Right hand thread/left hand thread 68 charger????, pressed on drums?????help!!!!!!

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7duce swinger

7duce swinger

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Ok, so im helping my brother in law with his 68 charger. We were removing the wheels, so that we could change the brakes. The passenger side of the car went well. When we got to the drivers side, we started getting pissed off. First off, the rim is stuck. Then the stud and lugnut is spinning in the drum, (why the rim is stuck to the car). So....the drivers side wont come off? Front or rear.... So what is it? I keep telling him to stop since we already have one spinning in the drum. That it can be right hand thread?, but he's saying thats stupid, and cant be.. so please help out with this, am i right or wrong. Oh and also the drum is stuck on the other side??? Is it pressed on or whats going on??? thanks fabo!!!
 
If it is original then the drivers side is left hand thread.

If the spinning stud is on the front..... do this.
On the front wheel take the grease cap off, remove the cotter key, nut, washer and pull it off with the wheel attached.

The drums can be a bear to get off the hub. I usually soak them in PB Blaster and then try to get it loose. I have had to use heat to get some loose. I had one I never could get off so I bought another hub.
 
Also i noticed on part of the axle,(center of drum) it has grooves, like a bottle cap. Told him, i dont know why the drums wont come off, and that maybe there on the groove, and might be on a ridge? Or pressed on?? So school me on this rear someone.. Thanks
 
7duce swinger said:
Also i noticed on part of the axle,(center of drum) it has grooves, like a bottle cap. Told him, i dont know why the drums wont come off, and that maybe there on the groove, and might be on a ridge? Or pressed on?? So school me on this rear someone.. Thanks
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Grooves? You mean machined rings on the rear axle? Please be more specfic when you post so we can tell exactly what wheel you are working on during the post. i still don't know where the wheel with the spinning stud is located.
 
Oklacarcollecto, the front hass drums, I dont know if anything on the car is original. The spinning lugnut is on the rear :( and it just spins, so we stopped before messing up more studs. Can it be that its the other way around? And the drum wont come off by beating it, heating it, beating it some more, wedging screwdrivers, hammers...nuthin!!!
 
7duce swinger said:
Oklacarcollecto, the front hass drums, I dont know if anything on the car is original. The spinning lugnut is on the rear :( and it just spins, so we stopped before messing up more studs. Can it be that its the other way around? And the drum wont come off by beating it, heating it, beating it some more, wedging screwdrivers, hammers...nuthin!!!
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That rear stud spinning is a problem. If you can see the end of the studs sticking through the lugnut there should be a "L" stamped on the very end. If the car has mag type lugnuts then it will be trial and error. Your only chance to tell would be taking off the left front wheel with the wheel/tire still on it and look at the back of the stud and see if there is a number on the head of it. If there is I can tell you what direction those studs are threaded.

If it does have the "L" that means you turn them to the right to remove the lugnuts.
 
On the stuck rear drum, spray the center around the axle hub with blaster. Now get a large hammer and hit flat against the axle flange between the studs. Hit it hard in several places, it will pop off the axle. On the spinning nut, all you can do is break the stud or burn it off with a torch.
 
Sorry The "passenger" side went easy. When we got to the drivers side, nothing works. Its the "drivers side rear" wheel that is stuck to the car because of the spinning lugnut and stud. The stud and lugnut are stuck together. On the center of the axle, as if you were looking at the drum/studs, there is grooves, like threads, but they are wide threads. Theyre not like a bolt's threads would be. Theyre more like a bottle cap if you know what i mean?
 
7duce swinger said:
Sorry The "passenger" side went easy. When we got to the drivers side, nothing works. Its the "drivers side rear" wheel that is stuck to the car because of the spinning lugnut and stud. The stud and lugnut are stuck together. On the center of the axle, as if you were looking at the drum/studs, there is grooves, like threads, but they are wide threads. Theyre not like a bolt's threads would be. Theyre more like a bottle cap if you know what i mean?
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I have never ran in to that before.
 
