There is a sleeve that rides on the axle and actually seals to the oil
seal in the end of the axle. There's an O-ring on the axle that is held
in place by the brake drum that keeps the oil inside the swing axle tube.
Once you take the drum off, you release the pressure - and it sometimes
leaks. When there's enough gear oil in the transmission, it partially
fills the axle tubes to lubricate the outer bearings. Normal, but a very
good reason to check the fluid level before driving again.
I've found it's a good idea to have a new axle seal kit on hand whenever
doing rear brakes on a swing axle car. Sometimes you can re-use the
O-ring, but if there's any evidence of a leak, this is the time to
replace the whole works, before you get your new brake shoes soaked in
hypoid oil.
One other point - when you are reduced to using one of those powerful
pullers, there's a chance you could damage either the adjusters or the
ends of the pistons on the wheel cylinder by the brake shoes getting
drug out and bent. Inspect them and the backing plate for damage before
trusting them on the road.
Chuck Kuecker
Peter Perez wrote:
Well folks, my beating and banging ultimately produced little to no movement on
the drum. A fella at work over heard me complaining about it and said he might
have a tool I could use. Next day he produces a drum puller that he used to use
on his jeep. It was a 3 jaw puller that bolted to the lug holes (like the one
that Erin described) and had an end to it that let you smack it with a hammer
to tighten it. Well once mounted, I had the drum off in about 15 mins. This
thing performed magnificently. Thanks for everyone's tips. This is another
example of how having the right tool for the job makes life easier. Now if I
can only convince the guy to sell it to me....
I have another question: On the opposite side where the drum came off easily,
is it normal for when the axle is just hanging there without the drum on for it
to leak tranny fluid? it looks to have leaked about a 1/4 of a quart in the two
weeks I've been fighting with the other side.
-pete
----- Original Message ----
From: No Quarter <[email protected]>
To: Air-Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 9:36:47 AM
Subject: Re: [vintagvw] Stuck brake drum
Bill May is the one I learned the trick from about the wax. It's the same
wax used in canning jellies and jams. You seal the jelly or jam with wax on
top so some grocery stores may have it but otherwise you gotta locate a
place that deals with canning supplies...which is kind of a relic from a
bygone era. The trick is to use the heat from an oxy acetylene torch
because propane is not hot enough to do the deed.
A wheel puller that pulls on the lug holes is your best bet. they are hard
to find but it's a worthy tool to have. I don't know if there is a way to
completely immerse the rear drum in pentrant but that would be a step in the
right direction. A bigger hammer helps too but whatever you do don't hit on
the end of the stub shaft and booger up the threads...that's an even harder
problem to fix. Keep at it...we've all got tales of woe where we had to
work sometimes for weeks to get rusted parts freed up. It's part of the
job...
Erin
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