Rachel,

I hope you don't have the parking brakes on while you are trying this. It's
an obvious step that many people forget.

You could take your van to one of those chain stores which provide free brake
inspections. They frequently remove the axle nut to inspect the brakes. They
should have broken any rust out by then.

If you want to try this yourself, as Terry said take out the two drum
retaining bolts. Once you get them out, bang on the drum with a suitable
mallet. That should loosen up most rust on the hub. If the drums have formed
a ridge, the shoes will often get hung-up on these ridges and won't allow the
drum to slide off easily. You can get around this by using an autobody slide
hammer with a hook on the end. Hook the hammer around the perimeter of the
drum and work your way around until the drum is released. This will usually
result in destroying the shoes. Have some new ones handy before you try this.

If you insist on taking the axle nut yourself, Get the biggest breaker bar in
your arsenal of tools and a very long cheater bad. You may consider having
someone sit in the van and apply the brakes while you attempt to apply the
necessary torque to release that bolt.

There are some specialty tools to handle that axle nut. IIRC a place called
Station One and Kimco make in essence provides a geared arrangement which you
can use a smaller ratchet to turn a big wheel to turn a small wheel used to
turn the bigger socket. I've seen it demonstrated on bugs. Did that make
sense? Don't know if they make it for the bigger bus nuts.

There's also a large tool available which looks like a huge box wrench with
no handle. has a hole for a breaker bar. You insert it over the nut. Attache
a breaker bar. Then smack it with a hammer. Again, I don't know if they are
available in the bigger bus nuts.

BenT
IN