I cant at the moment.i know its hard without pictures. The car is across town. The rear looks different in the center, then my 8 3/4 rear end. It is also an 8 3/4.. My drums come off very easy, by hand. Ive pounded that rear with hammers, tried to pry it off with screwdrivers, small crowbars, and it wont give. The wheels are cragars, the lugnuts are the very long ones, that go inside of the slot's, and i cant see the studs, theyre covered lugnuts. Honestly i think the "x-owner" just pieced this one together.. Yea it is a problem lol, he bought new studs, to replace all of them, because the others were stripped. just looking for help, Thanks guys.
 
I hate say this,take your mig welder,do a tack weld .Stud to drum. Just a tack weld,cooled with air gun,will not effect metaluurgy.
 
Sounds like someone,an an impact.Cross threaded.Pics ,will fix this.
 
Woa... Your suppsed to turn the lugnuts the other way!!!. So the passenger side of the car, you would take the lugnuts off the regular way( righty, tighty..lefty loosy). The driver side, your supposed to take the lugnuts off the other way, as in turn them to the right to loosen them. Had to find that out the hard way lol. Sounds like i was right, but why would that be on only the driver side of the car??? Oh and the drum issue, lets just say i hammered the hell outta it, along with a crow bar, and soaking it in wd-40 for a day and then some. It came off, and like i said earlier in the post, the axle has grooved ends, and idk why the drum was stuck on it so damn hard, anyone know why? The grooves are to small for pics anyways, you can see them in person though. and the drums were sitting in a slot all around the axle.i read somewhere about 8 3/4 axles, the early ones, that some thing was pressed on, but cant remember what it was? Does anyone know if this thing could have been pressed on.
 
As for the stuck cragar. I simply clamped some vice grips, and wedged it between the wheel, but with a rag on one side, to avoid scratching the rim. I then took a strong power drill. And used a few drill bits, starting out small, and then on to some the size of the stud. I drilled all the way through it, and kept going til it eventually broke.(i drilled through both the stud, and covered lugnut)..then i found out it was threaded the other way around. It was pretty easy, and it only took awhile. That drum was the same, hard as hell. Hammers, crowbars, and lots of wd-40. It came off the same way, and i still cant figure out why it would be so damn hard for drums to slide off??? Anyone know, if so please tell me, im dying on trying to figure out why, the only thing i can think of is the small indent all around the axle. Thanks guys
 
If its factory lugs drivers side is left hand threaded. They believed it would keep the lugs from comin loose. If it had been sitting awhile that is why it was so hard to take off. Just normal
 
Thats the thing 74dart, the wheels were barely put on about two months ago, which is why i asked why they would be so gosh damn stuck.?? It was hard as heck, to take everything off the car. So they thought it would keep them from coming off?? Hmmm, so they were thinking because of the rotation of the wheels, the lugs would come off? Thanks, ill let my bro-in-law know, since he thinks its the dumbest thing ever done to cars lol.
 
7duce swinger said:
Thats the thing 74dart, the wheels were barely put on about two months ago, which is why i asked why they would be so gosh damn stuck.?? It was hard as heck, to take everything off the car. So they thought it would keep them from coming off?? Hmmm, so they were thinking because of the rotation of the wheels, the lugs would come off? Thanks, ill let my bro-in-law know, since he thinks its the dumbest thing ever done to cars lol.
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Actually, it's not as dumb as you think. All the big three did it. Ford and GM just bailed on it before Chrysler did. Hell, I've even run across some modern pop-up campers where the lugs are still left hand thread on the left side.

Now would be the time - since you've had to kill one of the lugs to get the wheel off - to go ahead and swap that corner to right hand studs and nuts.

As for the grooves in the axle register get those cleaned off. They ain't supposed to be there. Could be one of the reason the drums were stuck. Maybe not, but even then, take a file, some emery cloth, hell, even 80 grit sandpaper and get the pilot register clean again.

One of the other reasons the drums might have been hard to get off is because a ridge on the drum just outside the shoe contact area. As you pull past the shoes this ridge can hang up on the shoes themselves and tighten everything back up, even if the adjusters are all the way in. Time to take the drums to a good brake shop or machine shop and have 'em cut since you have 'em off.

Before you put 'em back on run the adjusters all the way in, slam the drums on, then reach through the backing plate with the proper spoon (a screwdriver will work, but since you're bro-in-law owns a drum brake car, it's a wise investment to have brake spoons) and tighten the brakes til you just feel a drag when rotating the tires.
 
