HELP!!! Freakin' break!

[GreenMachine]

alright so I was working on my rear drums today. passenger side was cake. had the whole thing back together within 30 minutes.

now the problem is the driver side drum. it won't come off. the star wheel won't budge. nothing is working. the drum won't budge; the wheel won't turn; nothing. I honestly don't know what to do. I've soaked the damn thing in wd-40 - nothing.

any suggestions? help please!

[sentinal02]

just a thought but is the emergency brake off? had a buddy of mine call me over after about 2 hours of swearing at his drums asking for help. took all of 2 minutes for me to realize he set the brake while he worked on the fronts and then forgot to take it off for the rear :lmao: since you got the pass side off though i would think that's not the problem. chances are the shoes have worn a groove into the drum and now that the adjuster is seized you can't back them off. about all you can do now is either a) pry them off forcefully or b) cut the drum. i've had to do both in the past. as for the wheel not turning, is the other side still in the air? is the jeep in gear? if the other side is on the ground and the jeep is in gear then of course your wheel won't turn. you're trying to turn the whole drive train over. if its in neutral and the other tire is in the air, then it would mean that the shoes are engaged for some reason. could be an e-brake cable that is siezed from the last time you engaged it, or it could be that the shoes have slipped out of position and now drag the drum even without the brakes on. or a seized wheel cylinder. you'll know more when you get in there. if you need a hand let me know. i got nothing to do tomorrow :wtg:

[XEON]

Nick! Type less :doh:

The star wheel? My tire was stuck on the drum when I first got the YJ. I had to kick the crap out of the wheel for it to come off. Sometimes those drums are hard to get off, usually have to pull them off evenly or it will get stuck.

Good luck, sleep on it, and take your time. Dont get too frustrated over it. Give a buddy a call to help out! :wtg:

[rockdawg]

Make sure you are trying to turn the star wheel in the right direction and then beat the hell out of it. Even if it doesnt turn it will break and they are cheap anyway.

[XEON]

Just wondering... whats the "star wheel?"

[NYWheeler]

Just wondering... whats the "star wheel?"

It's the adjuster

[XEON]

It's the adjuster


Ahh right right. Thanks.

[sentinal02]

Nick! Type less :doh:

but then i might not make the 10 character minimum :hahaha:

Green, one thing i forgot was to try heating up around the wheel studs. a lot of times the drum ends up rust welding itself to the studs and the face of the shaft. heat up the drum around the studs and then take a BFH to it.

[ssyj]

3lb sledge hammer!!!!! Beat the crap out of it.. always worked for me ha good luck

[GreenMachine]

thanks for the suggestions guys.

the e-brake was off, the damn thing is simply stuck. I am going to try heating it and beating it. if that doesn't work I suppose I'll have to figure out how to cut it off. freakin' thing is driving me nuts.

[GreenMachine]

she's all done.

a torch, a three pound hammer, and a little force finally broke the drum free!

actually once I got it nearly off, I had to pry the brake pads out from the inside. regardless, another project off the list. if it hadn't started raining I would have changed the rear diff oil and gasket. I guess I'll save that for another day.

thanks again guys!

[mybigredjeep]

BFH :dbeer: