Volvo Amazon brake drum removal

Today it was the Volvo's chance to fight back.

I decided it was time to changed the brake shoes - one of the trickier jobs on the car. You need to use a heavy-weight puller to get the drum off the tapered axle. It is absolutely impossible to get the drum off any other way.

It is possible to get a special tool from Volvo but it is very expensive. As you can see in the pictures below l have a universal puller that can be used on many cars. This has proved a very worthwhile investment, and allows the drums to be pulled for cleaning and checking.

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1. Jack up the rear of the car and remove the wheels, then put the handbrake on.
2. Remove the axle split pin and remove centre nut (with a 1 1/16in socket).
3. Position the puller on wheel nut studs and fix it in position with the five wheel nuts (a speed-brace makes this much quicker and easier).
4. Release the handbrake, and tighten down center of the puller by hand against axle.
5. I then use a copper mallet to tighten the puller onto the axle and knock off drum. Just hit the puller to tighten it!
6. As the drum is pulled from the axle it may get jammed on the brake shoes, if this happens slacken the brake adjuster and try again.
7. You can now clean the drum and shoes, replace and adjust as necessary
8. To replace the drum, slacken brake adjuster, position the key on axle and push drum into position.
9. Hand tighten the axle nut and position the split pin hole on axle so you know where it is. Pull on handbrake again.
10. Tighten nut by hand then use mallet against the spanner/socket to tighten the castellated nut and position it so that hole in axle and castallations line up. Fit a new split pin.
11. Refit wheels and lower to ground.
12. Relax...