33 cracked brake drum

[Doctor's Ford]

I took the 33 for a test drive and heard noises coming from the rear axle. I noticed the left rear wheel was a bit wobbly and removed it to fix it. That is when I noticed the drum has a long crack which is quite visible in photos 1 and 3 and which extends on the entire thickness of the cast. It also has several repaired areas with old welding. Took the drum to my friend at his machine shop and he said is not fixable. "Get another one" . What options do I have? (very unlikely I will find one around here). Anyone reproducing 33-34 drums? Will 32 or 35 fit with no adaptations? I believe mine is stock. Please provide some suggestions. Thank you. Manuel

[petehoovie]

I could be wrong, but I don't think the drum you picture is original to your car....

[David J]

It's a rear . They do not have the holes . How did you get it off the hub ? I have some that are within spec { .060 is max oversize } but shipping may be high . Mine all have hubs .

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by David J

It's a rear . They do not have the holes . How did you get it off the hub ? I have some that are within spec { .060 is max oversize } but shipping may be high . Mine all have hubs .

Yeah.... The ones I pictured are for the front....

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=1933+Ford+...K%2F%24_35.JPG

[DavidG]

Manuel,

I agree with your friend, it is not fixable. I'm long fronts and may have a spare rear, but I would take advantage of DavidJ's offer as he knows his '33-'34s and what I have may have problems in the wheel bearing surface area in the hub or be too thin in the brake shoe contact area of the drum; I can't check until early July.

The drums are the same from '32 through '34. I can't remember the last time I saw a '32-34 drum detached from the hub.

[34fordy]

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Originally Posted by Doctor's Ford

I took the 33 for a test drive and heard noises coming from the rear axle. I noticed the left rear wheel was a bit wobbly and removed it to fix it. That is when I noticed the drum has a long crack which is quite visible in photos 1 and 3 and which extends on the entire thickness of the cast. It also has several repaired areas with old welding. Took the drum to my friend at his machine shop and he said is not fixable. "Get another one" . What options do I have? (very unlikely I will find one around here). Anyone reproducing 33-34 drums? Will 32 or 35 fit with no adaptations? I believe mine is stock. Please provide some suggestions. Thank you. Manuel

I can not see how the crack in the drum would have any effect on the wheel wobbling. Possibly you have more than one problem? Loose lug nuts or slop in the hub to axle fitment?

[Doctor's Ford]

Originally Posted by 34fordy

I can not see how the crack in the drum would have any effect on the wheel wobbling. Possibly you have more than one problem? Loose lug nuts or slop in the hub to axle fitment?

Yes, it was a different problem. The hub to axle fitment wasn't right. It happened after I mounted Ted's floaters and did not assemble correctly. I noticed the drum problem when fixing this issue.

[Doctor's Ford]

Originally Posted by DavidG

Manuel,

I agree with your friend, it is not fixable. I'm long fronts and may have a spare rear, but I would take advantage of DavidJ's offer as he knows his '33-'34s and what I have may have problems in the wheel bearing surface area in the hub or be too thin in the brake shoe contact area of the drum; I can't check until early July.

The drums are the same from '32 through '34. I can't remember the last time I saw a '32-34 drum detached from the hub.

Oh boy. . I did not know the hub was part of the drum! I did not do anything to remove them. That is the way they were when I got the car years ago. The hubs are all separated from the drum in the other wheels too. Evidently these modifications were done long ago. Hopefully that won't be an issue when I get a new drum with the hub included.

[Doctor's Ford]

Originally Posted by David J

It's a rear . They do not have the holes . How did you get it off the hub ? I have some that are within spec { .060 is max oversize } but shipping may be high . Mine all have hubs .

Thanks David J !! Shipping won't be a problem. I will be working in South Dakota next week. Look for a PM. Manuel

[rotorwrench]

The hubs and drums were fixed together at manufacture with a swaging process on each of the wheel lug studs. This can be replicated if a person gets the correct studs and a swaging tool. It is more common to do this on the later 1940 thru 48 hydraulic type brake drums since reproductions are available for them.

[petehoovie]

Hey, Doc....Did you get your horn problem resolved?....

[Doctor's Ford]

Yes and no. The reproduction horn does indeed have a screw to adjust the tone (that is the Yes). So I was able to do some tuning but the final outcome is still a buzzer type sound (that is the No) except that it now has a higher pitch than the one I posted on the videos.

[Doctor's Ford]

DavidG asked how the rear brakes are set on my car. I removed the wheel again and took these photos to show the drum separated from the hub and studs components. Today I had the opportunity to ask questions to a guy who used to work at the shop where my car started restoration about 5 years ago and he remembers that the mechanic in charge replaced one of my original rear drums with "a different year style" because he had problems getting studs to work. In photo # 3 you can see the plate where the studs are attached has been machined. It appears then that my cracked drum has the hub separated because is a different year and not a 33-34. May be is not even a Ford?

[David J]

Hub looks stock . Rotorwrench is right in his description of how they were made .

[Bruce Lancaster]

The hub and drum may have more problems that account for the wheel wobble! If the garage was not very old and Ford oriented, they probably used a 3-leg puller rather than the right type that pulls from the central part of hub. Since the bolt pattern is large, the forces can actually warp the hub and crack the drum.
I once used a 3 arm puller on a junk Model A rear that I was stripping for the gears. The hub was super tight, one of the worst I have encountered, and just before it let go of the axle the drum split from all the distortion of the hub at the bolt circle.
I would bet that every dog for 5 miles around jumped when that thing split!

[David J]

Bruce has a good point so you may want to check your hub for runout .

That said your wheel may be ruined as your replacement drum does not have the support tabs next to the hub .

Pics are loose ones and the one missing 2 studs mikes at .025 over and is useable as is . Actually all appear useable as is . That would be my first choice to part with and a total of $115 will get it to the address you sent . Other ones we need to talk and I have some more worn also . Tight ones of these are not easy to find here either .

Won't part with the .016 one as it looks almost new .

Lemme know so we can get you one in time . And also this is not a fire sale - just trying to help Manuel fix his car . Dave