Brake Drun Cleanup Ideas?

[Eagle]

For those of us who still have drum brakes on the rear, I'm sure you all know that drums are a lot more expensive than rotors, and drums for a Dana 44 are almost impossible to find. For the most part, when doing a brake job I've found that the working part of the drums don't need anything, but there's a lip of rust at the open edge that screws things up.

 

It's also difficult to find a shop with a brake lathe these days, it's expensive when you do find one, and they don't listen when you tell them to ONLY cut that rust ridge down to fluch with the rest of the drum, not to cut the actual braking surface.

 

So ... for the dedicated do-it-yourselfers who don't happen to own a brake lathe or a machine shop ... does anyone have any good ideas as to how to remove that ridge when doing a brake job?

[jimoshel]

I've used both a small grinding stone and a rotary file in a 3/8 hand drill. Clamp the drum down solid and set something up where you can rest your hand on to steady the drill. Don't get in a hurry. A pain in the butt but it gets the job done.

[sloride]

Any machine shop should be able to use an engine lathe to chuck up a hub and face that ridge off.

[Eagle]

Any machine shop should be able to use an engine lathe to chuck up a hub and face that ridge off.

 

Sure -- for big bucks. I'm looking for do-it-yourself methods.

[Oyaji]

You could bolt the drum on backwards, start the engine, drop it in gear, and use the rear end and drivetrain as a lathe.  If you do this, take all safety precautions of course, and use Jim's grinding method. Keeping the drums balanced will be less of an issue with them rotating.

[HOrnbrod]

When I had drums, I used to use a Dremel tool and rotary stone - very carefully. Easier to control than a big hand drill.

[Eagle]

You could bolt the drum on backwards, start the engine, drop it in gear, and use the rear end and drivetrain as a lathe.  If you do this, take all safety precautions of course, and use Jim's grinding method. Keeping the drums balanced will be less of an issue with them rotating.

 

I was thinking about trying this, as a matter of fact.

[hassyfoto]

Like most folks, I use a grinder. Fortunately for me, I have multiple tools for the job. A six inch grinder, a Dremel with multiple attachements, a grinding wheel and some other assortment of grinding tools. It's time consuming, but if you want to spend a little time and a large part of elbow grease, your can accomplish the task yourself.

[Oyaji]

 

You could bolt the drum on backwards, start the engine, drop it in gear, and use the rear end and drivetrain as a lathe.  If you do this, take all safety precautions of course, and use Jim's grinding method. Keeping the drums balanced will be less of an issue with them rotating.

 

I was thinking about trying this, as a matter of fact.

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You might have to fiddle with the centering a bit - check it on the smooth wear surface  of the drum so you don't get out of round grinding down the lip.  You won't need much speed - idling engine will do. Try to come up with some blocks to use as a jig/brace to hold your grinder steady, and take care not to get long sleeves  or anything  else caught, else we may not be hearing from you again!

.

It goes pretty fast depending on your grinder, so it pays to be slow and deliberate in your work as you go.

[dave92cherokee]

In my experience that lip doesn't get to bad and when it does that means the braking surface is worn down past it's tolerances. When it's a small lip during normal maintenance/inspection I usually just use a piece of sand paper and go around it a few times. Then spray it down with brake cleaner to clean off shavings/dust.