Bob Howard wrote:
> Andrew,
> You might try slacking all the adjusters, then spraying penetrating
> oil around the backing plates into the drums. More will be wasted than
> gets in there, but it's worth a try if you consider the brake linings to
> be spoiled anyway. When you have got in as much as you think possible,
> tap the drums with a hammer and block of wood. You might also remove the
> hub nut and crank up a wheel puller, leaving it in place for a couple of
> days and whacking the drums with a hammer every time you think of it.
> This sounds like an unusually great amount of rust--after all, the
> front shoes are not in contact with the drums even if hand brake is left
> on, and for the fronts to be stuck also is not common.
> Frequently, if the clutch works OK, one can start the engine and let
> its might unstick brakes. Since there may have been so much rust growing
> in the car, I would want to put oil into the cylinders and turn the
> engine with the starting handle, as a basic check that rust has not
> formed in the cylinder left with a valve open.
> Sorry that this is more likely to be three days of hard labor on the
> Labor Day weekend than three days happy motoring.
It's possible you might get them unstuck without the oil and thus save
the shoes. I would remove each wheel in turn, back off the adjusters
and apply rotary force with a bar on the wheel-studs (if you have disc
wheels) while whacking the drums with a knock-off (copper-faced)
hammer. This is obviously easier with two people.
-Rock http://www.rocky-frisco.com
--
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