1939 ford rear wheel

J

jon laing

Senior Member
The brake on my driver side rear wheel is broken. I can not remove the wheel hub. I tried heat, hammers, and broke off a wheel puller. It does not budge. Someone said they made a special wheel puller back in the day but I have not been able to find one. Any suggestions would be appreciated. In the mean time the car is not drivable. jon laing





















Jon Laing
 
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first thing is to remove the nuts holding the brake shoes at the bottom, not totally at first, then make sure the upper adjusments and the lower ones are loose to allow no contact between the shoes and the drum, loosen the nut on the axle to allow some movement then drive the car around some corners--sometimes this helps loosen them and if this fails but the reproduction rear hub puller advertised in the V8 magazine and on the V8 website
 
The good puller is probably close to $150 by the time it arrives. See the archives for less expensive but almost as good alternatives. Still cheaper than a new axle. Try your local Model A or Early Ford V8 Clubs and see if they have one to loan or rent. I think Mac Vanpelt rents them, http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_home.htm. Is it correct to assume that the hub is still firmly attached to the axle? If not see post 2 and also check if two off the bolts holding the backing plate onto the sale housing, an indication of "safety hubs" that must be removed by taking the nuts off.

Charlie Stephens
 
Yes, that is a very valid point raised above. You have to decide whether it's a case of "I can't break the taper" or "I've broke the taper but something is stopping it coming right off".

99% of the time it's breaking the taper that is the big obstacle. Worrying about whether the brake shoes are dragging only comes in after the initial big bang.

Mart.
 
I worked on my 48 rear hub for two days and finaly built this hub puller and took about ten minuets to get the hub off...........Al

how do you post pictures??
 

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Finally got the wheel off. The problem was a broken parking brake cable that ended wound up inside the hub. Now I have to install a new cable. That should be fun. Should I anticipate any problems? Jon L.
 
Not really, they're pretty simple.

At least you got the hub off.

Nice tool, Al.

(Stop sniggering at the back)

Mart.
 
Turns out I may need a replacement for the wheel hub. 1940s are easy to find but 1939s are hard to find. Anybody know where I might find a 1939 rear wheel hub or hub/drum assembly? Hub/drum assembly is preferred. Thanks in advance for your help. Jon Laing
 
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This could be what you're up against, unlikely but possible. Someone might have installed the internal hub retainers to keep the wheel on if an axle breaks. Look at the bolts on the back of the brake backing plate if two bolts diagonally are different from the other two, you might have this type of hub retainer. Then all you have to do is remove the nuts on the backing plate. Just one thing to look for, hope this helps.
 

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I think (only think, you must check this,) that 37-39 are interchangeable. Maybe someone can confirm or refute.

Mart.
 
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