7duce swinger said:
Woa... Your suppsed to turn the lugnuts the other way!!!. So the passenger side of the car, you would take the lugnuts off the regular way( righty, tighty..lefty loosy). The driver side, your supposed to take the lugnuts off the other way, as in turn them to the right to loosen them. Had to find that out the hard way lol. Sounds like i was right, but why would that be on only the driver side of the car??? Oh and the drum issue, lets just say i hammered the hell outta it, along with a crow bar, and soaking it in wd-40 for a day and then some. It came off, and like i said earlier in the post, the axle has grooved ends, and idk why the drum was stuck on it so damn hard, anyone know why? The grooves are to small for pics anyways, you can see them in person though. and the drums were sitting in a slot all around the axle.i read somewhere about 8 3/4 axles, the early ones, that some thing was pressed on, but cant remember what it was? Does anyone know if this thing could have been pressed on.
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That is what I have been trying to tell you since the start of this thread. Go back and read it.

Very first post I made and the very first sentence. "If it is original then the drivers side is left hand thread."

Dirt works it way in there and since these had close tolerances they can be extremely difficult to remove.

The bearings are pressed on the axles.
 
you can drill down the center of the lug nut with a 1/2 inch drill bit until you hit the stud, OR you can take a cut off wheel and cut a slit into the lug nut, then take a cold chisel and a BFH, and split the top of the lug nut , and peel off the extruding section until all you see is the top of the stud and whats left of the lug nut in the rim. when you get the rest of the lugs off, it will pull off. if it is spinning with the bit, take some channel locks and hold on to it.
 
7duce swinger said:
Thats the thing 74dart, the wheels were barely put on about two months ago, which is why i asked why they would be so gosh damn stuck.?? It was hard as heck, to take everything off the car. So they thought it would keep them from coming off?? Hmmm, so they were thinking because of the rotation of the wheels, the lugs would come off? Thanks, ill let my bro-in-law know, since he thinks its the dumbest thing ever done to cars lol.
Click to expand...

That is correct. They figured they would be self tightening. Ramenth gave the story on it.
 
@ Oklacarcollecto, i know, thats why i told him to stop(my first post), since we had already murdered one stud. I didnt want to mess up any more, and told him to look it up, but he did not listen. I also mentioned ( i had to find that out the hard way) lol . @ 73abodee, yeah thats pretty much what i did, i held on the lugnut with some vicegrips, so that i could have both hands on the drill. I used 5 drill bits though. Went good and was very easy. @ ramenth i didnt think it was dumb, my brother-in-law did, i told him some cars were like that for awhile. We're replacing the drums, brakes, fuel tank, and soon we will be working on the engine. So everything will be new, and easier the next time. Thanks for all the help, guys, i just mostly wanted some info, and some help.
 
The LH/RH studs were a problem dating back to when these cars were new ! My parents had a '69 Dart Custom (1971-1985) ; and every time my dad took the car in for service , he'd either forget to tell the "service adviser" about the wheel studs or the shop's mechanic* would forget . Next thing you know it was , "Mister Hughes , our mechanic ... "
1970 was the last model year for that dreaded RH / LH deal . Most have been converted , at least in my experiences .
As previously stated , check for an "L" or an "R" stamped on the end of the wheel studs .

*= In the old days , guys who turned wrenches were called "mechanic" , not "technician" like they're called these days .
 
7duce swinger said:
@ Oklacarcollecto, i know, thats why i told him to stop(my first post), since we had already murdered one stud. I didnt want to mess up any more, and told him to look it up, but he did not listen. I also mentioned ( i had to find that out the hard way) lol . @ 73abodee, yeah thats pretty much what i did, i held on the lugnut with some vicegrips, so that i could have both hands on the drill. I used 5 drill bits though. Went good and was very easy. @ ramenth i didnt think it was dumb, my brother-in-law did, i told him some cars were like that for awhile. We're replacing the drums, brakes, fuel tank, and soon we will be working on the engine. So everything will be new, and easier the next time. Thanks for all the help, guys, i just mostly wanted some info, and some help.
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cool, glad you got it. i have delt with that before. ive also had to do that getting those stupid special locking lug nuts off.
 
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