Leaky drum rear brakes

robbz28 · Aug 26, 2010

I know you have a ton of replies to this and thats great, just wanted to throw my experience in the pot. My rear was leaking like yours, and true to form it was the seal, but my housing was all messed up where the seal sits, apparantly the axle had gone out at one time and rode on the housing, but i dressed it up with some emery cloth and put a healthy dose of silicon on the outside of the seal before i installed it, sealed up nice, hasnt leaked a drop here 6 months later.

sixtyfive · Aug 27, 2010

robbz28 said:
I know you have a ton of replies to this and thats great, just wanted to throw my experience in the pot. My rear was leaking like yours, and true to form it was the seal, but my housing was all messed up where the seal sits, apparantly the axle had gone out at one time and rode on the housing, but i dressed it up with some emery cloth and put a healthy dose of silicon on the outside of the seal before i installed it, sealed up nice, hasnt leaked a drop here 6 months later.

I might try that to start with since it seems like i am running in circles on this project. You put silicon on the outside of the seal that the arrow is pointing to?

That does not interfere with the seal on the axle?

zigmont · Aug 29, 2010

sixtyfive said:
I managed to get some time to dissemble the brakes and pull the axle out. After undoing the retainer plate bolts the axle pulled out freely, it also slides back in quite easily. Is this a problem? I am not sure how tight it should fit into the rear end.

I also noticed that the axle shaft did have a small amount of oil in it which was then making its way out through the 5th hole on the retainer plate. Could I gasket over that 5th hole to prevent the fluid from coming out of the shaft or would it be best to replace the bearings and seals?

Also I am having a hard time finding parts for the rear end. From what i can tell it is a small bearing 9" out of a 57ish galaxie. It has no ID tag. Do you guys have any suggestions on what type of bearings and from what site i should order them? Summit was not much help.

Thanks

That 5th hole is there to allow any leaking oil to drain out of the back side of the backing plate instead of onto the brake shoes. I definitely would NOT plug that hole.
I did some resarch tonight to see if I could find some useful info for your problem. At the end of this post you will find a link that will answer your bearing and seal questions. Notice that both 8 inch and small bearing 9 inch axle bearings are the same part number. This means that you should be able to use the 8 inch bearings in your 9 inch housing as the 28 spline axles are the same diameter for both 8 and 9 inch rear ends.
The link has helped me as well. I also have a small bearing 9 inch rear end in my 65 fastback. I have been wanting to upgrade to 31 spline axles, but I had no idea which axle bearing to use. Now I know.

http://www.ratechmfg.com/fordaxlebear.htm

boatillo · Sep 11, 2010

sixtyfive said:
I am in the process of getting the mustang ready for cobra disc front brakes and these wheels.
Wheel Details - Discount Tire Direct

One of the problems I am needing to track down before I start on the front end is a leaky drivers side rear drum brake. I am not very knowledgeable with drum brakes and I am basically wondering what I should try replacing first in order to fix it. From the pictures I took it does not look like the leak is coming from the brake fluid line. So I am thinking it is leaking either some where from inside the drum or it is actually the rear end that is leaking.

Thanks for the advice guys

I just noticed that I have the *exact* same leak, but only went so far as taking the drum brake cover off to diagnose. Smelly, oily fluid built up at bottom of drum backing, leaking from the 5th hole.

I have a 100% stock 1967 small-block rear end (2.79:1 gear, 8") - what seals should I buy to fix the driver's side leak (do the other side too I guess). Can I do this easily in my garage? I have never done anything on a rear-end apart from brakes and drain/fill fluid. I am not going to take the rear-end off to some shop, just need to fix this leak. Where can I buy the seals?

PoppyMod · Sep 11, 2010

boatillo said:
I just noticed that I have the *exact* same leak, but only went so far as taking the drum brake cover off to diagnose. Smelly, oily fluid built up at bottom of drum backing, leaking from the 5th hole.

I have a 100% stock 1967 small-block rear end (2.79:1 gear, 8") - what seals should I buy to fix the driver's side leak (do the other side too I guess). Can I do this easily in my garage? I have never done anything on a rear-end apart from brakes and drain/fill fluid. I am not going to take the rear-end off to some shop, just need to fix this leak. Where can I buy the seals?

Having mde sure the leak is not brake fluid, then you should replace the axle seals. This is a common replacement, especially in our 40+ year old vehicles. Personally, I go to my local NAPA, but, wherever you go, you are looking for Axel seals. They metal rings with a rubber ring seal. If you are handy at all around your car you can remove and install them. By all means R&R both sides, document the work and move on. You will need to remove the axles , disconnect the brake line ate the wheel cylinder, and rmv the backing plates. The seals are lightly pressed into the opening of the axle housing. Remove them, noting how they are installed, by whatever, means, then clean the recesses. I use a large socket, about the same dia. as the seal. I, gently, tap them back into position. I smear a little wheel bearing grease around the rubber lip seal before inserting the axle, making sure not to damage the seal with mishandling the axle. Once the axles are in place, you can finish the install. You will need to bleed the rear brakes, starting with the passenger then finish with the driver's side.
Good luck!

boatillo · Sep 11, 2010

PoppyMod said:
Having mde sure the leak is not brake fluid, then you should replace the axle seals. This is a common replacement, especially in our 40+ year old vehicles. Personally, I go to my local NAPA, but, wherever you go, you are looking for Axel seals. They metal rings with a rubber ring seal. If you are handy at all around your car you can remove and install them. By all means R&R both sides, document the work and move on. You will need to remove the axles , disconnect the brake line ate the wheel cylinder, and rmv the backing plates. The seals are lightly pressed into the opening of the axle housing. Remove them, noting how they are installed, by whatever, means, then clean the recesses. I use a large socket, about the same dia. as the seal. I, gently, tap them back into position. I smear a little wheel bearing grease around the rubber lip seal before inserting the axle, making sure not to damage the seal with mishandling the axle. Once the axles are in place, you can finish the install. You will need to bleed the rear brakes, starting with the passenger then finish with the driver's side.
Good luck!

Good instructions, thanks! I figured out I need 2 axle seals, 2 bearings, and 2-4 retainer plate gaskets, then a shop to press the bearings. Local NAPA just shut down, but Carquest in the phonebook actually advertised pressing axle bearings! Sweet, gonna order my new third member and replace these at the same time.

PoppyMod · Sep 12, 2010

boatillo said:
Good instructions, thanks! I figured out I need 2 axle seals, 2 bearings, and 2-4 retainer plate gaskets, then a shop to press the bearings. Local NAPA just shut down, but Carquest in the phonebook actually advertised pressing axle bearings! Sweet, gonna order my new third member and replace these at the same time.

Good!
Actually, I had trouble locating a shop that could press on the new bearings. You've mapped out a good complete work order for the rebuild. How old is the rear lubricant?
Happy Motoring!

boatillo · Sep 12, 2010

Degreased my whole rear-end and drum brakes - quite obvious there was leaking after doing that lol - and in the process uncovered my missing rear-end tag! WCZ-V1 2 79 7CA 930

They also listed like 5-6 axle retainer gaskets, depending on the size of hole - anyone know which off-hand? I can always caliper an axle or check the old gasket but I would prefer having parts on-hand before I tear the rear apart.

Leaky drum rear brakes

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