Brake drum stuck, unable to release shoes

tremmert

Hello,
I needed to do a brake job on my 1999 TXT yesterday, but ran into a problem. I was unable to get the drum off. It appeared that it was seized due to rust, so I soaked it in liquid wrench. After several hours of soaking and hitting with a hammer, I assumed there could be something else holding the drum in place. I decided to release the springs by sticking needle nose pliers through the little hole in the drum. Still no luck. I then decided to rotate the adjustment screw, but I went the wrong way. I tightened the shoes, so now they are pressing against the drum. I cant seem to rotate the screw the opposite direction to loosen them! I cant see any lever that would be sitting on the teeth preventing the opposite rotation.

Anyone have any thoughts on what I should do to get this drum off?

Thanks,
Tommy

BGW

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scottyb

It takes 2 screwdrives working in the same hole to release the star wheel and turn it backwards. look in there with a flashlight to see what needs to be done. This is the right way to do it.

If that fails and you have new shoe retainer pins & clips, you can cut the heads off the shoe retainer pins and use a drum puller. This allows the drum to come off while folding the shoes outward and in.

tremmert

Excellent. Thanks for the advice. Ill give it a shot this afternoon. Also, I looked at your website, and love the available information. Sounds like I will be needing to upgrade my 36v cables.

Thanks again.

chloe

You can also "beat" the drum off. Sounds a bit harsh, but it's pretty common. Using a steel rod as a dead drift, from the opposite side of the cart have a helper hold the drift tight to the edge of the drum you are removing. With a small sledge, tap the drift. Turn the drum about 1/4 turn and repeat the process. Don't try to do it all with one strike, just a little at a time.
I wound up doing it this way because a proper drum puller was too expensive and no local tool rental had one.

cartattach

The BFH mentality will get it off, though you'll have a headache thereafter. In the absolute worst case scenario, I have had to cut rotors off before with extreme rust. Cutting a drum is a little more difficult, but can be done.

On most of the older drum brakes, the spring that the little stop lever that makes the wheel not rotate is worn and the lever will say in the open position. If you can get it to turn, take your flathead and force it down toward the bottom of the drum until it come out of its slot. Once it falls down and out of the slots, the shoes will be free to move inward