Hi,

Has anyone got any ideas on loosening the rear brake drum retaining nuts, I think they've been done up by a body builder on steroids. Also can anyone confirm which way to turn to loosen?

I've tried a 6ft piece of scaffold as an extra lever!!

Hi,

Has anyone got any ideas on loosening the rear brake drum retaining nuts, I think they've been done up by a body builder on steroids. Also can anyone confirm which way to turn to loosen?

I've tried a 6ft piece of scaffold as an extra lever!!

are we talking about the hub nuts in the center of the drums? They are just a standard thread so anti clockwise to undo. they should be very tight but it does sound like you have a serious issue. a 2ft breaker bar should undo the rear nuts with no problems.

what year is your fiesta?

Hi,

Has anyone got any ideas on loosening the rear brake drum retaining nuts, I think they've been done up by a body builder on steroids. Also can anyone confirm which way to turn to loosen?

I've tried a 6ft piece of scaffold as an extra lever!!

Is there a split pin or whatever hidden in the nut? Sometimes they are hard to see and harder to get out. It's worth cleaning the nut with WD40 to make sure. You will also be able to see the threads to confirm you are turning the correct way.

I've got an electric (runs off car battery) power wrench from Halfords which will undo just about anything. As well as being easier, it doesn't damage the nuts as much as a human-powered socket set.

Jason

Thanx for the answers, the car is a '96.

I've managed to do it now. There were no split pins just very very tight nuts. The nearside nut undoes clockwise, the offside anti clockwise. Using the 6ft scaffold tube (heavy in itself) and whilst putting some pressure on the nut I hit the socket with a hammer to 'shock' the nut.

Thankfully this worked but they were ridiculously tight.

Thanx for the answers, the car is a '96.

I've managed to do it now. There were no split pins just very very tight nuts. The nearside nut undoes clockwise, the offside anti clockwise. Using the 6ft scaffold tube (heavy in itself) and whilst putting some pressure on the nut I hit the socket with a hammer to 'shock' the nut.

Thankfully this worked but they were ridiculously tight.

Remember to do them up tight. My Haynes manual reckons 273 newton-metres (173 foot-pounds) which is serious torque-wrench territory. Don't guess, either the bearing will be wrecked because of free play or the hub will be overstretched and might fail. Sorry to be gloomy.

Jason