CAUTION!!! Brake linings contain asbestos. Do not use compressed air or dry brush to clean brake parts. Many brake parts contain asbestos fibers that, if inhaled, can cause serious injury. To clean brake parts, use water soaked rags or a suitable vacuum cleaner to minimize airborne dust.
Believe it or not, but it took us three weeks to figure out how to remove the brake drums (wish we though of buying a manual earlier…) It is very likely that the brake drums will not come off after you have loosened the nuts on the axle flanges. This is caused by the brake lining that is dragging on the brake drum; back off the brake adjustment by rotating the adjustment screw with a screwdriver, using the hole in the brake drum. There are two adjustment screws at the top and bottom of the front drum brakes and two adjustment screws at the top (left and right) of the rear drum brakes.
If the brake drum is rusted or corroded to the axle flange and cannot be removed readily, apply some rust penetrent and lightly tap the axle flange to drum mounting surface with a suitable hammer. Make sure you cover or remove the bearings if you decide to have the brake drums sandblasted. Apply some rust converter when the brake drums return from sandblasting to make sure all the rust is gone. Finish with a heat resistant paint. Please note that all heat resistant paints require a heat treatment to dry. The drum brakes are perfect pizza size, so try mom’s oven; better not do it when she is at home though…
Before you can install the brake drums, check the brake surfaces of the drums. Minor scores should be removed with sandpaper. Grooves and large scores can only be removed by machining with special equipment, as long as the braking surface is within specifications stamped on brake drum outer surface. Any brake drum sufficiently out of round to cause vehicle vibration or noise while braking or showing taper should also be machined, removing only enough stock to true up the brake drum.
After a brake drum is machined, wipe the braking surface diameter with a denatured alcohol soaked cloth. If one brake drum is machined, the other should also be machined to the same diameter to maintain equal braking forces. I would recommend that you resurface the drums whenever you replace the brake shoes. If you do not plan on resurfacing the drums, mark the axle and put a matching mark on the drum so you can reinstall it in the same position it came off. Also mark them left and right.
