OT - Frozen Brake Drums

Ron-MO

Member
Any suggestions other than heat, big hammer to
free up frozen brake drum? What worked best if
you have experienced? Recently acquired a 1970
F100 pickup, and 3 of the 4 brakes are frozen
(3 flat tires sliding getting onto my trailer
which was a good time). Appears wheel cylinders
have leaked causing rusting in the drum thus
pads are stuck to the drum. I have done quite a
bit of pounding with a large sledge to no avail
so far. Just wondering if others have had other
methods with success. From best guess and
judging by plates on the pickup it has sat for
approx. 25 years without moving, as the plates
on it expired in 1990. This is a limited
budget truck, so wanting to save the drums and
turn/reuse if at all possible.
 
I had a '73 F-100 with back wheel drum brakes. I had trouble once with the drums. Try to free the adjusters with PB or your favorite mix to free them. Back off the adjusters,then tap the drums around to free the shoes,a couple of screwdrivers behind the drum may help. Don't count on saving the drums.
 
I always have good results banging the mount/drive flange between the studs really hard - against the brake durm (if you're worried about tagging a stud hold a chunk of steel there and bang on that) The shock typically pops it loose.
 
With severely worn hubs ( big lip inside ) even if I manage to loosen the star adjuster , I usually need a large screw driver prying and a hammer shocking the drum for ten munites . If you combine a string of four or more cuss words it helps , I think .

As a last resort , I have used a die grinder and ground off the heads of the pins that go through the springs that hold the shoes to the backing plate . It makes a mess of things but an inch will let you get a chisel / pry bar / ??? inside .

Complete spring sets are dirt cheap .

The rear parts are not too bad , the front drums must have a gold inlay or something .

Auto Zone

'70 F100

Duralast/Brake Drum - Rear
Price: $32.99
Part Number: 8789

Duralast/Brake Drum Self-Adjusting Kit-Rear
Price: $9.99
Part Number: H2544

Duralast/Brake Drum All-In-One Kit - Rear
Price: $7.99
Part Number: H7137

Duralast/Brake Drum - Front
Price: $68.99
Part Number: 8796C

Duralast/Brake Drum All-In-One Kit - Front
Price: $7.99
Part Number: H7137
 
This usually works, but in this case the pads are
stuck to the drums, so 3 of the 4 wheels will not
turn at all, as if someone were holding the brake
pedal.
 
(quoted from post at 20:10:31 01/19/15) This usually works, but in this case the pads are
stuck to the drums, so 3 of the 4 wheels will not
turn at all, as if someone were holding the brake
pedal.

Spinning the drum is probably like prying off a suction cup . 10,000 psi pulling straight or 50 psi at an angle . Grinding off the pin heads may let you break the rust bond at an angle .

I don't know all of the details , maybe heat or a rust dissolving cleaner like CLR or Ironout ?
 
Sounding like a good idea to take the wheel
cylinder loose, and cut the pin heads/retainers,
then remove the whole mess from the backing plate.
This might allow me to save the drums as well. Do
not want to invest much $$ into getting it rolling
until I obtain a title (another story).
 
sound like lots of PB blaster, Heat? Lots of beating on them to get them loose, lots of swearing and some luck. Been there done that....Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kenny
 
ive had good luck using a 5ft pry bar..rock breaker.. across studs..helps if you have someone to hold it against drum..jump on end of bar
 
There is a thought. May give this a try after a few more whacks at the drum as I was getting a good amount of rust falling out of the drum on the one rear that is frozen. I have the wheels/tires off and blocked up securely now so I can start the process. This would put a good amount of pressure on the drum and might just be the ticket.
 
After my fast-acting fave rust penetrant and using a punch to back adjusters off . . .

I've pried against backing plates enough to force the drum and stuck shoes outward enough to gain access for a slim punch . . .
then with a hammer driving the shoes directly away from the rusted mating face in the drum. If you bend a backing plate a little, that's easy enough to straighten.
 
I would not fight them too long. If they are frozen to the shoes and NOT the axle flange cut the heads off of the retaining pins and pull them off. There is only two of them halfway up the backing plate.
 
Unfortunately the drum is also rusted to the axle flange as well, so planning on soaking that well before I get started. My guess is that all the hardware inside needs replaced. At this point the only thing I would like to save would be drums. This may or may not be possible, but hoping since the truck only has a little over 100,000 miles on it the drums can be salvaged, and this truck is going to need a lot of parts, so anything I can salvage will help on other items that must be replaced. Thanks to everyone for their ideas
 
You might try Amsoil MP for penetrating and cutting rust; you'll be pleasantly surprised if not blown away. Continue soaking and rotating the drum to different positions to free the flange to drum connection . . . at this point, only apply enough heat so as to not smoke the MP.

Also, and you probably already know this, but hammer force applied to the front edge of the drum supplies the lever action to free the side directly opposite the blow -- which applies to where drum is stuck to the axle flange. Lots of heat.

You can bust the edges, hitting from behind. :shock:

T
 

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