Yes, you probably need a puller, but I have "pulled" mine a few times on
both my vans by the following method
1) remove only the center nut
2) back off the brake shoes
3) then using two 8 foot 2x4's to pry against the tire, pushing against the
van body (taking care not to dent it).

Facing tire, (passenger side)one 2x4 on my left, pushing against the bumper,
the other 2x4 on my right side pushing against the "jack" mount. You must
use enough pressure to flex the tire sidewall and bow the boards some, while
some one "taps" the rim of the tire near the lug nut area, hitting on both
sides of the center shaft back and forth usually 2 or 3 hits and the tire
and drum pop right off. I use a 8lb sledge hammer, I do not hit hard though,
and have 2 others pressing on the boards. I did this last week with 2 of my
daughters (blonds) and it worked just fine. Paul
----- Original Message -----
From: "tabe johnson" <xtabe@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 10:24 PM
Subject: Removing rear drums: review

> Hi all,
>
> We went over this not too long ago, but my short term memory being
> what it is...
>
> I tried the hammering technique again to get the drum off the back
> of my '87 today.  I hammered about 300-400 times in total, between
> the studs.  Nothing budged.  In my frustration, I also put the lug
> nuts on and hammered on them a bit.  They studs moved inward!
> Nothing else moved though, and the studs pulled themselves back
> out when I put the wheel back on.
>
> If I'm going to take the whole assembly off, I need a 46mm
> wrench and a puller, right?  I loosen the big-ass nut, then put
> the puller on so it pulls on the wheel studs and pushes on
> the centre of the stub axle?
>
> Do I need any other special tools?  What size breaker bar do I
> need fo the 46mm wrench?
>
> Happy vanning,
>
> --tabe johnson
> xtabe@yahoo.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
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