I cant get the drum off to get to the shoes on my 88 camaro. Please help!?

Question

I am not able to get the drum off to get to the shoes. What is the secret? Do I need to get a puller of some sort? HELP!!!!!!!

Answer 1

The brake adjuster inside probably needs to be loosed up. As your brakes wore into the drum, and the automatic adjuster tighned them up, the shoes are now stuck in a groove and are holding the drum on.

Usually there is a rubber plug on the backside of the backing plate, remove it and you should see a star wheel adjustment nut. Turning it the wrong way will lock your drum from turning, so turn it the other way.

Answer 2

I am a little rusty on drum brakes but I will tell you what i remember and maybe that will help you. Drum brakes have adjusters that are basically a nut with two threaded rods on each end of the nut. The nut has ridges and valleys that you can grip it with an adjusting tool. the threaded rod one of which is left hand and one is right hand threads so that when moved in one direction both rods move in the same direction. What you want to do is to "back off " the adjuster so that the wheel turns freely . The adjuster has an access slot and probably a small rubber insert to keep out dirt etc. When the adjuster is moved the brake shoes are expanded ( moved farther apart by the adjuster) or contracted ( the opposite) . The greatest agrivation is if the brake shoes have worn a grove in the brake drum that is basically a slot and when you try to pull the drum off the shoes are in the slot. the fix is to loosen the adjuster even more. you may have to use something like wd40 to lubricate or free up the adjuster if it is frozen. i would not drive the car after spraying wd40 on the adjusters as some may get on the brake shoes and effect the performance of the brakes. If the adjuster is free moving then back off the adjuster as far as you can and tap lightly on the drum then remove . This assumming that you have the wheel removed ofcourse. I hope this helped you. Look up a picture of a drum brake system if you cannot visualize the setup. Good Luck.

Answer 3

You're over your head. Take it to a repair shop. On the backside of the drum there should be a hole through which you can adjust and unadjust the brakes. This oblong hole will be at the bottom of the brakes. If the backing plate does not have a hole then sometimes a hole must be punched into the front of the drum . Most likely you have wore the shoes and drum to the point that there is a large groove inside the drum which prevents you from removing it because the shoes are in the groove. There is a adjusting paw at the bottom of the drum that must be depressed in order for the adjusting screw to be backed up. If done wrong you mess up the adjusting Paw as well as the adjuster. From the sounds of your problem you'll need a new brake drum. Save yourself a lot of time and trouble and take this car to a professional.

Answer 4

More than likely you have the drums rust out or wear too far, replace it when you get it off.
Go behind the brake backing plate, on the bottom should have a hole that cover with rubber plug, remove plug and use 2 plat blade screw driver one to unlock the self adjuster lever and the other to turn the adjuster star back in, to release you brake shoes off the drums. To tell the right direction to turn, turn the star and if you hear it click that the wrong direction (without release the adjuster lever). However, It safer for you to bring it to a repair shop and get qualify ppl to work on it for you.

Answer 5

On the backing plate there will be a rubber plug that is long and narrow. Pull it off and use either a wide falt blade screw driver or a brake adjusting tool and rotate the star adjusting wheel to loosen the nut. That will cause the bottom of the brake shoes to get closer together and it should allow you to remove the drum.

Answer 6

loosen the brake adjuster inside the drum, there should be 2 holes in the drum backing plate with rubber inserts in them, take the inserts out and if you look in the holes you will see a star wheel, you will need to get a brake adjusting tool or you can use a screwdriver to turn this wheel downward to loosen the brake pads from the drum, also there is a bar lock that holds the wheel in place that you have to push back while you are turning the gear wheel downward.

Answer 7

That is always a pain in the butt. I ussually try to pry both sides evenly and put the lug nuts on without the tire. Just a few threads and then hit them one at a time until it starts to come loose. It really is a pain in the neck. They don't make a puller for that because the center of the drum is so thin it will crack before it releases.

Answer 8

STICK A FLAT SCREW DRIVER THROUGH THE SLOT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BACKING PLATE ..
turn the adjuster in till the shoes are loose ..
then the drum will slide right off

Answer 9

Did you release the parking brake? It locks the rear brakes to keep the car from rolling and the drums won't come off with it set. If you have released the brake try tapping it gently with a soft hammer sometimes dust gets stuck and they won't slide out. Another option is to find the adjuster and adjust the shoes looser.

Answer 10

I have a lot of friends from North America who had beautiful new carpets, or lots of kids with lots of friends and they insisted people take of their shoes in their homes. Its not that strange to me as I like going barefoot. It's true, some people get offended at the silliest things.