Rear axle help needed by total newbie - 64 Valiant

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simonwt

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I have just acquired a 1964 Valiant V200 and having real trouble understanding what I'm dealing with at the back-end. Trying to remove rear hubs to work on the brakes, and what I'm looking at here doesn't match the limited description in the original 1964 service manual. I was expecting to see a castle nut and use a hub puller to get in there. But what is this and what do I do with it to open it up? I'm hesitant to just attempt something without advice as I don't want to damage the hub. Is this axle original to the car, or has it been swapped out? All advice welcome, in as much detail as possible for this total novice! Thanks in advance...
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Spray penetrating oil around the lugs and center.

Hit the face of the drum between the lugs nuts and she should pop off.

The drum is rusted to the axle. Pretty common issue.
 
simonwt said:
1. I was expecting to see a castle nut and use a hub puller to get in there.

2.But what is this and what do I do with it to open it up?

3.Is this axle original to the car, or has it been swapped out?
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1. Castle nut and drum puller was used on 8.75 axles up through 64 which was not used on the 7.25 axle

2. Which is what You have. Do what the previous poster said and it might pop off. If not, chances are the drum has a ridge on the outer part where the shoes make contact. If so, you’ll need to adjust (from the rear) the shoes so they’ll be able to clear the ridge on the drum.

3. It might have been swapped during the 50 plus years since the car was assembled, but the chances that it’s original to the car are quite good.
 
If you haven't done it, getting stuck drums off can be challenging. It may help, if the parts are still intact, to use a brake spoon and small diameter screwdriver to back off the self adjuster inside the brake assembly. You access it through the oval hole(s) in the backing plate near the bottom edge. The shoes can prevent the drum from sliding off too.
 
simonwt said:
I have just acquired a 1964 Valiant V200 and having real trouble understanding what I'm dealing with at the back-end. Trying to remove rear hubs to work on the brakes, and what I'm looking at here doesn't match the limited description in the original 1964 service manual. I was expecting to see a castle nut and use a hub puller to get in there. But what is this and what do I do with it to open it up? I'm hesitant to just attempt something without advice as I don't want to damage the hub. Is this axle original to the car, or has it been swapped out? All advice welcome, in as much detail as possible for this total novice! Thanks in advance...View attachment 1715333734
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In 1964, Mother Mopar used 2 different rear ends, one is the 7 1/4 used under "A" body cars; which you have; to remove the drum back the adjuster star wheel to create slack so the drum can slide over the shoes. Also as stated the drum is stuck to the axle flange with rust and as stated use lots of a good penetrating oil like P-B Blaster, wack the area between the studs with a hammer, pull the drum off. Maybe heat the area between studs with a propane torch, then wack with hammer, then pull. The 7 1/4 should be covered in the FSM; it is in mine; go back and look again

The other rear end is the 8 3/4 which has the castle nut and you need the hub puller to get the drum off, thank your lucky stars you are not working on one of them....they didn't come apart well when new.......50 years old, could be a day job just to get it off
 
Try grinding the nail heads off that hold the shoes on and then the brake drum should come off with the shoes... New 'nails' come in the spring kits, so it's no big deal to grind the heads off the old ones...
 
I really appreciate all the input, thanks all. This is much simpler than I was prepared for...especially after the effort the front brakes took me last weekend. Now that the F1 qualy is over I'm about to tackle the rear brakes. many thanks
 
simonwt said:
I really appreciate all the input, thanks all. This is much simpler than I was prepared for...especially after the effort the front brakes took me last weekend. Now that the F1 qualy is over I'm about to tackle the rear brakes. many thanks
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How did you get them off?? Just curious what worked...
 
krazykuda said:
How did you get them off?? Just curious what worked...
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It wasn’t difficult when I realized I was just pulling off the drum and not the hub. Both sides came off reasonably easily with a little bit of wobbling back and forth. Feeling a bit dumb as this was so standard. I was expecting something much more complex! Feeling lucky that mine is a late 64 with the more “modern” drum/hub assembly on the rear. The crumbling brake shoes and broken springs inside were a joy though...
 
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