Cutting rear studs for drum removal

Ok, so I feel like I've been up to this for a couple of weeks now. I have a '71 cj5 with tapered rear axels. I'm putting on the 11" brakes (hopefully going to find some Bronco replacements, from drum to backing plate). My problem is taking the drum off. The studs are swaged on. I've been using a couple of different hub pullers, heat, wd40 ... with no luck. Then it hit me ... I'm just going to throw away the drum, so is there a way I can cut it off? My thinking was to grind the studs down to the drum ... and then with a couple wacks of a hammer it would come right off? I don't care about the drums because I'm just getting the bronco ones. Where could I get new studs? Any thoughts? Anyone try it? Thanks

 

From your description, it is unclear if the drum and hub are still attached to the tappered axle. If it is and you cut the studs off, you have eliminated the use of a hub puller to dissassemble the hub from the axle and will make removal much more difficult. You need a real hub puller to free the hub from the axle-the kind that bolts to the studs and has a striker bar (mine is an OTC version). Use Blaster or some other good penetrating oil rather than WD40. Tighten the puller up and use a hammer on the striker bar or an impact wrench. MAKE SURE TO LEAVE THE AXLE NUT ON A COUPLE OF TURNS. When the hub breaks free it is pretty violent and without that nut, you will have a big projectile. You can apply heat while doing the above, just don't heat the puller. I have never had one froze so bad that I could not get it off but suspect that it does occur.

 

Yeah, the hub and drum are still attached to the axle. Another idea I had ... I actually have a Dana 44 lying around (http://gallery.me.com/jjmango18/100126/IMG_0401) with the drum off already. So instead of messing around with my stock axel in the jeep, I could work on the Dana 44 (sandblast it, put new fluid, seals, put the 11" bronco brakes on and then attach that to the jeep). That way I would have bigger brakes and a beefier axle ... Thoughts? I don't think it's hard to swap rear ends? Just a couple bolts?

The Dana 44 is a "flanged axle", which means (I think) that the hub and axle are one piece ... Does that mean, I have to open up the rear end and "pull some clips" so I can slide the axle out? Will the bronco (year '64-'70) brakes still work and/or cj5 '72-'75? Do I need to make sure that the brakes from the donor vehicle came from a dana 44?Thanks guys for all the help.

 

NO. You have to remove the nuts (5 each side) for the bearings on the outer end of the axle, and they will slide out. They may require some persuasion from a slide hammer. The bearings, seals, and bearing retainers are pressed onto the axle shaft. THere are no c-clips on teh innter ends of the axle shaft.

 

ok. When I'm putting the axle back in do I need to find a press to put it back in? Would that be a better idea (working on the Dana 44) than on the stock rear end, and then swapping them?

 

Just as point of reference, your 71 does not have the stock axle in it now. If it did you would not have swaged wheel studs or a hub as the stock 44 for a 71 did not have one as it had flanged 1 piece axles.

 

I just replaced the rear brakes on my '69 and once you get the hubs off the axle then I used a small grinder to remove some of the swag and then was able to hammer the hub free from the drums without much effort. I didn't care about damaging the threads because I wanted to replace the wheel studs anyway.

By the way what year(s) of Bronco front drum brakes would work on a CJ if you might know?

Thanks,

Tom

 

I cut my drums all up and still couldn't get em off. I found a technique with mapp gas and a big prybar and was able to get each drum off in less then 5 min. i pryed like hell from the center and the drum popped of each stud one by one. Then I drilled the holes accordingly on the new drums to slide perfect onto the studs

 

I have the OTC hub puller, but the new JC Whitney catalog I received yesterday had a hub puller that came with the striker hammer, and it was about 1/2 of what I can mail order the OTC puller for FYI if somebody is thinking about investing in one. Not sure on the quality of the Whitney puller, but as noted, the OTC is a nice piece.

 

This is the puller that I used (http://gallery.me.com/jjmango18/100019/Puller) and I bent the threads on the center and returned it broken. I don't know if anyone else has had luck with it. I guess I just need to break down and get the heavy duty puller. I have two questions: 1. Once I get the hub/ drum out, how do I seperate the hub from the drum? Do i need to bring it to a machine press? 2. I hope putting the hub back on is a lot easier... Should I buy new seals or bearings once it's off?
Posted via Mobile Device

 

Did you try the tool rental places around your area? I rented one from a place that had stuff like trailers and brush chippers.

 

I think I might have found a loophole. Sears online has the same heAvy duty puller for $145. So if you just need it for one job you can buy it and then return it within 90 days for your money back.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

The universal hub puller on ebay worked for me this morning. Heat puller and 15 minutes is all it took. $86 with shipping. I used a big slid hammer and the front axle puller to remove the axle.

 

I borrowed a hub puller from my mechanic. It needs to be deeper than the one that you showed in the weblink to make room for the axle center. I doused the axle with Liquid wrench and put a 3/4" breaker on the puller. Had to grunt a few times but it came off..."spectacularly." Amazing how much stored energy was involved. Good advice to keep the nut on the axle.

I was able to beat the hubs off the drums on the bench without too much trouble. It deformed the drums but what do I care; they're in the landfill.

Get the right puller and you're in business. It will come off.

 

I also just got the recommended hub puller by everyone else ... came out in 1 minute. It's amazing what the right tool can do ... I think it was a combination of how small teh threads were and the fact you could hit it with a hammer! Thanks for all the help.