TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:35 pm

My 55 sept built westfalia (maybe its a 56 orig bill of sale says 55)
has a leaking rear brake cylinder,
cant seem to get the drum off.
Is there a real good puller for sale somwere.
the rental ones dont seem to work.
hate to have to heat it off.
like to have rear break for next weekend transporterfeast

Jim Phillips

Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:40 pm

can you turn the drum? if you can't have you tried to use PB Blaster yet? if they will turn, not sure what to try.. good luck man.

Mon Sep 20, 2004 7:53 pm

get a hard rubber mallet, and smack the hell out of it. i have seen this
done before and it works well.

Mon Sep 20, 2004 7:57 pm

when I had the same problem with my 67 riviera, I loosened the nut so there was a hair's breadth (0.006") between the drum and the nut, then put the cotter pin back in. a few days later the bus suddenly got all squirrelly on the freeway... the drum had broken loose. :D this was one that no amount of banging was working on. and I don't trust pullers ever since I had one strip out the lug threads. ya, try banging on it first.

this is probably really unsafe and not to be tried at home. Don't blame me if you hurt yourself doing something dumb. :roll: :P :P

Mon Sep 20, 2004 8:01 pm

Jim - you can borrow my drum puller if you want to pay shipping both ways. the thing wieghs about 40-50 pounds, so it wouldn't be very cost effective though. before I got the matra drum puller, I used a '66-'67 beetle rim and a generic three arm puller. I was always able to get them off, but I did destroy the puller on the last one before I got the new puller.

Mon Sep 20, 2004 10:17 pm

You back off the star adjustment nuts?

Tue Sep 21, 2004 7:51 am

jim, your bus is a 56, and it's not built in september. yours is later than mine and greg's (they are like 147 apart), and mine was built oct 1. ;)
my first hint is to take the axle nut off. :lol:
anyway, why don't you go to clay's house and use his drum puller?

Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:50 am

After my trip to the South Bay yesterday, you all have no idea what a stuck drum really is!! :shock:

Tue Sep 21, 2004 10:14 am

hazetguy wrote: jim, your bus is a 56, and it's not built in september. yours is later than mine and greg's (they are like 147 apart), and mine was built oct 1. ;)
my first hint is to take the axle nut off. :lol:
anyway, why don't you go to clay's house and use his drum puller?

damn!!! Set him straight, why don't you?

Tue Sep 21, 2004 8:07 pm

ah, heck, jim can take it, he's a big boy.
hey jim, have you backed off the adjusters all the way?? :wink: :wink:

Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:02 pm

Thanks all for the advise
I did back off the star nuts even mounted a old beat rim and beat on it for a while.
I once used a common 3 arm puller (like clay has) on my old drums.
pulled the bolts out of the drums in no time Yuck.

I have to find a puller Like in linds pic any one got one for sale.
I am sure my other rear drums are just as stuck.

hazfitguy so what mouth was my bus built?
I thought my letter from vw said sept and was a 55.
Dam gona have to sell it and find a 55 or older with full camping box and
hatch ow and orig tent.

Wed Sep 22, 2004 1:04 am

[email protected] wrote: Thanks all for the advise
I did back off the star nuts even mounted a old beat rim and beat on it for a while.
I once used a common 3 arm puller (like clay has) on my old drums.
pulled the bolts out of the drums in no time Yuck.

I have to find a puller Like in linds pic any one got one for sale.
I am sure my other rear drums are just as stuck.

hazfitguy so what mouth was my bus built?
I thought my letter from vw said sept and was a 55.
Dam gona have to sell it and find a 55 or older with full camping box and
hatch ow and orig tent.

good luck finding an earlier westy. there are only 7 known that are older than yours and only one of them has been for sale recently. (Thom Fitzpatrick's old '55 was for sale in japan)

I think your westy is cool as hell. and comfortable also, having spent two nights sleeping in it this summer.

I would trade my drum puller for a rear bumper, if it was nice original paint.... LOL.

Thu Sep 23, 2004 3:38 am

Hey Jim , are you going to transporterfest ?? If so, I'll bring my puller down for you to borrow, my bud got it from the closed Concord Vw dealer, it works great, by the way you've got mail...
Tom (white '86 Doublecab)