so i had everything figured out and all the rear brake parts purchased when i realized the center hub on the rear axles has a diameter of 2.75 and the ones i bought are 2.50 and i'm wondering what these axles are from and what car type i can purchase that will fit the rear end that i have
Ford had various sized center hub axles over the years, the earlier Mav/Comets had the smaller dia 2.42" and around 73/74 changed to the larger 2.78" If you purchased your brake parts new from a shop, best to see if you can return/exchange for the larger 2.78" center hub drums, this would be the easiest/quickest method......good luck! David
I had the same problem, when I swapped rear ends. It had been over a year since I purchased. I had a buddy mill out the centers.
Yeah im having some serious problems finding these drums and no brake shop will mill them for some reason.
Technically, the drum centers on the center hub. Which is why drums are machined using hub cones, nut lug adapters. I suggest you find the correct drums, but that is only my opinion. Go to RockAuto.com and find the correct drums for your axle.
Like what Rusty mentioned, the drums are centered on the hub, if you tried to grind out hole and not done correctly, it will not run true on the hub and will cause excessive wear on the brake shoes and other components.... Did you purchase these drums new or used? If new, have you tried going back to shop you purchased them from and see about exchanging? If not, Can Tire should have replacement drums as these where used on whole bunch of Ford/Merc vehicles in the 70's, 80's and 90's, Granada's, Fairmonts etc.., I gather that your axles are 5 lugs??
When I found out my problem, I found the correct ones at rock auto. If you click the info link it shows the center hole size.
If you are using the interactive Catalog, click "Info" next to the part number. Another window will open with the drum dimensions. For example, Here is the Centric 12261016 info: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1612266&cc=1132276
