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.

I can, BTDT, years ago had one launch into the next work bay fortunately nothing was in it's path. That is when I learned to leave the nut on as not only would it have prevented the launch, it would have also prevented the mushrooming of the axle They can be an SOB to get off. other times not.

i have also heard that loosening the nut a turn or so and driving the car around L & R turns will sometimes break them loose. never tried it though

It's amazing what you can loosen with a fire wrench and a garden hose. Of course, having the correct puller helps a lot.

I come from the land of Studebakers. That pretty much assured I'd get some experience with those tapered keyed axles.

I bet I could break the the whole dam end of the axle off, flange welds and all with a sledge. Those backing plate/ axle flange bolts would probably go first though. In reality that's all that has to go then the drum,axle, brakes, and backing plate all go.
I have removed tapered shafts on many tractors/machinery of much older vintage than that but not that particular joint.

To the op... impact the nut off give it a whack to back of the backing plate or two with a sledge assuming you have an impact for the nut and a 5 or 8 pound sledge. I'm not talking a hand hammer here. Give it a shot, let us know.

Don't doubt you "probably" can. I know I couldn't, call me a wimp if you want.
But I have a torch. I can cut the drum, pull the shoes and remove the 4 flange nuts a lot faster and with a lot less effort to accomplish the same goal. I've actually done it my way, so I know for sure that can be done.

No doubt the torch is the best way, it will probably let go with enough heat. but a sledge is quicker than that. I wouldn't beat on it all day but a couple whacks why not.

loosening the nut and driving around in tight figure eights does work ! i have done it a few times. it also helps to jam on the brakes.
this also works great when you have an alloy wheel seize to the axle shaft due to galvanic corrosion. just loosen the lugnuts a couple of turns and drive in figure eights, jamming on the brakes as well.
when you get the wheel off, make sure to clean the hub and wheel register good, then apply a dab of anti-seize to the wheel and axle to prevent this from happening in the future.

For the record, we didn't have any intension of trying to save the one axle shaft & drum. We were intending on saving the rest of the rear end. The goal on that rear end was to replace the brake shoes, brake springs, and the wheel cylinders. The other side came off without issues, we fought this side for about 15 minutes. We knew an axle shaft and rear brake drum were available. Cutting the drum was the fastest and easiest method we could find to solve our problem. We replaced both the axle shaft and the drum.

There was no concern about if we could apply enough heat heat to make it let go. We cut the drum into a center piece still attached to the axle (the cut was just outside of the axle flange), and an outer piece that the brake shoes run against. Then it was just a matter of getting the outer part of the drum off the shoes so we could remove the shoes. The one we ere dealing with the outer part of the drum was simply pried off with a couple of large screw drivers.

The Op just wants the center section of the rear end. Cut the drums just outside of the axle flange, remove the outer part of the drum (only the brake shoes are holding it, if its a real pain, cut the top and bottom of the outer drum and pull off both 1/2s). With the outer drum removed, access to the brake shoes is easy. Remove the brake shoes to gain access to the nuts that are holding the bearing flange onto the rear end housing (an end wrench is probably required), and pull the axles as you would a normal 8 3/4. If a torch is present, that is a 15 minute job per side.

I haven't had chance yet to try yet. Buddy has torch. And will try cutting the crap out of it

What bolt pattern?
I'm guessing 5 on 4-1/2 but I've heard rumors that they made some 5 on 5&1/2 at one time

5 on 5 1/2 were used on a 73 W-100...

Front and rear...

Dodge used both depending on year and 2wd 4wd

The early Imperials may have had a bigger wheel bolt pattern also

Imps were 5" x 5"...

The 5.5" is the same as Jeep and Ford...

The 5" was the same as Chevy truck and van and some older large Ford cars...

Center registers vary across all of them and not everything interchanges due to their diameters...

Most all aftermarket stuff will...

OK the most important question of the day......

Did you get it off yet, and how?