums by heating them gently with a propane torch and it will help pop loose all the corrosion and crap and sometimes let them slide off easier.
The back ones should be held on with a nut and have a keyway in them.... I know you already took the nut off. I would heat up the end like mentioned above and use a wheel or hub puller.
You will need a drum puller like this to get the rears off. Short of that you can also loosen the axle nut about one turn and drive the car around the block slowly until you hear it pop loose. Also check out the P15-D24 site. There is a lot of expertise over there with the older Mopars. http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/index.php?referrerid=1152
The rears require a special puller. You remove the cotter pin and the axle nut and then the drum is on the tapered end of the axle. You should use the proper puller to not mess anything up. There was a workaround that was used back in the day. You remove the cotter pin and axle nut per the above. You then jack up the opposite rear wheel wo taht the car is sitting at an angle on the wheel whose drum you want to remove. You go to the 'up' side of the car and push sharply sideways. The side thrust at an angle is supposed to break the drum's grab on the tapered axle. This technique can work but of course back when they were using this trick the cars were not 60 years old. BTW I have two complete 49 Dodge Coronets for sale in the classifieds if you are interested. Both have been in storage for many moon.
When I got my car from my dad, he happened to have a puller that (I think) was made for that job. I didn't have any trouble with pulling mine. Now my car was not stored outside at any point so that may make a difference. They do take a good whoppin with a big hammer to get them to come loose. You will need a puller of some sort that will bolt to the lugs and have a center bolt to tighten and bang on, tighten more and bang more but they will come off.
FIVE years on this one JIMI. Check the last post date before you brink a zombie back to life. Sit back, read and learn for awhile........... .
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