I've done my fair share of brakes, here's what I remember: The little
bolts hold the drums onto the axle flange, you must remove the bolts.
You don't have to put them back but they don't interfere with anything
so why not. With the new brakes installed it's helpful to be able to
spin the drums and do a preliminary brake adjustment with the wheel off.
Getting the drums off is often a chore, if yours is one of the tough
ones, first item is to shoot a little WD-40 around the base of the lug
bolts, if obvious rust, take a little pointed tool and dig out what you
can. Wear pattern on the drum often leaves a ridge on the outboard
edge, that's the reason to loosen the old shoes. I use a big rubber
mallet to pound on the inside edge of the drum, if that doesn't do it
yet I use a large pry bar or screwdriver (carefully) on the opposite
edge from where I'm pounding, that usually does it, however, I've seen
drums that were almost totally rusted to the flange, there you also need
to start from the center area and work outward, plenty of WD-40 and use
of a wedge tool and hammer of your choice. This is the toughest but it
can be done...give the WD-40 time to work itself in, don't be in a rush,
leave it over night and take another shot.
Les
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