I need to replace my parking brake cables. I removed the lug nuts on my rear wheels with the truck up on jack stands. With the lug nuts removed I cannot get the rear wheels off. They will not budge. I even tried loosening the adjustor in the brake drums. I am due for a state inspection and I need the parking brake cables replaced. I have serviced brake drums before and I have never had problems getting the wheels and tires off.

 

I guess your talking about the wheels not the drums? I run into this once in awhile you need to give the tire some kicks in different areas. p.s. watch your nuts nothing worse than a tire in the bag. If its the drum that wont budge use a huge hammer and smack it on the face till it works loose.

 

Are you having trouble getting the wheel off, or the drum off? I'm assuming here that you're talking about the drum --

If you haven't had the drums off in a while and you're sure the shoes have been sufficiently backed off, it's possible that the drum has fused to the hub flange that holds the lug nuts.

Usually, if the shoes haven't been backed off enough, you can at least wobble the drum - from your description, it sounds like it's stuck tight.

Suggest to spray a little penetrating oil (something like PB-Blaster, I don't think WD-40 will help much here) around the hub center where it protrudes through the drum, and around each lug nut - trying to get it as best you can to get the fluid in between the backside of the drum and the hub flange.

Then take a big rubber mallet, or a BFH cushioned by a wood block, and sharply strike the outer edge of the drum near the backing plate. You are trying to break the bond between the hub and the drum.

Once off, be sure to clean the penetrating oil up so it doesn't soil the linings or the lining contact area of the drum.

Ah, one other thought - some models came with Phillips flat-head screws that secured the drum to the hub - need to check for these.

If you were talking about the wheel itself - suggest to try the same approach - penetrating oil and a BFH.

 

Yeah originally I was talking about the wheel (rim). I finally got that off with lots of brute force.

Now my problem is getting the drum off. I am able to wiggle the drum a very tiny bit. However, the drum is so rusted that chunks of the drum come off when I try to pry it off around the edges. I have a feeling that the shoes are so rusted that they will not retract enough. I think that it is also rusted itself onto the axle/hub. I sprayed tons of wd-40 into everything but it didn't help. Next week when I get my pay check I'll buy new drums but that still doesn't help if I can't get the old ones off.



Edit: There are no screws holding it on.

 

Your drums may have enough wear on them that you have to back the star-adjuster almost all the way in to get the shoes around the lip that's worn in the drum contact surface.

If the drum is wiggling independent of the hub/lugs - that's a good sign the shoes are the problem, and the drum isn't fused to the hub.

The flaking rust is normal for older vehicles - just need to be sure there's enough material left if you choose to reuse them. Also, if you have the drums turned, there is a max diameter value for wear.

 

The drums aren't wiggling independent of the hub. And the problem with the adjuster is that it is also rusted. I am taking the teeth off of the adjuster rather than moving it any further.

 

If you can't back off on the adjuster then you will have to pry them off. It's a pain, but everything inside the drums are sold at the parts store and can be replaced.