Helping a friend with his Classic. He set the E-brake shortly after washing the car and the right rear wheel will not turn at all. I suspect the brake shoes rusted themselves inside the drum. The brake lever arm moves when the E-brake is set and released. Also tried pumping brake pedal. Tried to move the car with the engine, wheel just dragged. Removed wheel and tapped (I won't say beat) the drum with a mallet and hammer. Tried using a piece of wood as a lever against the wheel studs to break it free. I was not set up to try to remove the brake drum with a puller, but noticed there is no brake drum screw. I don't think the drum will come off with the shoes in the "set" position. Any ideas on how to get this sorted out? Thanks

 

How long has it been stood still as the older brake shoes used to weld them selves to the drum........use some Vinegar and spray some into the drum ......and leave for a day spraying several times,,,,,then you will need to unscrew the adjusters on the back plate (square) threaded .....

 

most "rust buster" products have as their active ingredient phosphoric acid .....

this is also a food additive in most COLA drinks

soak the entire thing (drum brake assembly) with a bottle of Coke or Pepsi ... try to keep it wet (wrap with towel ... wet 'em' wrap with plastic). . and apply the occasional BANG or two with a rubber mallet.

Ensure the e-brake is not stuck . . .

Once freed ... check the drum for wear .... could be the shoes are able to settle well into the drum .... aka BIG wear

 

Is your goal to remove the drum to do a brake job, or just to get the car rolling again? Did you try backing the adjuster off?


If so, banging it around the circumference should break the shoes loose if they're rusted to the drum, but that does not happen instantly as you've described, and it sure doesn't happen from just washing the car.....


So it sounds to me like the E brake cable is stuck somewhere holding the shoes fast against the drum. Sort that out and it should roll....if you pull the E-brake handle up and release it you should see the brake arm at the backing plate move and release, if it isn't - the problem is probably the cable bound up in the sleeve. Ultimately you're going to need a new E-brake cable assy if it is.

 

Thanks for the ideas. The brake arm moves at the backing plate so I think it is just the shoes inside. The car has been sitting for a couple of months. I think he will need new shoes once we get this sorted out. I will give the soaking methods, adjuster screws and tapping another try. I want to get car to move so we can get it out of his garage, onto my trailer and into a space we can work on it more easily. It will be a week or so before I can report back. thanks again.

 

shoes and drums is my recommendation

If you are going to replace the shoes - which sounds like a good idea - then a good soak with PB Blaster is in order.

once the drums are off see how deep the wear groove is ....

what I meant by could be the shoes are able to settle well into the drum .... aka BIG wear

the shoes may be settling deep into the drum groove increasing the "stick"

brake drum screw is like the rotor holding screw so despised by MINI owners (difficult to remove sometimes) .... all it does is hold the drum in place until you bolt the wheel down. The wheel pressure holds the drum in place with a LOT more pressure then that lil screw can! I haven't had 'em in place on my 79 .... EVER (owned for 11 years)

 

Update: Rolled the car out of the garage on wheel dollies on Saturday. Got a pair of 7.99 1000 lb capacity wooden movers dollies from Northern Tool and the wheel fit perfectly and car moved very easily. I reviewed our options with the owner and proceeded to have another go at the drum with my mallet and dead blow hammer. Sure enough, the shoes released and the drum came right off. The shoes looked good and the rust spots on the drums cleaned right up with very fine emery cloth. I gave the whole wear surface of the drum a going over with the emery cloth to remove any residue. Got it all put back together and into the garage before the skies opened up. Owner texted me this morning and said he drove the car yesterday evening and the brakes worked fine. I should have taken a photo of the drum and shoes, but did not think about it at the time. I had a can of Coke and a syringe ready if need be to take drastic measures. I am glad I did not have to. Appreciate your inputs. We may have some other projects coming up that i will bounce off of you.