stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

took a few tries, but eventually I won the day. for some odd reason the fronts were not an issue.
attempting to simply pry with a long screwdriver only deformed the side wall of the seal. needle nose vice grips just took a bite out of the wall of the seal.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

hmmm... OK, let's drill a small hole & see if I can pry it out with a punch / drift.
no joy.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

it was suggested to simply drop the drum on the pavement. (the weight of the bearing would do the trick ?)
did a good job of shredding the paper.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

full jaw vice grips. drive the lower jaw into the seal as far as possible. lock the jaws and whack the end of the vice grips several times.

for the second drum I'll buffer the vice grips with a piece of thick leather at the edge of the seal opening. I did deform the channel for the snap ring slightly. I oriented the void in the snap ring to this area.

it's 5:00 somewhere ;)

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

Jake, You can purchase a seal removal tool that makes this job a snap.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

Yes, use the right tool for the right job. Any auto parts store has them. They are a hook that snags them on the back side allowing you to pry them up.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

And I picked up a helpful hint here on the forum:

To drive in the new seal, assuming you don’t have a seal driver kit, a short pvc pipe connector (2 inch inside diameter 92 cents at Home Depot), is the perfect size to evenly tap the seal in. Just get it lined up and carefully use your hammer. Works like a charm.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

Gee, To remove the seal I just inserted a long,thin tapered drift punch and tapped it out.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

On my 39 I used two small screwdrivers to pry it out. You have to be careful not to distort it.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

You can easily do that on front drum/hubs, but not so easily done on the rear drum/hubs from 32 to 48, IMHO.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

Would there be a way to remove the seal and reuse it

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

No, but anyway it wouldn't be worth the effort or wisdom to use the old worn-out seal.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

You can reuse the seal if you use the K R Wilson bearing remover.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

Why would anyone want to re-use a seal?

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

Maybe because a good original used seal is better than a new replacement of unknown origin and quality?

Just playing Devil's Advocate here.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

In that case, I see. Although I have never seen a seal that should be reused.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

I think the OEM seals were leather. Surely, the new neoprene seals are better.

Re: stubborn rear brake drum seal removal
 

New seals are much better than doing the job over.