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drums- how to measure size

S

steelblueSE

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
Messages
1,737
From what I have read, the 97-2000 cars have a mix of 8in and 9in rear drums. Where do I measure on the drum to determine the size? Do I have to actually take it off and go from the inside or can I measure from the outside?
 
If the drums are stuck take a BFH and wack on them along the outer part of the drum. If you plan on replacing them it doesn't matter what you do to them. They are most likely rusted on. Spray them down with ATF. If you can find a hole in the backing plate spray some lube inside the drum area. It will ruin the brake shoes but I assume you plan on doing a brake job and that's why you need to remove the drums.

IF you do end up cutting it off use a cutoff wheel on a drill or grinder to cut the drum. You don't have to cut it all the way. Once you have a good groove made take a chisel and hammer and stick it in the groove and wack on it. The drum may then crack along the groove you cut in the drum. The drum should them come off.
 
I haven't had time to get under and check the adjuster's but its a 99 with 135k and the back brakes are 100% original. Just based off the age and mileage I'm guessing I'll have to cut them off. We just recently cut the drums off my sister's 95 Taurus (65k, stock, frozen adjusters and shoes dug into the drum), so it should go easier this time around. It sucks, I'll be doing this the day before the show and shine at Spring Zing so I'm really hoping Murphy's Law doesn't complicate things like its always done in the past.
 
I guess I got lucky as just did rear brakes on my wife/son's 1996 Contour with 8" rear drums at 161,000 miles and was able to get them off with just a bit of pounding with a big sledge hammer.

Scott
 
If all you need to do is determine if you have 8" or 9" drums so you can get repair parts before taking it apart, you can do that from the outside. The drum wall thickness is about 1/4-5/16", so add twice that to the inside diameter to get an approximate outside diameter. When you measure the outside diameter with a ruler or tape, you'll measure either 9.5" or 8.5" (approx).
 
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