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Hi Guys,

How on earth do you remove the rear brake hub..that solid, cast piece that covers the shoes, visible when you take the wheel off? I'm sure it;s a special tool, can someone point me in the right direction to get it?

You need a puller -- heavy duty like the two shown in this threadpackardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb ... ic.php?post_id=24595#forumpost24595 Probably you can rent one but make sure it is fairly beefy.

Thanks, as always, Howard!

OTC7394 Advance Auto $153

OK, thanks, the puller worked! New cylinders installed, new shoes, bled the brakes, and on test drive, there's now a grinding, metallic sound...not like the pads burnishing or seating, but a scraping, most especially when the e brake is used, or when the pedal is pressed hard. Upon reinspection there are NO signs of any metal to metal contact. Thoughts?

When you pull the rear brakes, that is also the time to check, inspect, and repack the rear wheel bearing. See if you can isolate which wheel it is.

It's the right rear. Wheel bearing repacked. It's a rotational scraping noise only when the brakes are applied, yet when i pulled the hub off to check, no signs of any contact.

Check the outside of the front and rear shoe metal and see if one is rubbing on the inside of the drum.

Check the shoe to backing plate center hold downs, and be sure they are holding the center of the shoe securely to the backing plate.

Lastly, if you have the old shoes put them back on the right side and see if anything changes. I know this all entails a lot of work but there just isn't that much in there that can go wrong. A slightly oversize shoe perhaps.

If the primary and secondary return springs were changed too, compare them to the originals, there should be no noticeable differences. I hope this helps.

Regards, Steve.

In addition to checking the shoes for evidence of chafing, one should also remove each shoe and check for twist. A table saw makes for reasonable surface plate.

However, it could also be that the drum is slightly out of round.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it. I checked everything (and there's not that much to check!) and it all seems OK, all the obvious stuff checked out. There's no evidence of any scraping or contact, which is the weird thing. The drum is ok, the shoes are exactly the same as the one's replaced, and the return springs were the same. There's no reason for this to be happening, yet it is.