Ok Im going insane here, its my understanding that the drums outter shell should pop off and mine will not for anything come off.

Ebrake is not engaged, I removed those two washer grip things on the studs and tapped it with a hammer beat it with a hammer and it will not budge. So far anyone Ive asked says there isnt anything else holding it on, so is there something different about the drums on 2003+ ? ( mines an 03 sunfire no abs ) is there some magic hidden bolt to unscrew or what? both sides are like this. neither will move even with a bit of prying.

Any help at all would save my sanity



208whp 239wtq
13.7 @ 102mph 2.19 60'

When's the last time the ebrake was engaged? Did you just release it, and then try to get them off?

If so, go drive it around the block. Don't set the ebrake again. Try to get them off again.

Might not be fully released or something.

Then tap away with the hammer until they come loose.

i use the ebrake pretty often and the drums spinthe drums are just a side track of another project thats got my car parked for a good while, so i cant take it for a drive but i would think if i can easily spin them by hand that the ebrake couldnt be holding enough to keep them on as tight as they are i jsut had a long pry bar in them and from the looks of it they seem to be stuck in the center if theres nothing Im missing then i guess a big can of pb blaster and a day of sitting it in order.



208whp 239wtq
13.7 @ 102mph 2.19 60'

sweet god my last post is hard to read, lol sorry guys not sure what happen



208whp 239wtq
13.7 @ 102mph 2.19 60'

I had the same problem with my 03 fire. The drums would not come off, so I took a torch and cut around the hub

Keep hitting on the face of the drum where the lip is, this way you won't crack your shoes (if you are changing them then it doesn't matter). I had my car on a hoist and whacked the drums with a 5lb sledge and nothing would get them loose. Maybe it's something about the 03's? As far as I could tell there was a large collection of rust on the hub that prevented me from removing the drums. It was too tight of a spot to grind so the torch came out.

Good luck at getting them off.

^ read your post above, use some liquid wrench or releaseall around the hub it may work for you, it didn't for me though

when you took the torch to it, where exactly were you heating? around the hub where it was stuck ?



208whp 239wtq
13.7 @ 102mph 2.19 60'

when i was fixing my ebrake cable...one of the springs holding the pad had fallen off...and once that happens it is an extreme bitch to get those @!#$in hubs off...just lube it up and keep tapping all around and then try to get the crowbar in the middle and pry it off and tap with the hammer

I just changed my rear brakes last week. I used a dead blow hammer, and it worked excellent. A dead blow hammer is like a rubber mallet weighted by sand in the center of the head. You can pick one up at a local hardware store for around $10. I have a 2lb one. In order to get the cover off I had to wail on it a few times but atleast the dead blow wont hurt the casing like a regular hammer.

if one of the springs had come off like suggested wouldnt the drum not spin?



208whp 239wtq
13.7 @ 102mph 2.19 60'

Mine came off super easy. Just tap around the drum and they should pull off.


My Car

finally got one off it took a 2 foot pry bar and a slightly bent backing plate but it came off gonna go work the other side now it seems its jsut rust that held it on so hard, around the center hub. hopefully the next one come soff before the thing bends but I guess it doesnt matter




208whp 239wtq
13.7 @ 102mph 2.19 60'

spray the hub and around the edges with liquid wrench, wd40 etc and let it soak for a few hours. if you heat it a little first doesn't have to be much, it will help, you will still want it to set for awhile though.

this same idea it what you can use to remove a stuck O2 sensor, warm the car up for a few minutes, turn it off, spay with the lube, and let it set for a awhile. the heat will soak in the lube, and help to break up the rust.

Cinny is right. Take it for a ride around the block to warm up the brakes a bit. Then take the wheels off, hose them down (just around the hub) with LW or WD40 or whatever. Let it sit for at least an hour. Reapply the lube, then take a crow bar and hammer. Put the crowbar behind the drum. Then wail on the crowbar with the hammer. Has always worked fine for me, and I've never broken any pads.

I heated and cut through the drum all around the hub for my problem but if you got one off without it then the other drum may come off.