Stupid question about rear drums, just took rear wheels off

[fordsucks!]

I just popped my rear wheels off and one of the drum covers came right off with it, are the drums supposed to be loose and held on by the wheels and lug nuts?

thanks in advance

 

[kennyw]

No, they should not be loose but they are held on by the wheel and lug nuts.

 

[K5Jimmy]

Whatcha fixin to do? If this is your first brake job, search the site for the list of appropriate and useful cuss language to make the job go more colorfully. There are a number of members here who are quite eloquent and creative.

 

[Recon 78]

I'd consider that lucky
Normally the ridge from the pads keeps it on there so you have to collapse the star wheel

Which of course is siezed so you have to pound and dick around to get it off lol

 

[fordsucks!]

Whatcha fixin to do? If this is your first brake job, search the site for the list of appropriate and useful cuss language to make the job go more colorfully. There are a number of members here who are quite eloquent and creative.

Was just doing tire rotation and the drum cover was loose. On the other side, I can also take off the drum cover no problem, maybe it's supposed to be like this?

 

[Recon 78]

The brake shoes should have light pressure on the drum

Yours are too far in taking away from brake power

Put the drum on, adjust star wheel til just a light drag

When wheels are back on, go in reverse at like 15mph and hit the brakes, do this several times

This sets the self adjusters

 

[diesel4me]

I've never been able to move the star wheel adjuster without first removing it and taking it apart and wire brushing the threads,then lube the slotted end caps the shoes go into with grease or never-seize..

Even on my pickup that had new wheel cylinders put on it 2 years ago,the adjusters were rusted tight already,and I had them all apart and well lubed up!..(I had one wheel cylinder fail in only 4500 miles,and the "limited lifetime" warranty is now been reduced to 90 days by Autozone)..
The self adjusters almost never work in my experience either..even after lubing up the adjusters and everything being in working order..they might work a short time,then they seize again..
I always end up doing the adjustment manually..

 

[Recon 78]

I know what you mean diesel
Been the same for me

Pretty common in rust belt states ( I'm in illinois )

How often in daily driving do folks go reverse at speed and mash the brakes? Not much

Last few years I've made it a habit to do it often and it's working well

Probly just jinxed myself lol

 

[K5Jimmy]

Just 1 of the bennies of a N Texas truck. I can remove any bolt on my truck, most with hand tools

 

[diesel4me]

Up here torches get used more often than wrenches--bolts no longer have a hex head any socket or wrench will grab after 10 years or so..
Or you have to resort to using "bolt out extractors" and other specialized sockets and hope they grab good enough to unscrew them..drill them out..chisel them off..whatever method you have at your disposal..

It's also rare for a brake drum to slide right off up here--usually it requires a severe beating with a sledge hammer-..

-if the brake shoes are adjusted a bit "tight" and the drum has a "lip" on the inner edge ,the shoes must be backed way off first before the drum can come off,and if the star wheel is seized up,I have had to cut off the "nails" holding the brake shoes to the backing plate off ,and then everything comes off with the drum at once..now you'll need a brake hardware kit to put it all back together..
Applying never-seize to the drum's center hole usually helps prevent that from happening again..

 

[wasted wages]

Same here in Texas,,, a year ago I had to replace the ball joints in my 4x4 Dodge dually.. since I was digging into it that deep I decided to swap out the hubs to a free wheeling kit...

I looked it up on the web and saw all sorts of videos showing people having tons of issues getting the spindles off due to rust etc...
they were using 10 ton pullers, hammers etc.

I pulled the bolts on mine and the spindles fell off by themselves !

 

[Toymyster]

One issue I do not have in Arizona. Yes, you should be able to remove the drum without any binding or fighting. A little wiggle is all it should take. Take apart and grease your adjusters with white lithium grease before installing them. also put a light coat of that grease on the spots where the shoes ride against the backing plates. Even in AZ and CA, I use a new hardware kit every time I replace brake shoes. Cheap insurance.

 

[BigBK5]

You can put star adjusters in backwards and they self adjust the wrong way,it also involves mixing up right and left brake shoes,but it can and has been done. Don't ask me how I know

 

[diesel4me]

I've had more than one truck that had the brake shoes put in wrong,with the longer lining on one facing the front,instead of the shorter lining...and I didn't do it!....