How necessary is brake swedging for these hubs+drums?

[newport_66]

Sweding or swaging?

Either way do I need to do it?

I just got my brake drums and hubs back from a machine shop after 3 months of back and forth. Said they couldn't do it because the smooth part that swages isnt coming out of the drum ... it isnt proud. What a PITA. Not their fault, I verified what theyre saying there is nothing to swedge because the smooth part doesnt come out pass the surface of the drum (see below)

LETS BE CLEAR! I'm asking because im curious not because im considering skipping having the hub swaged. (I suspect the after market crap hubs arent appropriate for the studs that i bought from @mobileparts so ordering the drums and hopefully they will be able to swage the hub to the drum from craig)


So back to the question, when I look at the studs/hub assembly the studs are pressed in and secured by the nurreled part theyre not moving anywhere. The studs slide through the drum holes perfectly. So wondering what would happen if i just put the drum and hub back on the car without swaging. Would the studs rotate when tightening the lugs? The pic below should show that the studs wont rotate the are nurreled part will bite into these edges in the hub. WHY do we need to swedge????

 

[mobileparts]

@detmatt

 

[mobileparts]

Marcus,
See if Matt can save this situation.... He might be able to help you get out of this situation more economically.....
Wait for his answer....
Craig.....

 

[Just Carbs]

They question I ask is why were they swedged in the first place? I suspect the answer has something to do with assembly line productivity and nothing to do with the operation of the car. Or it was necessary to balance the drum and hub as a unit. Now you have new drums, so that's out.
No, the lugs aren't going to spin in the hub hole, not if they're the right size lugs and the swedge was cut off the old lugs before they were pressed out. If the drums are correct, they will be hub centric. And there's plenty of hub left to center the wheel on the hub also.
I don't swedge the drum/hub when I replace the drums or hubs, never have.
The big concern is if the new drums are balanced and round. 50/50 chance. Have they been checked?

 

[cbarge]

On both of my 68 Chrysler's I swapped out the LH thread in the drums and did the other side same time.
I never had to swedge in the new studs. I pressed them in the hub and done.
The beauty of it is I can pull the drum to adjust the brakes without having to remove the wheel bearings.
When tge wheel is installed and lug nutctorqued properly I never had a problem.

 

[Big_John]

I had to change the front drums on my '65 Barracuda. I trimmed the swaged section of the lugs so I could get the old drums off and now I can slip the drums on and off without touching the bearing or hub. I did that 6 years ago and it's been fine.

"Swage" is the proper spelling. Definition of SWAGE

 

[bigmoparjeff]

Most or all Chevrolet front drums weren't swaged from the factory throughout the 60's and 70's. They did have a tab on the drum that indexed to the hub so that the drum would go back on in the same position each time.

I think the main reason many manufactures swaged the drums on was to keep the drums indexed to the hub. The front drums are supposed to be machined while mounted on the hub to make sure everything is concentric. Just like tire balance, the front end is much more sensitive than the rear axle when it comes to things that can cause a vibration.

The swaged drum is not a safety thing. Once the lug nuts are tight, everything is tightly pulled together and the studs cant go anywhere.

Jeff

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Most don't swage the studs to new drums after replacement, and it's not required.

However, sadly, most don't cut the swages away when replacing studs and keeping the old drums which are good, and ruin usable drums by bashing them out of round in the process.

 

[MoPar~Man]

I wonder if you take a tool like this:

Brake Drum Swedge Cutting Tool

This hard-to-find tool cuts wheel stud swedges to remove and replace pressed-in wheel studs. For 1/2" studs. Carbide tipped. Use with a drill press or mill.

goodson.com

And grind away a bit of the outer surface to make the cutting wall thinner, right at the end where the teeth are, and then use it to trim away the splines on the studs without cutting into the drum holes, that would free up the drum without needing to take the studs out. ? It depends on how close the ID of this tool is to the stud thread diameter. The closer the fit, the better this would work.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Swage cutter like that is exactly what is used - then the studs just tap out.

I didnt have one so I used a small grinding wheel to carefully cut away the swages when I swapped out L.H. studs for rights on a pair of NOS rotors when I was doing a disc conversion.

 

[MoPar~Man]

But the OP can't separate the drum from the hub? Even though there is no swaging (or staking?) that I can see? Just a tight fit between the stud splines and the drum?

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

I didn't gather that from his post, only that he was concerned things might move around if not swaged.

 

[Dads300]

The rear drums are not held on with swaged studs and there’s no issue. Drums are hub centric so there’s no worry that they aren’t concentric unless there’s a machining issue of course. Once the wheel is bolted on, everything stays tight and in place, just like the rears.
Travis..

 

[Rainy Day]

It's no different than a modern car with wheel bearing hubs and slip on slip off rotors. They stay tight from lugnut torque and the wheel flange.

 

[newport_66]

I didn't gather that from his post, only that he was concerned things might move around if not swaged.

That's right. When I made the post it was pure speculation at that point, had no idea which is why I asked.

Hub is already separated. New studs are pressed... Waiting for new drums.. debating on whether they need to be swaged. Thats the story.

 

[newport_66]

Guess the conclusion here is I could run these aftermarket drums now. If I wanted to.

... But I'll wait for the new shoes and drums so I can run all new brake parts from Craig (thanks guy!) drums, studs, shoes, bearings + hardware i got. Then I'll have it swaged if the new drums don't have this same problem otherwise just run it without.

 

[MoPar~Man]

I would love it if my hubs and drums were not fused together. Something else to put on my to-do list, way down there, but still.

 

[Gerald Morris]

Swaging brake drums to the studs was originally done at the behest of the U.$. Armed Forces by the Big Three during WW2. Chrysler Corp, catering heavily to the Pentagon long after 1945, maintained that tradition, along with left hand threading the left hand side wheel studs.

As a Private ******* Civilian, I always passionately resented swaged brake drums, and have a pair from our '68 Newport which I plan to de-swage, upon my acquisition the bit for the job. I've priced these a couple years ago around $100 and just pulled off the hubs, popped on those from our '66, along with the nice new and trimmed drums that were on them, and rejoice in being able to easily remove my drums when I need to without exposing the wheel bearings to any dust.

Given how 3/4 of the brake self adjusters on the car failed, I checked the brakes and manually adjusted them a couple days ago. Again, I rejoice that my swaged hubs are busy holding concrete floor down on the planet's surface until such time as I get that bit for a reasonable cost.....

I think I'll replace all the cheap self adjuster hardware with some NOS stuff I've hoarded in a few more months, if the political work I'm currently employed at slows down. If nothing else, I can flip the adjustment screws with a brake spoon.....

 

[Aquaman]

More timely info as I am redoing my brake system all around after the car has sat for 13 years. I may have more questions to add soon.

 

[Gerald Morris]

More timely info as I am redoing my brake system all around after the car has sat for 13 years. I may have more questions to add soon.

One Item, universally found in all the de-swaging threads I've seen: A drill press with the drum WELL stabilized is necessary to the job. Both the tungsten carbide cutting bits on the tool, and the drum itself require perfect lateral stability to prevent ruining the drum and breaking the carbide cutters off the bit. Much as I live DIY work, I refuse to spend that much money just to de-swage the two hubs I now possess.