So I've been wrestling with this one brake drum off of my '52 dodge sedan for about an week now and I'm gettin pretty frustrated to stay the least. I've tried the dog-legged puller with as much stank as i can put on it and I think ive used a whole bottle of chemical lube to get it apart. I need it off because I need to replace the wheel cylinder. Now some old guy told me that in some early 50's cars you can do something in the rear end and slide out half an axle so you can take that somewhere to get it pulled. Because theres no way its goin anywhere in the state its in. So what I'm askin is do any of you know what to do in the rear so I can slide out half the axle or have better ideas as to get this drum off because I've long run out of any. And yes I have beaten the junk out of it too. Thanks.
Have you tried to apply heat from a torch around the center of the drum? Those tapered axles are a *****, the drums are stuck on there pretty tight.
That won't work on your Mopar.......because the axle is held in place at the outer end of the axle housing by a bearing retainer........not by "C" clips in the differential. To pull an axle, without destroying anything, you HAVE to get the stubborn hub off first. One method that's been bandied about over time, is to loosen the retaing nut on the axle end a couple turns (DO NOT REMOVE IT) and drive the car around a bit, making turns etc. and it may 'pop' loose. However, that said, the puller tool is the favored approach. Good luck......they can be a bear sometimes. Ray
I always had good luck with the "chain pop" method. Attach a length of heavy chain to the hub usin the lug bolts. Loosen the axle nut a couple or three threads. Lay the chain in a curve back under the car from the hub, and then back out again. Step back and jank the chain out as fast as possible and CRACK, the hub pops loose.
Did your hub puller look like this? The kind you tighten with a sledge hammer? That is the only kind that will work with these hubs.
X2 on the five leg puller. That one is not nearly as heavy duty as the one my Dad used in his repair shop in the 50s. If you read on hamb, the mopar tapered axles are the toughest ones to get free. Working without tools? One hamber said this will work: He said loosen the nut a couple threads, but set that wheel and tire back on the ground...then jack up the opposite wheel completely off the ground, then violently shake the back of the car back and forth as hard as you can. He claimed that flexes the drum or whatever. If that does no work, maybe heat the hub a bit with whatever torch you have, then shake the heck out of it again.
When you have put all you have into it take a 10# sledge hammer and smack the puller bolt on the head, may take a few times but that usually does the trick.
Sweet thank you guys for the quick replies. I'm in a rush and I need it off. I'll give the sledge a try and if not I'll go crazy and try some more extreme stuff. -Tyler
Well so I tried puttin my 3 dog leg puller and usein my largest persuader (a 4 foot pipe) and all I did was break a good ratchet and get even more frustrated. So I wen to 3 auto parts stores only to find that none of them rented decent drum pullers, though I did hear an colorful idea on how to do it involving some chain and a bottle jack. So I'm going to do what I probably should have done in the first place is ask my girl friends grandpa who's a old school hot rodder since the 40's for one. Thnka sfor all the input. I'll defiantly be back if I can't figure something out.
Hey mate. I got a 54 dodge and had this problem a few years ago. I tried all the supposed "ways" to get it off. I ended up making a puller like below. Remove retaining nut, attach it with the wheel studs, tighten, give it a crack on the end of the bolt. Remove it, give the taper a crack with a not so FB hammer, replace puller, tighten, & give it a crack. It should come loose. Otherwise, load it up over night and give it a crack next day. Use a breaker bar on it if you have one. I'd resist the urge to put heat on it if at all possible. Louie
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