Hi folks, it's been a while since I've pulled the axles out of my '71 Supreme. It's just the four bolts behind the hub and no C-clips in the pumpkin, correct? Nothing I have to do inside the pumpkin? I might go ahead and change the oil while I'm at it (MAW!).
I was trying to pull out the remnants of the old axle housing vent tube when the end of the pick broke off and fell inside 🙄 I've tried making tools with a magnet on the end but the vent tube remnant hangs inside too low to make any turns, seems like it's right up against the axle.
I'm hoping I don't need a slide hammer again but my local Harbor Freight has one if needed.
Thanks

 

That depends... Some have C-clips, and some don't. The tell tale will be if there are large holes in the axle flange behind the brake drum. It there aren't, you have C-clips.

Like this:

 

The factory 1971-72 ten bolt "corporate" axles do not use C-clips. Remove the four bolts, flip the brake drum around, thread three lug nuts loosely onto the studs, and use the drum as a slide hammer. Oh, and put a catch pan under the end of the axle before you do this.

 

Hmm...A slide hammer brake drum...I like it

 

Been doing it that way for 50 years now.

 

I knew that, but I wasn't gonna make the assumption that the car still had the original axle under it after 52 years.

 

Post a picture of the side of the center section and the casting number on the snout and we can ID it for you.

 

I would've given up by now...

 

Nah, no C-clips the last time I pulled the axles and I'm the second owner of this car so it's mostly original (except for what the current owner has messed up - the current owner being me ). I don't have that enormous hole in the hub, but there are the four bolts. I just couldn't remember if the axle splines are keyed or anything. Will putting it back in be tricky?
@joe_padavano I saw an old reply of yours about using the drum as a slide hammer, i'm totally trying that!
When I had the rear out of the car I changed the 2.73 peg-leg to a limited slip 3.73 a few years back....plus the two years that weren't during the pandemic) so about five years now, I think.
And what, no wise cracks about dropping a piece of metal in that hole?! What, did this become the "nice" forum??

 

The only trick is that you have to be careful to support the outboard end of the axle while you try to get the splines back into the differential gears so as not to damage the wheel seal at the outer end of the axle housing.

 

Vent tube should have been plastic. Just leaving the end in would not have done anything to the rear end. - it was only plastic. I have seen rears with axle roller barrel bearings and side shim material and even spider gear and ring and pinion teeth in the axle tubes...No one would have ever known...lol. Jim
JD Race

 

The splines are not keyed, just need to keep the inboard end of the shaft centered so it slips into the carrier side gear.

 

Good advice, thanks Joe.

Vent tube is plastic, but the pick that broke off inside is metal, and small enough that I'm worried it could get caught in a roller bearing. This job should be easy enough to grant me the peace of mind that I need. Funny thing is, after a failed attempt to get out the plastic vent base, I just slid a tight-fitting peace of rubber hose into the vent base in the axle housing and pushed the other half on top of that. Nice and tight and you wouldn't know by looking at it that it was ever broken. I just didn't like the idea of an open hole in the axle housing.

Just what I was looking for. Thanks Kenneth

 

Well, it's out. Just have to put it all back together again. Gear oil is still clear yellow (five years old, maybe), and trickling out the plug, so trying to resist that MAW.


dental pick

 

Ah.... What is that? OH DENTAL PICK... got it... Geez.... lol. NOW I know why you wanted back in... I thought the way it read the plastic broke off in the housing... lol. Sorry.

 

No worries @monzaz , I know you know your stuff. But now you can judge me; after getting everything back together, the plastic remnant fell in! I spent an hour trying to get that sucker out of the hole, and later it just drops in?! Sigh....at my house we call this the "Mac Factor". So back in I went. I realize it wouldn't do the same kind of damage as the metal pick but I figured it would get chewed up into little pieces which would be harder to track down. Besides, I needed the drum brake practice.
Interesting note: I haven't been able to get the self-adjusting brake mechanisms to work, even though it's all together correctly. So this time going in, I assembled the brake on my bench and had a good look. It appears this connector must have stretched out over time and wasn't pulling the mechanism with enough force. So as an experiment I spot welded inside the hook to make it a little tighter. Viola, fixed. A real nice "click" when turning the cog to spread the shoes. I'll do the other three next summer when I replace all the shoes.


drum brake connector thingy, hook welded smaller

 

Ouch. That's on the lines of your Mom calling you by your first and middle names. You knew you were in trouble when she did that!

 

Lol, for sure!

 

Looks like the is stretched... they sell new complete hardware kits...Might be time to spend 20 to 30 for all new stuff including the adjusters. Jim

 

Be real careful here. If the self adjuster mechanism is too tight, small irregularities in the drum ID can cause the self-adjuster to tighten up prematurely while you drive, resulting in locked brakes. In half a century of working on these cars, I've never found a "stretched" link. How exactly are you testing this link? The adjuster won't work unless the wheel is in motion while you apply the brake. This rotates the shoes on the backing plate, causing the link to engage. If you are just doing this statically without the drum turning, you are not properly testing the function.

 

Thanks for the wisdom, Joe. Shouldn't the plate at least be contacting the star wheel? I can spin it both directions after assembling the brakes. At first I thought it was the spring that connects the bottom of the front and back shoes causing the plate to not sit on the star wheel but I was wrong. What else could cause this?

 

A lot of people have been having issues with the aftermarket replacement rods. See if someone has an original they can send you for replacement.

 

@oldcutlass Rods?

 

What you called the self adjuster thingy.

 

Oh, lol! I think maybe it's called an actuator rod? But I've never seen one in any of the spring kits. Mine are original. And it could be that I was the person that stretched them out. I was pretty green when I first started working on this car. I'll be careful not to make the mechanism too tight. I mean, even after welding-up the hook, it was still easy to put into place. I just can't see any other reason why the plate isn't contacting the star wheel.
On a more frustrating note: I'm replacing the front wheel cylinders (one is leaking) and whoever bent the new brake lines made it near impossible to get to the fitting. Oh yeah, that was me too