I'm wanting to fix the rear brakes on Dustin, my 1970 fastback, and I'm getting really confused with the rear hubs. After finally getting the nuts off with an extra long and chunky breaker bar, I'm still no closer to actually removing the hubs.
The idiot's guide and everything else just says to basically slide the things off (I have made sure the stars are adjusted accordingly before you ask!), but they won't budge.
On top of that, the right and left ones are different. Have a look at these pictures:

Passenger side:


Driver side:


As you can see, the hub on the passenger side in in two pieces, while the driver's side doesn't seem to be. Even on the inside it doesn't look like anything I've seen on any how to's with the way it sort of flanges inward and disappears in toward the axle.




Either way, neither hub is budging in the slightest. Anybody know how I might be able to remove them?

Put the wheel back on loosely with 2 or 3 bolts

you can use it to rock back n forth to act as a puller to remove the hubs

make sure the car is firm on jack stands otherwise it may drop on you

As Dave says and if you need a little extra grunt a few light whacks with a sledgehammer as per a professional mechanic to get it moving. If this doesn't work use a few choice words that the other gender use when trouble strkes. If this doesn't help take it to a VW specalist.

I've given that a little shot already with the wheel on, but didn't get anywhere. Might give it a more serious go next time I have a chance and see how it goes.

For the record, that two-piece hub on the passenger side: is that normal?

They're both 2 piece as per all 4 stud type 3

I don't see why u want to take the hubs off anyway you can change the brake shoes with them on

You can see a little rust on the shafts as well get some WD40 or similar and spray into the spline that may help

Of use more coarser words when rattling the wheel to act as a puller

Also try tapping gentle on the inner section of the hub in RED this may loosen the rust build up

Last resort is a puller,if you don't have one you can fabricate one out of a piece of flat steel drill 2 holes to line up with the stud holes 2 long bolts and tighten and the hub should slide off the spline. .

just knock the axle back in a little with a copper hammer

I had the same problem recently and made a basic puller as mentioned although mine was a piece of 25mm box section steel, then just two bits of threaded rod to match and tighten them up across the diagonal two fixings.

If you need a puller you can hire them from a standard hire establishment, make sure it is a three leg puller and keep in mind the hub is made of cast iron that can break, you can load up the puller and hit it on the puller bolt and shock the hub.

everybody is over thinking this, I repeat knock the axle in a little bit with a copper hammer or even with a piece of hardwood and a decent hammer, this will break the grip that the axle has on the hub splines. With an IRS car you could drive the axle all the way through if you wanted to

I agree,the job should be finished by now as i should have been a simple matter of dismantle, free the adjusters,fit the cylinder and shoes,adjust and bleed. Unfortunately a lot of jobs go that way but it fills in the days..

1303Steve: thanks! Great advice. I got the driver's side off with this method. However, the axle will not bang in on the passenger side at all. Not the slightest bit of movement.

Striking the axel has the potential to brinel the bearing ,leading to premature bearing failure, the correct way is pull the hub of the axel with a puller, this has no chance of damaging the bearing, as vw intended.

Well bugger. Too late now!

Anyway, I'm beginning to suspect that that hub is two pieces, but that they have just been glued together somehow...

a puller capable of doing the job is probably worth more than the car, driving down the road would probably do more damage to the bearings than hitting the axle

Hire it for about ten dollars at a hire place, just use a three leg puller. Driving down the road dose not produce sharp impacts like a hammer blow as it is insulated through the tyre. make to job easier in the long term by doing it correctly.

That drum and drive flange has the locating grub bolt holes, so I still say it's two pieces.



You need a bigger hammer

The drum and the hub are just rusted on.
Make sure the brake shoes are properly backed off.
Work at it slowly and gently, tapping, pulling moving. Don’t get violent, patience is good here.
You should use lots of CRC, and perhaps some heat if you’ve got it.
Use a heat gun or some gas, warm the drum to expand it, not red hot, only until you can’t hold your hand on it, then tap it, let it cool, heat it again, repeat. Same with the hub, do it several times and it will free up.
Then clean them up and use an anti-seize of some sort, sparingly (you don’t want it all over your wheels & brakes), when you put it back together, like it should have had last time.
You’ll get it.
Cheers
Tony

Thanks again for all the help everybody. Finally got the passenger side hub off too using a combination of methods mentioned above.
Next time I will get a drum puller, but for this time I didn't mind hitting the axle, as I'm pretty sure I need to replace the bearings anyway (they're pretty rumbly)

so don't forget the circlip inside

... which circlip do you mean?
I do have the pieces of two broken clips which I think fell out of the hubs as I opened them up, but I have no idea where they're from...

I think you need to find a VW mechanic