I posted a while back about a 8 3/4truck rear
It has tapered axels. With a large nut out side the drum
All I want from this is the housing and center section. Already have new axels
So my question is. How do I tear this thing down?
If remove large nut. How does the axel come out?

Take the nut off. Rent or buy a hub puller to get the drums off.

Continue removing nuts and bolts until something falls off.

Ok. Put it this way.....what exactly holds the axels in place?

Probably the same 4 nuts and studs that hold the axles in on any other 8 3/4 rear end.

As already stated, you have to pull the drums first to get at any of it.

The main difference is that the hub flange/drum assembly is held on by the nut on the end of the axle flange instead of the axle flange having the wheel flange being forged as part of the axle.

So the flange with the wheel studs. Is not the axel?

Correct.

The axle is in the middle of the nut and the flange & drum will come off as one like a front brake drum with the hub/flange.


Axle without drum.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/204572899030?

Yes and no, it is not the actual axle.
The axle is in the center of it is the axle and the nut holds the flange on the axle.

You have to remove the nut, then the brake drum/hub assembly with a puller.

Here's a link to some info with pics from another forum.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&...CBUQjhxqFwoTCLjg2-CW_4QDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

There's pics of a service manual stuff there.

It's a two piece axle. You have an axle shaft and an axle flange. No great mystery here, Chrysler used this setup till 64 in pass cars, later in trucks.

You have to remove the nut to pull the flange.
.
You have to pull the flange to unbolt the bearing retainer to pull the shaft.

You will need a GOOD puller to get the hub off. The kind you use a 5lb sledge on.

When I did this to my 51 Plymouth I had to let the puller sit overnight under pressure before I could get passenger side flange off.

This is the puller

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074QQCTH8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the drum and hub are two separate pieces held together by swaging the lug studs. The axle/hub are tapered with a square key to keep it from spinning.
they can be a SOB to get apart even with the correct puller. it is a god idea to keep the nut at the end of the threads as the axle will mushroom if really stuck. it also prevent the assembly from ejecting into any nearby object

Once a lot of pressure is applied, smacking the end of the puller and around the hub itself will sometimes vibrate things enough to break the bond between the tapers. A smoke wrench with a rosebud tip also works.

The bearing retainer on the axle bolts up to the axle housing Same bolts hold the brake backing plate on also.
Be prepare to fight getting the left brake drum off even with a great puller
Good luck

having taken many of those drum/axle combos apart, using the puller, some come apart relatively easy, while others are a complete mofo [even with the puller] to get apart.
plan on a complete afternoon, or longer, to get them apart.
or just find and install a 66-72 complete truck rear and be done with it. [as i have done countless times]
just my opinion. your mileage will vary.

Well i dont have a puller but buddy does have a cutting torch
Being all I actually need/want is the housing and center pig.... can I cut the drums off?

Autozone used to rent the axle puller and slide hammer.

I bought one of each just to be sure I would never need them because I had them. If I didn't I would need them twice a month. LOL

Other stores probably rent them too.

And yes you can just cut the drums or the back of the studs holding the bearings & backing plates on and pull the axle & drum.

Use a torch and cut the face off of the drums and you can unbolt the axles and then just keep what you need...

Everything you're not going to use is not something you're likely to sell to anyone else anyway...

You will need to get a set of 65 up car or later truck backing plates with drums in a matching set...

10" or 11" whatever you want to use with wheel cylinders and a hardware kit...

If all you want is the center section, you can cut the drum just to the outside edge of the flange so you can remove the outer part of the drum. Then remove the brake shoes and use an end wrench to remove the nuts that are holding the axle bearing flange in place and pull the axles out like you would the normal flanged 8 3/4 axle shaft. Before you trash the old axle shafts, be sure any pinion spacer that might be in the center section doesn't stick to the old axle shafts.

You will want to test fit the axle shafts from the rear end you want to use the older center section in to be sure the later model axle shafts have the same spline count as the older side gears.

I would remove the nut and smack it with a sledge (not a hammer) first what can you loose. a lot quicker than cutting and all that bs.

Removing the nut is the easy part, it is them dang taper hubs that suck getting off, especially the driver side
I forgot to add heating up with a torch to cherry red will help also if your using a puller

I've had good luck putting the puller on it under a good load (tension) and then heating the hub with a torch and letting it sit over night. The next morning they basically fall off. This has working on hubs that have been on for over 50 years.

I hear ya but I cant believe that a sledge won't take it off in a few whacks if we're not trying to save anything from the backing plate out.

Have you ever removed one of the tapered axle drums before?

I watched my boss, with 25 years of experience working on those tapered axle drums destroy an axle shaft trying to remove a drum once. He had all the correct equipment and he used every trick he had ever learned and it still didn't work. Sometimes they just don't come apart. He ended up cutting the drum and removing the brake shoes to get the axle out and replaced that axle with a junk yard axle shaft and drum.