Brake check failed at the first fence....any help please?

[sharpmz]

Hi All,

I've just removed rear brake pipes for replacing and thought that as i was there i would have a look at the rest of the brake. All of this is really new to me so i faithfully followed the Haynes manual but got stumped at the first hurdle! I've removed the two screws that keep the drum on, slackend off the adjuster cog and the handbrake but no ammount of persueding with the hammer seems to get the drum off!?!
I'm hoping that there is something really simple i'm missing, any suggestions would be gratefully received!

Thanks.

[Simon Baxter]

Something missing?

[kevtherev]

keep belting it with a hammer
it'll come off

if your going to change the shoes then you could squirt a load of plus gas in to the drum, might break the seal

[sharpmz]

it's not got a yellow handle but it's got the same heavy lump on the end, was just a little worried of damage if i really laid into it! (did give it a good go though)

I'll try a couple of things of the wiki page tomorrow and maybe another attack with the hammer.

What's plus gas Kev??

[toomanytoys]

what you dont want to be doing is hitting too hard as the drum can fracture.. what you do need to do is nice firm blows different places around the edge to shock it.. the centre has "rust welded" to the hub... either that or you have adjusted the wrong way and the shoes are holding it on...

[sharpmz]

Going the wrong way definatly crossed my mind but made myself check a couple of times!! The rust weld seems like what it is but understand the whole fracture thing.

If i replace the brake shoes would WD40 or equivilant help much or would it be a bit past that?

And is it worth at having a go to take the hub with it?

[toomanytoys]

Certainly something better than wd40 could help... (Plusgas) but shocking it side to side should do it...

If you have a 3/4 drive set and a 46mm socket and a 4 foot scafold pole to hand, then you could undo the hub nut and take it off that way... its frelling tight... like 357ftlbs tight...... (yes thats right...)

wire brush it well once apart and the very lightest smear of copperslip to slow the rust down will make next time easier....

[CovKid]

Lol - I'm sure I've been whacking VW hubs with lump hammers for 25 years. Get yourself a nice comfy cushion for that job and prepare for lots of rocking and belting. Not often they come off easy. If the hubs are old, shoes wear a groove in them and it makes it a right pig to get em off. Never actually cracked one though so they must be able to take some abuse. Yep if you're replacing shoes you could use WD or equivalent but it doesn't help much - if at all. Just think of a family member you really can't stand and go for it.

[Red Westie]

As ever I'm going to contradict others on here and say DON'T hit the drums on the side, but on the face between the studs/bolt holes to 'bounce' them off the hubs. Spray penatrating fluid to the base of the studs/bolt holes and leave to soak for 20 minutes, then belt 'square on' they will come off this way with a much lower chance of damage.
Martin

[sharpmz]

Well, they've gotta come off so comfy cushion it is... will have a go at the face first and then go from there, seems pretty unanimous that aggression is the way forward

Cheers All.

[Red Westie]

Penatrating fluid like plus gas works wonders but brute force is essential. Hit square on the face......with a 3Ib or bigger hammer
Martin

[sharpmz]

Brute force and aggression does the trick!

Glad i did it now as one of the cylinders is pretty knackerd and the other is trashed.
Thanks all, think i just needed the confidence to give it a bloody good whack!

Ta.

[Red Westie]

At least when it's all done you will have the satisfaction and knowledge that it is all fine for the next few years or so.
Parts aren't too expensive and not too bad to change.
How did it come off in the end...did it bounce?
Martin

[sharpmz]

No bouncing, last few clouts with the hammer and could see it freeing off so a little jiggle and all done. Yeah will be good piece of mind.

Have you had any parts from just kampers, had a catalog with the van and seemed reasonable but no experiance of the quality (well no experience of ever buying VW parts!), any recomendations?

[Nicola&Tony]

. . . any recomendations?

Yeah, get your parts from vw (if they still supply the bits you need), or Brickwerks (highly recommended):
http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php?& ... t&Itemid=6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If they've not got what you need, try gsf carparts:
https://secure.gsfcarparts.com/shop/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Don't bother with jk (just my personal opinion of course).

Tony