Topic: stuck brake drums dana 70 help!!!!!

[Makohon]

just got that dana 70 yesterday, but damn... those drums are stuck on and i cant get them of!! i could use a drum puller but i dont have one and dont feel like spending the money to rent one!! what can i do!!! already tried hitting it off with large hammer but no luck.. dont know if i tried long enough but no luck!! any suggestions!!! help help!!!!

[Makohon [OP]]

is seems as if one of the shoes is stuck and the other is broken free... on both the right and left drum... it seems to be were the brake line goes into the drum... if thats n e help

[jr9162]

Dunno.

Did u ensure the adjustment screw in the little oval window at 6 o'clock position on the back of the backing plate is backed off? Sometimes the drum is worn and there's a ridge inside it that won't allow u to pull the drum off the shoes. Take a 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide bladed straight slot screwdriver and rotate the slotted thumbscrew type adjustment knob inside the window to loosen up the brake shoes (one direction collapses them, the other expands them) until the drum will slide off.

Otherwise u could try breaking the cast iron drum with a BFH and a cold chisel. Aren't u converting to disk brakes? Beware those drums are stout and heavy. I don't recommend the latter procedure becuz u can screw up your hubs, bearings, and spindles real easy hammering on stuff.

[Mike D]

just back out the brakes using the little adjusting screw inside of the brake assembaly. then use a rubber mallet and smack the poo out of it

[Makohon [OP]]

that was the prob with the adjustment screws but they were rusted solid!! but finally got em off with alota muscle and sweat!! yes i am doing the disc conversion by the way. would a d 60 roter fit the rear d 70 or do i have to get the d 70 discs?? i am planning to make all the brackets etc for this swap but want to know what hub/roter i should use 60-70? could i just go to the junk yard and get a d 60 or 70 front rotors and bolt em up on the back?? well thanx!!

[jr9162]

yes i am doing the disc conversion by the way. would a d 60 roter fit the rear d 70 or do i have to get the d 70 discs?? i am planning to make all the brackets etc for this swap but want to know what hub/roter i should use 60-70? could i just go to the junk yard and get a d 60 or 70 front rotors and bolt em up on the back?? well thanx!!

Depends on what your Dana 70 is. Isn't this a dually axle to begin with? If it's a SRW axle, the simplest and most cost effective way to convert it is by using Chevy 3/4 ton Dana 44 or 10 bolt rotors, caliper brackets, and large single piston calipers. The caliper brackets on Chevys are made of steel. Dana 60 stuff is too expensive and difficult to convert. On Fords, and Dodges the caliper brackets are cast iron. On the Fords, there's either single or dual piston calipers and the brackets are made to fit the type of caliper you're using.

Re-read my post on http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic5687.0

On dually axles, I'm not 100 percent sure what you need to do because the axle assembly itself is wider, the hubs, brakes, and axle shafts on a DRW Dana 70 won't physically bolt onto a SRW version as the spindle on each axle is different than the other. The big question is how far from the boss or flange your backing plate originally bolted onto is the inner surface of whatever 8 lug rotor you'll attach to the hub? Remember to use studs (for the lugnuts) that have a long enough grip area to contact both the rotor and hub. Otherwise your rotors will be loose on the hubs.

I've seen one conversion using Dana 60 Ford front rotors, modified front spindles, dual piston calipers, and cast iron backing plates. This requires a little machine work. Basically one carefully grinds the flange off the axle tube (being careful not to damage the Dana 70's spindles) that the Dana 70 drum brakes bolted to. Then you have a machinist cut off the long part of the spindle from its flange (the portion of the spindle that bolts to the Dana 60 knuckle). Next he machines out the center of the spindle's flange so that the resulting ring will barely slip over the Dana 70 axle tube (approximately where the orginal flange you ground off resided). The rings you make out of (hopefully a damaged set) the Dana 60 spindles becomes the new flange you'll weld to your axle tube. To it is bolted the cast iron Dana 60 caliper bracket. It's a sanitary looking conversion to get Ford dual piston Dana 60 rotors and calipers on a full floating rear axle. But it's a lot of work and very expensive. You align the calipers and brackets just like before and clamp them down with shop air before any welding is started.

The 3/4 ton Chevy parts route is much simpler and less expensive. I know the Ford Dana 60 type of conversion will work on a SRW full floater axle. I dunno about a DRW. Talk to Mike Hobson before you waste a lot of effort and money. You're welcome to look at my Dana 70U and Dana 80 disk brake conversions. I'm real happy with them. They work and are 100% trouble free.

And know that full floating Dana 70 parts are much heavier and way more expensive than Dana 60 stuff. The axle shafts themselves are 1.50 to 1.60" OD 35 to 37 spline units.  Make sure you know if you're using a Dana 70, or a Dana 70HD axle too. Price out your parts. A Precision Gear 4.56 ring and pinion, assembled Powerlock, plus master bearing kit will cost you $1000. Then it's $260 or so to have them installed. That figure doesn't count a new set of spindle inner and outer bearings either. I recommend Mike or Six States. The latter has a better shop rate.  

You may want to reconsider your application and use a Ford 9" instead. Warn makes a bolt on disk brake and full floater conversion kit for it. Some hot rodders/racers consider the Ford 9" diff stronger than the venerable Dana 70. Overall it certainly is less expensive, lighter, and more compact.

See http://performanceunlimited.com/illustrations/gears.html