Technical rear drums

[littlemouse]

At the risk of sounding thick, how do you remove the rear drums, been press ganged into doing some work on my farther's car which is all originial.
My car has the 126 hubs and engine, so this is first time i have got involved with the original drums

 

[tjmra]

This is from my 500 F.

Please make sure the car is well supported before you start. Jack stands are the way to go I think. Not sure what the regs are there, but any brake dust that is around the drums may contain asbestos so make sure you are carefull with this as well.

When you take the wheel off you should see something like this.



Put the handbrake on (to stop the whole thing turning) and remove the 4 bolts. You then have to take the handbrake off to slip the drum off.

You will then see the shoes and springs etc.



Good Luck

Joe R

 

[the hobbler]

Littlemouse; having spent the bulk of my working life in the motor trade, i have seen my fair share of stupid accidents, normally created by stupid people 'in a hurry'. If you haven't got any, the first thing you do is go down to your local accesory shop and buy yourself a GOOD pair of axle stands--and use them!! Never, ever work under a car with it balanced on its jack. When working on brakes, you often have to tug and heave, and it amazing how heavy even a Fiat 500 is when it falls on your ankle! Take care and be careful.

 

[littlemouse]

Thanks for the advice, those 4 bolts look like they would be well torqued up, i assume the handbrake only would hold the drum from turning.

The reason for checking the internals is that the car has developed an unusual high pitched squeal every now and then when the footbrake is applied, assuming all is is well with cylinders and shoes what else could it be.

Claudio

 

[the hobbler]

If the handbrake is pulled on firmly, it should hold enough to allow you to remove the 4 bolts holding the drum on, especially if you use a bar and a socket and give the bolts a 'snatch' to initially release them. There is a fair chance that the noise is caused by 'glazing' on the shoes--this can be cleaned off by using coarse emery-cloth. If the car has been standing for a long time, rust can form on the friction surface of the drums, this can also be cleaned off with coarse emery-cloth. If either of these faults is not the cause, let us know and I'll do a bit more headscratching

 

[tjmra]

Claudio,

I think Hobbs and I are saying the same thing but using different terminoligy. If you Google Jack stands or Axle stands and you come up with the same thing. These stands are definitely not like the 'jack' that normally comes with a car.

Underlying message is that you need to support the car properly before you start pulling at the drums or do any work under the car.

Regards

Joe R

 

[littlemouse]

Luckily enough i have access to a 3 tonne 2 post ramp, i think it may struggle with the weighty 500, got the rear drums off and the shoes and cylinders look fairly new as do the front ones, so will probably just give them a blow over with an air gun and a clean up with emery paper as advised, fingers crossed,.
By the way whats the deal on tightening the front hub taper bearing, do i just tighten it until there is no play on the drum.
Claudio