I am going to be swapping spacered drums to me project which has normal. Is it quicker just to remove the hub, drum and brakes? or the whole assembly including ball joints ect.? If the first is quicker how do you go about it, as I have never tried to take the hub (the thing with the studs through it) off before. Does it just slide off once the driveshaft nut is taken off?

P.S I am working off two cars hence why I need to know what is easier and faster, as eight have to be done to swap them all over.

If I understand you correctly, you are taking off normal unstepped drums and fitting stepped/spacered ones. If so, all you have to do is back off the brake adjusters, remove the two screws that go through the drum and pull it off and, to quote the great Haynes "refitting is the reverse of removal". You may need to give the drums a bit of a whack with a hide mallet to persuade them to come off though.

No need to be undoing the driveshaft nut or ball joints.

Don't know if you will have to replece the studs with longer ones though. If so you may have to remove the drive shaft nut and the flange to be able to tap out and replace the studs. Someone else may be able to answer this bit.

Cheers

Rick

Easiest is take the hub off, and switch them.. Undo the two screws make sure the handbrake is off, and remove the hub.. ? Oh wait are we talking about front or rear brakes?

If you only need to change 1" offset drums to normal (non spacered) drums or visa versa, then no need to undo the hub. The drums are completely interchangeable provided that you take the brake shoes that match the drums with you.

Take the wheels off, you will find 2 screws that hold the drums in place. They may be hard to get off so use an impact screwdriver or you may strip the philips head. Not that offset drum screws are longer than non-offset drum screws (1 inch to be exact )

Adjust the brake shoes via the adjustment screws so that there is a clearance between the pads and the drums and use a rubber mallet if you need to to knock the hub off (sometimes they are stiff buggers)

Once that is out , take the brake pads with you to the new wheel as they will match the drums in diameter (some drums will be smaller/bigger than others as they may have been machined or worn to a larger size diameter. You can't simply mix and match brake shoes... Shoes and drums are "a set" if you like, or if you decide to fit new shoes you will need to bring the drums with you and they can machine the shoes to ensure that they are a perfect fit.

Hope that helps!

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

You don't have to remove the flange, the studs will come out with a hammer and a bit of force

I never heard of machining brake shoes? Whats the point of this? You can machine the drum so it's true, but the shoes should bed themselves in?

As mentioned above you will need longer wheel studs for offset drums... sorry That will make it slightly more complex requiring removal of the hub to take the studs out... the offset ones are too long to just push then through...

It is still easier than removing the whole hub at the front.

Backs, be careful as you can stuff up the rear wheel bearing when taking the hub off...

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Ok cool.
Do I need to change the studs I am going from normal to spacered. Will they be long enough if I dont change them? I gather the studs arent welded into place or anything like that?

Nope! if you have smaller shoes than the drum or bigger shoes than the drum, by the time you "bed them in" you will have only mm left on the shoe! When buying shoes, you can buy them to the right size or get them machined/rebonded to the right size.

[EDIT] you will also have poor braking for quite a few miles as only a fraction of the shoes make contact with the drums...

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

No they are not welded in, you can "perquade" them out with a BFH

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Thanks guys. So does the hub just pull out?

Yes. Remember that you have to adjust the shoes first otherwise the shoes will be in contact with the hub and therefor be a bugger to take out, if at all!

[EDIT] Don't forget the 2 screws that hold the drum onto the wheel hubs

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

And the flange, does that just pull out once the driveshaft nut is off?

4 wheel drum brakes right?

On the rears it is a hub not a flange as such. The hub contains the wheel bearing. If you try to knock them off you can stuff up the wheel bearings as the inner bearing case (or race) may (and most likely will) get stuck to the spline, leaving you with hub, outer bearing case and a whole bunch of ball bearings on the ground!

You need a slide hammer to remove the rear hub.

Actually not too sure about the fronts... I think they are exactly the same (sorry I have discs at the front )

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

I have a suitable puller at home, using this will keep the ball bearings in place? I hope!