seized wheels on beetles and busses.

[LittleMicroCars]

Thought I would offer this suggestion . I have found it to work always, and no damage to the parts involved except alloy.Bought a 58 beetle last week from Washington State... It sat peacefully for 30 years under the pine trees . I knew the wheel was locked up . . and had my torches blazing away at the drum when the car hauler arrived.. to no avail. The wheel cylinder and shoes were bonded rock hard.. So I cut up a nice big plastic container , and put it under the drum filled it with chrome wheel acid.( about 4 gallons.) for a week and covered it with plastic to keep the fumes at bay. the acid eats all the rust into granular small particles. and will devourer the expanded rust on the inside of the drums where you cannot reach. after about 5 days they brake loose and you can with a little effort rotate the drum and it will easily come off with no damage. the chrome wheel cleaner will also devourer the baked on grease and grim even the inside of the wheel bearings if they rusted up ball bearings to bare metal and the back side of the backing plate. http://youtu.be/jpIelhc0axc After the drum was loose i pulled it off and found the combination of shoes welded to the drum and bearings rusted .I not sure that banging on the shoes thru the 5 wheel nut holes would have got them loose. or extra long bolts would push the drum off with the bearings rusted and locked up. the acid required respect but its effective and you only have to do it once..The acid is reusable and can be cleaned with a coffee filter to remove any residue , you can also clean greasy tin work . it will remove all baked on grease and all rust . The the parts are back to white metal and ready for Por 15 epoxy primer , no sand blaster needed . glasses , good ventilation,gloves , respect are needed. and its nice to have a garden hose close by with a trigger sprayer attached. I also use the chrome wheel acid to de rust any areas that need welding or painting example the inside bottom of the doors. areas that are in the rusting process can be stopped 100 percent. and neutralized with simple green or degreaser of your choice then a nice coating of Por 15 and your good to go.. Chrome wheel acid can be purchased from Mobile Auto Detail supply venders .. Look em up in the phone book They will have material safety data sheets to go with your purchase. Its about 10 to 15 dollars a gallon max. Chrome wheel acid contains florides that dissolve calcium. another note to consider is if you cant rotate the wheel you cant undo the star adjusters on the backing plate. and if the wheel cylinder is stuck and if the brakes got mashed its possible that the pucks of the wheel cylinders have driven the brake shoes against the drum with great pressure... The acid will dissolve the aluminum wheel cylinder pucks so the brake shoes are relaxed.( takes 5 days or longer ) This vw after 30 years in the wet lands of Washington and never moved an inch since 1984 rolls again. IT great to hear from others with their experiences. The Samba people make it happen...Leo
_________________
Importer of Steyr Puch rally cars, military Jeeps, and air cooled parts Vienna, Austria

[carnut63]

Where do you get 4 gallons of chrome wheel acid?
_________________
Tyson

---> Mar 2 1955 Strato Silver Oval <---
---> July 1957 ragtop project <---
---> May 5 1966 Ghia <---
---> 1962 Ruby Red Deluxe (sold)

[Eric&Barb]

Works better to remove the wheel and use a long punch to reach each brake shoe and rap with a hammer loose.
Lots faster and less acid handling.
_________________
In Stereo, Where Available!

[hitest]

[jjohnson67]

^^^^^Lmao! Adele.... tell homeboy thats a great sig.

[SgtSamy]

[carcrazed]

You should have dealt with the drum I had to cut off my 61! I soaked it for a month with different products, heated it, beat on it EVERYTHING. Damn drum was seized all the way up on the axle splines. NOTHING was ever going to take that sucker off except cutting it. Just got it finishied up with a new swing axle shaft, drum, wheel bearings and seals and, of course, brakes. Sometime nothing works except extreme measures.
_________________
1965 Herbie Replica. 1776cc dual Kads.
1961 Beetle 33,000 Original Miles

"Just When you think you are getting ahead, you're always wrong."