While the Bentley shows removing the nut and hub, all of the usual brake
components can be removed and replaced without disturbing them. The face
of the hub has a clearance notch for this purpose. Simply rotate the hub
till the notch is where you need it. I seldom loosen the big nut for
working on the rear brakes unless I am going to add grease to the
bearing. You do need to remove the nut/hub to remove the backing plate
but that is all. Sometimes the drum is so stuck to the hub that removing
them together is the lessor of evils. The Bentley procedure is probably
the best way for people who have not done the brakes before or who
aren't sure of what they are doing. The illustrations in the book would
not be able to show things clearly if the hub was still on for the photos.

VW parts used to carry the entire rear brake assembly as a kit,
everything pre-mounted to new backing plates. Shoes, springs, adjusters,
slave cyls, even new parking brake cables, all assembled and ready to
go. The dealer repair shops could undo the big nut, a few bolts, and the
hydraulic line, pop the old assembly off, put on the new one, make big
money fast. By now I'm sure a lot of our vans could use these entire
kits. Too bad they discontinued them.

Mark

David Beierl wrote:
> At 02:10 AM 1/28/2009, jon wrote:
>> This is a good example of a personal memory glitch. For some reason, I
>> though the axle bolt needed to be removed for brake work.
>
> Bentley thinks it does...
>