Brake secrets

[Wildcat]

Is there any secret to getting the brake drums off?  Or am I just not hitting it hard enough?

[kaiserkid]

Front or rear? What year? You may need to back off the brakes shoes.

[HJ-ETEX]

If you can't get the front drums off, well I don't know what to say.
However, the rear drums require a substancial hub puller and even then that may not be enough.
You may have to leave the puller on in tension for several days and the hub/drum will pop loose.
Otherwise, you may need to heat the hub to expand it while using the puller.
Don't be in hurry.

[jmxkf1]

There's a brake puller tool you can get for the rear drums.  Contact the Kaiser Willys guy in So Carolina.  Let me know if you need his information.   It takes 160 lbs to put the nut back on and you'll need a breaker bar to move the nut the last bit to get the cotter pin back in.  The torque wrench doesn't go quite that high.   

[Wildcat]

That's just spectacular.  This adventure should be good fun.  I have a rear cylinder leaking so it's not really optional to let it ride, the fronts I just wanted to take off and check the condition of everything.  I'll give myself a week to figure this out and then...

[Wildcat]

WOW THAT MADE A BIG BANG!  I borrowed a FWD axle puller from the Autozone and popped them right off.  Has anyone ordered Kaiser parts from Rock Auto?  They have a decent selection listed and they are pretty cost effective.  Think I'll give em a whirl.

[Cortes121]

I haven't ordered Kaiser parts from Rockauto, but I have ordered other parts form them and they have been good, mostly because they stock the standard range of manufacturers products.

The brakes are relatively common, I found cylinders at Napa.

[Wildcat]

I ordered the rebuild kits from Rock Auto and they were $2 for the front and $5 for the rear, can't hardly go wrong with that.  I've ordered a lot of stuff from them and it has always been great, shipping usually equals local tax so in the end I'm still under, just might to wait a couple of days for delivery

[pnw_oldmags]

Also had good luck with RockAuto for wheel cylinder rebuild kits.  Careful though ... If yours are like my 53k Manhattan front cylinders have a larger plunger in the front and a smaller one in the rear of the cylinder.  So I had to order two kits and split them right and left. 

[Wildcat]

It looks like everything is right, Raybestos P/N's WK108 and 106.  Cylinders and plungers are getting shined up right now, hope be able to stop the car by the end of tonight.

[Logan]

Beware, though, if the original cylinders are pitted, you will have to hone away too much for the clearance between the piston and cylinder, in which case you will need new cylinders, or to have the old ones sleeved.  I tried to rebuild mine, but they were too pitted and I ended up bying new ones from kaiser willys.