Rear brake help

[hillbillygmc]

Hey fellas, When I went to replace the brakes on the rear axle, I found the drums to be frozen and I can't get them off. On the K30 axles, do you have to unbolt the hub from the drum in order to get the drum off, or is it just a matter of hammering off the frozen drum? I've never worked on 1 ton axles so any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Gunzy]

Depends on the year. If it is an '80s vintage you will need to pull the axle and remove the bearing retainer nut and it should pull off the spindle/housing.

 

[porkysplace]

Have backed the adjusters off ? Alot of times the shoes will wear a ridge into the drum keeping it from coming off , until you back the adjustment off . Since your pretty vague on what axle you have and year , it's hard to tell . If it is a older full-float axle there will 8 bolts on the hub you remove to pull the axle the remove the spindle nuts and the drum is pressed on the hub . Posting a picture would help alot .

 

[hillbillygmc]

It's an 1986 axle...Gm 14 bolt FF locker. I'll try to get pics up later.

 

[hillbillygmc]

Here it is....

 

[porkysplace]

Remove the 8 bolts on the axle , pull axle . Then you will need a 6 point socket to remove the spindle nuts , then the outer wheel bearning then the drum and hub come off together . Backing the brakes off first will make it easier . Autozone ussually has how-to link when you lookup the parts , it ussually has a parts diagram .

 

[hillbillygmc]

Uhggg....sounds like alot of work. I was afraid of that. Any tips or advice on the job or is it pretty straight forward?

 

[319]

It's easy and straight forward. It would help if you had read the TM.
Put a drip pan beneath the drum assembly to catch the oil ( if any ) that may drain from the hub. The drum/hub is very heavy and the shoes ( decent quality ) are about $80 from NAPA. You'll need a new gasket or sealant for the axle flange.

 

[Warthog]

Chapter 8-5 of the TM 9-2320-289-20 tech manual has a great step by step procedure for removing the drums. Chapter 7 covers replacing the shoes.

Also it ALWAYS helps to tell us what type of truck you are working on. Guessing usually gets someone in trouble.

 

[Gunzy]

I would replace both seals at the inner bearings. Nothing like going through all that work and then leaking differential oil all over the new brakes. Cheap insurance I say. You can buy new axle gaskets fairly cheap too.

 

[hillbillygmc]

Thanks for the help fellas. And sorry, I didn't realize that there were TM's posted.

 

[Sharecropper]

Have you considered disc brake conversion?

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Those TMs are your friends. Good stuff there.

 

[nyoffroad]

I would replace both seals at the inner bearings. Nothing like going through all that work and then leaking differential oil all over the new brakes. Cheap insurance I say.

Thats good enough advice it needs to be read twice!! Don't be cheap, take my word for it buy the seals.

 

[edpdx]

If I recall, the last time I wrestled with drums a light came on in my head that said release the emergency brake. Chocked the wheels and the drums came right off.

 

[hillbillygmc]

Like ya'll suggested, I'm going to replace the bearings and seals while it's all apart. Anyone know the correct inner seal to buy. The parts stores around me are Napa, Advanced and Autozone. Each one has several rear axle seals available for 86 K30's, and each one is a different size. I'll be bringing the old one with me, but if they aint in stock I won't be able to compare them to make sure they are a match.

 

[doghead]

The old one will have a number on it.

Part numbers are listed in the parts TMs.

Or you can search, "rear axle seal", in the cucv forum, or "rear axle seal cucv m1008".

 

[Gunzy]

Wipe off the metal outside edge of the seal good and you should find some numbers, this will be useful to the person at the parts store.

 

[hillbillygmc]

Just pulled out the old seals. #48287, of course the # is printed on the inside side of the seal so I couldn't see it while it was still on the hub. Hopefully they'll have them in stock. I'd like to get the job done today.

 

[Recovry4x4]

As long as you look up the single rear wheel 1984 K30, you will get the right seals.