I recently purchased a '99 3/4 ton Suburban with 142k miles (see sig below). I wanted to check the brakes for wear and condition - the front discs are obviously easy, and I do need to get the rotors turned, but the rear brakes are completely foreign to me. I've worked on drums before (I hate 'em), but I've never seen a brake drum this large before! I think this truck has the heavy duty brakes with the 2500 package, because it has 13 inch drums in the rear. Anyway, I can't seem to get the drums off either side - there was quite a bit of corrosion between the lugs, the drum, and the hub. Sprayed a bit of WD-40, and tried the usual trick of tapping on the lugs and the drum around the lugs with a hammer, and the drums don't budge. I noticed the center hubs where the wheel bearings are have a bunch of bolts going around the end - do I need to take these off too to get the drum off? It looks the drum is a separate piece from the hub where the bolts are, but its hard to tell with all the rust if its one piece or not.

Do you have any tricks for getting these drums off? Do I need to rent or buy a large pulley puller for a 13" diameter to get these suckers off?

Two other questions, if anyone knows the answer:

- Where is the windshield wiper pulse/control module located? Mine is bad and is causing the wipers to work erratically. I already bought a new module, but have no idea where it is located on the truck. I pulled half the dashboard apart yesterday, and looked all over the left side, behind the steering column, instrument panel, radio, and HVAC controls, and I can't find it there. I haven't looked on the right side yet. Does anyone know where it is?

- With regards to tire pressure: the door sticker says to use 50 psi up front, and 80 psi in the rear. When I got the truck from the previous owner, he used 50 psi all around. I tried bumping the pressure in the rear to 70 psi, and it rides much harder back there. Is it OK to run 50 psi in the rear if I'm not carrying heavy loads or trailering?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide. :)

I had a '94 which I think is the same . The drum is seperate from the axle , no need to remove those bolts. They do get stuck on pretty good , especially in the salt belt. Soak them good with penitrating oil around the axle and lugs at least a day ahead. Jack up the rear and put on jack stands and remove rear wheels. Put at least 2 lugs back on loose on each wheel . Start the truck and put in drive , rev just a little and slam on the brake. Then do reverse the same way, this will usually break them loose . You may also have to undo the break adjuster some if the drums are grooved. IIRC the wiper module is under the hood on the firewall .Good luck

A. BFH (big ----n hammer) will take care of those drums. Hard taps from the rear of the drum will take care of it. Adjuster may need to be released a little also; you can get to it from the back side.

B. The wiper module is located in the engine compartment on the firewall just to the left (towards center of truck) of the brake booster. Pull one electrical connection, remove the center left and upper right screw, loosen lower right screw, pull black cover off, pull circuit board out. Go back in, in reverse. Easy one.

c. I would run tire pressure around 60, all around, unless you have a load then I'd boost it to 80. The diesel is heavy so you need a good amount of pressure up front, rear is relitivly unloaded so it will bounce too much with nothing in the back and high pressure.

Not trying to be a smart a$$, but make sure the E brake is not engaged and ditto on the BFH. Also, if you use any lubricant make sure it's not on the drum or shoe surface....no stopy.:D
JP

Thanks for the tips!

So I should hit the drums from behind? It's hard to get a clear shot to swing the hammer back along the top part of the drum, and there is only a slight lip on the back of the drum to hit, as the rest is covered by that splash shield. Is it OK to hit the splash shield into the drum? Should I only hit it on the bottom from behind since that is where I get the most clearance to swing?

Don't hit the splash shield, you will create more problems. If you hit it by mistake it is no big deal, just don't bend it out of wak. Hit the drum on the left and right sides under the leaf spring area, you can get good force there. You can even hit it on the outside serface of the drum to kind of break it loose.