Hi all -

I have a leaky right rear wheel cylinder and can't figure out how to get the rear drum off and the FSM basically says 'take it off.'

On most cars, there's a lock screw somewhere then you just smack the cover and yank it off but I can't find that screw and its driving me nuts lol

Anyone have an idea?

-chase

If the brake isn't locked up, and the wheel turns, the likely cause is rust between the axle flange and the brake drum. I'd use a few long penetrating oil soaks and use a hammer to hit the drum between the wheel studs a few times. My next choice would be heat.

8 minutes ago, Mark Maras said:

If the brake isn't locked up, and the wheel turns, the likely cause is rust between the axle flange and the brake drum. I'd use a few long penetrating oil soaks and use a hammer to hit the drum between the wheel studs a few times. My next choice would be heat.

Yep the wheels turn fine. Isn't there a lock screw that holds the drum on?

Nope.

They're a pain without any lock screws.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by siteunseen

3 hours ago, chaseincats said:

the FSM basically says 'take it off.'

Actually...

32 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

Actually...

So I crank the shoes in and the drum should come off? All of the other car drums I've worked on have a locking screw that needs to be removed first...

Z's don't.

No guarantee that the drums will come off even if you back the adjusting wheel off. People have had to sacrifice the drums if they're really stuck. But, the best place to start is the instructions in the FSM. Back off the wheel, see what happens.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Zed Head

7 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

Z's don't.

No guarantee that the drums will come off even if you back the adjusting wheel off. People have had to sacrifice the drums if they're really stuck. But, the best place to start is the instructions in the FSM. Back off the wheel, see what happens.

Gotcha, I'll halt the screw hunt. How do I gain access to the area with the adjusting wheel on the back?

There's a hole in the brake drum. Had a rubber plug in it. Might still be there.

8 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

There's a hole in the brake drum. Had a rubber plug in it. Might still be there.

Mine actually has 2 holes on it which is weird since all of the drums I've seen online only have 1. So I just spin the drum until the hole is near the wheel cylinder then use a small screwdriver to turn the shoes in?

If the light is right you can probably see the notches through the hole. In practice you just jam a small screwdriver in the hole until you feel it grabbing the notches of the adjusting wheel, Keep jabbing to get the wheel to move. It's kind of tedious, you don't get much movement per unit of effort.

7 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

If the light is right you can probably see the notches through the hole. In practice you just jam a small screwdriver in the hole until you feel it grabbing the notches of the adjusting wheel, Keep jabbing to get the wheel to move. It's kind of tedious, you don't get much movement per unit of effort.

Sounds good - I'll give it a shot. Thanks