'78 Honda Civic - Stuck wheel, Mayonaise

Please help!
What to do? I cannot get off the rear wheel drum
on my trusty '78 Honda Civic (just 100,305 M on it)
to check the brake shoes. The nut is off, and I've
loosened the brake adjustment, but the drum does
not come off.(It can be rotated.) I've tried
prying with a screw driver between the drum edge
and the back plate, but no luck.
The other rear wheel drum just slides off.

The other question I have is about the oil filler cap.
Especially when it is cold outside, the oil filler cap
is covered with some Mayonaise-like substance.
What is this emulsion? Does it do any harm?

I would appreciate any suggestions. Especially,
about the drum.
Thanks, Alex

 

You should find two threaded holes in the drum near the hub. Fit a
pair of 12 mm bolts into these holes and tighten them evenly,
half-a-turn at a time. This will pop the drum off.

Oil mixed with water and/or coolant

It may indicate problems, like a leaking head gasket.
A small amount may just be due to condensation.
Do you take only short trips in winter, that never bring the engine
fully up to temperature?

Check your oil level, take the car on a 100 mile run, then check the
level again. Any water and gas in the oil will have boiled off by
then. If the oil level is down appreciably, note exactly what the
level is and check it again the next day. If it's mysteriously rising,
you've got problems. How's the coolant level in the rad?

 

spray around the lugs with PB blaster, and smack that bitch with a
rubber mallet. a LOT.

water in the oil. some is normal. a lot isnt. how often do you change
your oil? do a lot of short trips? oil level normal? does the car run
hot? overheat at all?

 

doh! i forgot bout that technique. works like a charm.

 

John's comment about using two bolts in the drum is right.

Sometimes you will have to back off the auto-aduster inside the drum
because they may have worn such that a slight rigde exists on the edge
of the drum. That edge can keep the drum from coming off, because the
pads hit against it when you try to pull the drum off.

On the backing plate you'll find a hole, often covered with a rubber
cover.
Using a brake spoon (looks like a bent screw driver) you'll be able to
engage the teeth of a ratchet operated auto-adjuster. Turning this
adjusted will allow you to back the pads so they don't hold against the
drum any longer.

Also, pay attention as to what direction you turn this ratchet: one way
tightens and it one way loosens it
Since you have one side off, look at the assembly and you'll see what I
mean.

Remco


If you have a manual, it should tell you



d allow you to get a brake s

 

WARNING: Northern cars can develop a rust ridge around the perimeter of the
drum that can hook behind the shoes, preventing the drum from sliding off
even when the shoes are backed off all the way.

If this happens, you have no choice but to Dremel off the backs of the
hold-down pins so you can pull the works right off.

The OP's problem is evidently the drum rusted to the hub, which has been
addressed already so I won't get into that, except to say that if the rust
seal is bad enough (and I have seen this), those two bolts will CRACK the
drum face. A dull chisel and a hammer around the hub/drum join is a better
idea.

Taste it (then wipe it off your tongue after).

If it's sweet, it's coolant. If it's not, it's water and it's time to give
your car a good long run on the highway so it can boil off the water.

 

I've never worked on Honda drums, but don't all drums all have an
access hole so you can back the shoes off? Or are honda/integra drums
different in that regard?

 

Many of them do (but not all!), but sometimes the rust ridge is pretty big,
and you can't back the shoes off far enough to get past the ridge. It takes
a lot of rust to do this, and I figured a '78 may have been around long
enough to make this a possibility.

Every time I remove a drum, I grind off that rust ridge. Even if there
isn't one, I run the grinder around the perimeter to cut the metal back a
bit, just in case.

 

The mayonnaise like substance could be the result of adding plenty of
additives like fule likne cleaner, carb cleaner etc... (found that out
on an old Pontiac I once had).
The drum, if it rotates and won't come off then you probably missed a
screw on the other side.
a '78 with only ~100M ??? Damn! You just drive it once a month for
groceries??

 

BINGO!, but I use a brass hammer. And sometimes turning the drum as pulling
will "unthread" it from the shoes.
As someone who does brakes several times a week, and inspects more cars than
I care to count, I have never had to "dremmel a rust ridge off" and only a
few times had to back-off the shoes..


--
Stephen W. Hansen
ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician
ASE Undercar Specialist

 

Where do you live?

 

You appear to be on the West Coast in WA. You don't get the rust we get.

Do you have this much rust?:
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/rustybrakes/brakes1.html

You don't "Dremel" the ridge off, you use an air grinder with a conical (or
bullet-shaped) bit.

 

I think when I said "Northern", I should have said "North-EASTERN". Very
different climate from yours.

 

I think when I said "Northern", I should have said "North-EASTERN". Very

Hey John, I think you must have snuck into my driveway and taken a picture
of the brakes of one of my cars.
You're in the north east as well? CT here so we're in the same rusty boat..

 

I didn't even look at your pictures, and I do know what you are talking
about. We do see some east coast cars in here and the rust is horrendous.
but with a few good hits with a hammer and it usually comes off. The only
one that fought me was a HUGE dodge truck and a 1961 jeep truck. That one I
put a large gear puller and air hammered it tight for 2 days. Then hit it
with a BFH.
The lead tech at the other shop was from NJ, and told me the stories of
wrenching on cars back there.. he says the only difference is you replace
more hardware, and used the torch...
Take care