DanHS

I decided to check my brakes, thinking my rotors were going because the car developed a very faint shudder. The rotors and pads were in fine shape, so I checked my drums. The left drum looked okay, but the left shoes were all glazed so I put the wheel on and didn't bother checking the right side since I was going to replace the pads anyway. When I went to do the brakes, I took off the left drum and saw the pads looked different from the ones I got from Autozone. Both old shoes had holes that were not present on two of the new shoes, but were present on the other two new shoes. Curious to see if the right side shoes were different from the left, I went to take off the right drum, but it was stuck. It's not stuck on the pads, it moves in and out only a tiny bit, with the axleshaft moving with it, as if they were glued together. Banging the face of the drum did not make it come loose. I was afraid to hit it hard from the side because I thought it might alter it's roundness slightly. How can I make it come loose?

roundman

Don't hit the drum with a hammer, they can break easily. Hit the axle in the center a few time to break loose the rust or try spraying the area where the hub and drum meet with some penetrating oil and let it soak, then hit it some more. If this doesn't work, the get a torch and heat up the drum area right around the hub some and then hit the axle to bust it loose. don't overdo it with the torch.