Mudge Posted March 17, 2003 Author Share Posted March 17, 2003 Len, no new drums unfortunately. I am working on around the center hub though with a cutting wheel hoping to get some penetrant in there, I really dont know what else to do but pound the crap out of it, which I've been doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted March 17, 2003 Author Share Posted March 17, 2003 After taking a cutting wheel around the center and cutting a good amount down around the circle, and pounding the crap out of the outter drum, I finally broke it free. Now I just have to figure out how to put back one of the studs that I ended up "tapping" too hard, and punched it out, oops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted March 17, 2003 Author Share Posted March 17, 2003 Got the stud back in, not sure if I mentioned, but I dont really have a strong liking for drum brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted March 17, 2003 Author Share Posted March 17, 2003 Now I see why I could not move the adjuster downwards, you have to pull on the parking brake lever?!?! Otherwise it acts as a lock, and will not permit movement downards. I saw a picture which almost eluded to this, but the book says nothing. It seems the Haynes for this car is more brief than the Chiltons are for my other cars, maybe its an age though though, although my Chiltons for the 69 Firebird went into detail just fine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 ya gotta hate that haynes manual. I was just staring at the same thing today. I've never worked on drums before, so im sitting here staring at the picture of the guy just pulling the drum off thinking "how the hell does he do that? Reading this post saved me a ton of time, I was bout to pound the hell out of the drums. this time, I think I'll try to the BBF. If that doesnt work, then oh well... BTW, when you were doing this, was a fine black dust like ashes faling out of the drum? Every tme I hammer it and then spin it, ashes fall out of the drum. I've been using a blow gun on it for an hour, and there are still more ashes in there. you think I burnt up the brakes? literally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 That will be brake dust simply, since it has nowhere else to go. Drums aren't so bad if they aren't stuck shut, but I have found others on Zcar.com with stuck drums as well, so it sounds somewhat common. It will take longer than a caliper type brake, stuck or not. I guess while the car is down I should do the other brake to get it over with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 looks like we're in the same mess. The propane torch did nothing, I just dropped the suspension, Im in the midst of pulling off the "transverse link". I dont know what the hell im gonna do from there. I think Philanthrpoy has some lowering springs that I could grab from him, and the brakes... well, I dont know. I guess I should start pricing a rear disk conversion. I dont want to deal with this crap again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 Shoot, I heated up the drum for a long, long time, till smoke was billowing out and it was just about untouchable for more than a split second touch. I began using a paint stripper gun because the torch kept blowing out, I had the gun to its highest setting and I would not be supprised if I spent 15-20 minutes on it. If you read through the whole thread, what I ended up doing that worked, was to take a cutting wheel to the drum and work my way around the center a bit. I didn't cut it up 100%, but I probably covered 70% or so, before it would come off with more pounding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 I don't want to trash my drum though. I'm just doing it because the car was on stands and I was curious to see what I could pull off and clean up in a hurry. But I've got most of the suspension off, I was going about it all wrong. If you look in the chapter on suspension section nine, it talks about dropping the suspension. One of the steps is "remove transverse link pivot bolt" How the #%$# do you do that? I got both the pivot bolts out, and the lock bolt too. In fact, the only thing the strut is still attached to is the transverse link. How do I get it disconnected? Now I remember why I was doing this. The wheel is sticking a bit. Just enough to overpower the diff. Which means Im essentially getting most of my power to the other wheel. So I was just trying to adjust the SOB. Now Im sitting here with my entire rear suspension strewn all over the garage floor. And I was supposed to be out of the garage by friday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 Wow, I have heard some monster stories of putting 1000# or something to get those pivot bolts out, I didn't even try, I dropped the transverse link along with the rest and carried it upstairs. If anything would have gotten mine off, it would have been a heavy mallet with a long handle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 1000#!! oh great. Is there an air tool that I can use to do that? I was going to pull the entire transverse link, but then I couldnt find a place to put the jack stands since they were resting on that crossmember that holds the transverse link up. So I had to scratch that idea. I finally got the drums in a position where I can flip them over and see in that hole. So i crammed a screwdriver up there and fiddled, and then I went back to hammering on the drum. Its moved a couple of mm, so when morning comes Ill go at it wholeheratedly. Right now Im trying not to bother my neighbours any more. I've been using impact wrenches and hammers all day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 Someone posted that they were using something like 700# of force with an air hammer I believe, and that it still would not budge. Seriously there would come a point where the thing would break or become mushroomed/distorted... so I just dropped the whole thing, it adds weight to carry it around, but if your staying in the garage to bang the drum off I wouldn't bother with the link bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 you could just do what i did, and pound it out from the rear after removing the stub axle nut and flange. be careful, or you may wind up with an unsable stub axle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 at this point I think I've got enough flexibility where I should be able to reach everything I need to without pulling more stuff off. I'll have to see how well my hammer does in the morning. I might have to dump the whole assembly in a tub of propane and light a match. hopefully the hammer will work out alright though. When I pulled off my shocks, 4 pieces of craacked rubber fell out of the dust shield. They looked like some kind of bushing for the top of the shocks. What should I do about this? Do I have to go try and find a replacement, or is it just one of those things that i don't need? I saw that Ross C sells a kit with all new bushings (thanks for bringing this to my attention alex), but I dont have $150 to spend on some rubber right now. Damn money! I really want to get my rear disk conversion right now, and some coilovers too. I mean, the whole thing is unassembled anyway, why not put it back together right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 The bushing for the top shock as you mention, is a bumpstop. You can live without them if the car is not lowered, but you can replace them with rubber or poly bumpstops to avoid bottoming out (bad for the strut). Propane is a gas Whatever ricer that owned my car once upon a time, removed them, or maybe he/she burned them when they torched the springs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 they torched the springs? well crap... that's dumb. Are all bumpstops the same? Could I just go to some place like pep boys and get a new bump stop? The car will be lowered, Im looking into putting in lowering springs this week as a temporary improvement until I get my coilovers. I always thought propane was a gas, (hence the term propane gas), But hearing stuff splash around in my propane torch got me all confused. I should know better, Part of my job is to sell PG grills. BTW, you gonna stick with those drums or do you have plans to change them somewhere down the line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 It'll splash around, but thats because its pressurized until it hits liquid form. I used to drive a forklift years ago, and when unhooking the tank once it still had some juice left in it, and it hit my hand - that stuff freezes you RIGHT quick. You can achieve the same effect in less volume, turning an air can (for cleaning computer keyboards etc) upside down and shooting yourself with it. I'm going to stick with the drums for awhile, but discs are a consideration, mostly though because of easier maintenance and less weight is nice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 well, it looks like I wont be getting to the brakes today. I was hanging around asian folks whose parents just got back from asia yesterday, and now I've got a bad fever. I'll have to sit this one through and then go at those brakes again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 hmm.....I hate to tell you guys this...but on all the Zs ive owned....a BFH (or rubber mallet) allways got the drums off in no time flat. what the hell are yous guys doing wrong eh? sorry....but I had too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguy678us Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 I'm with you sparky, I've never had that much trouble with any of my drums I've ever serviced (I'm a mechanic) including Z drums. Maybe you guys aren't holding your tongues right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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