Brake drums are quite often a little challenging to get off. However, there are some instances where your brake drums may be really stuck, making them seem almost impossible to remove no matter how much elbow grease you apply.
So how do you remove a stuck brake drum?
Thankfully, automotive YouTuber ChrisFix covers a step-by-step solution to this common problem:
- Spray penetrating oil to remove rust from between the drum and the seat.
- Hit the drum hard with a mallet or hammer then try to wiggle it loose.
- If you still aren’t able to remove the brake drum, you will need to cut or drill out the holding pins from the drum, remove the screws to the brake cylinder, and pull off the drum.
Many times, a stubborn brake drum can be a real pain to remove. Below, we’ll cover in more detail the process that you will want to follow if you are having a difficult time getting your brake drum off of your vehicle.
Removing Stubborn Brake Drums: A Step-By-Step Guide
The first thing that you should do if you are wanting to remove your brake drum is to try wiggling it off by hand. In many cases, simply rotating the brake drum back and forth while you are pulling on it will be enough to break it loose and get it off if you apply enough muscle.
If this doesn’t work and your brake drum refuses to budge, check and see if there are holes along the perimeter of your brake drum where a bolt can be inserted. If there are, putting a bolt into these holes and screwing it down is a quick and easy way to break loose your brake drum.
If this is not an option, though, the next thing you will want to do is apply a generous amount of penetrating oil where the brake drum is held in place by the studs to remove the rust between the drum and its seat that is locking the drum in place.
Let this oil sit for a period of time then hit your brake drum hard with a hammer or mallet to knock loose the rust that the penetrating oil has helped break down. At this point, you should be able to then remove your brake drum by hand.
If not, you may have to consider more extreme measures such as heating the brake drum with a blowtorch so that the metal will expand or cutting/drilling out the drum’s holding pins. If your brakes are stuck open, they will hold the brake drum in place no matter how hard you try to remove it, making removing the holding pins the only option you have for getting the brake drum off.
Once these holding pins are removed, though, you should be able to remove the screws from the brake cylinder and pull off the drum with little trouble at all.
Where to Find Valuable Maintenance Information About Your Vehicle
A stuck brake drum is just one of the many issues that you may run into if you are performing your own maintenance and repairs on your vehicle.
Thankfully, Vehicle History provides a wealth of information regarding the maintenance of every make and model in existence, enabling you to access the information about your vehicle that you need to know to perform your own repairs in a safe, efficient, and affordable manner.
