removing a stuck rotor....

[SpatiallyAware]

Something I've never personally tried but have heard northern hillbillies claim to do is put the wheel back on, loosen all lug nuts 1 full turn. Drive about 10 feet going side to side, which will pop the rotor loose.

I wouldn't try it unless some sort of ultimate last resort, but figure I'd throw it out there.

 

[Gibson486]

OK, the rotor is now lose....but now it will not come off. it wiggles around, but it gets stuck while you pull it off. I tried hammering it off, but when one side goes up, the other side goes down.....i am pretty pissed right now..... E brake is not on. is something broken

Can I drive with just one pad on? i am getting tired of this

 

[brblx]

is this a rear rotor?

it's just hung up on the ebrake shoes. wiggle harder. hammer should not be required.

if this is the front, then i have no idea what your issue is. the only thing that should be holding the rotor in place is a bit of rust around the hub. and maybe a screw, but i'm sure you would've already noticed that.

 

[Gibson486]

is this a rear rotor?

it's just hung up on the ebrake shoes. wiggle harder. hammer should not be required.

if this is the front, then i have no idea what your issue is. the only thing that should be holding the rotor in place is a bit of rust around the hub. and maybe a screw, but i'm sure you would've already noticed that.

whole thing is about to come off, but then it gets stuck. It's like some there is some barrier preventing from going further.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Just pull it straight or work it back more carefully.

 

[Gibson486]

YEah...I got it off.....but in doing so...my caliper fell and the seal on the piston broke

 

[jlee]

YEah...I got it off.....but in doing so...my caliper fell and the seal on the piston broke

Doh! Next time use a wire coat hanger or something and use it to tie the caliper up and out of the way.

 

[Gibson486]

Doh! Next time use a wire coat hanger or something and use it to tie the caliper up and out of the way.

I know Calipers cost a lot too...$150 for one...oh well....I guess that leads me to my next conquest...bleeding breaks.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I know Calipers cost a lot too...$150 for one...oh well....I guess that leads me to my next conquest...bleeding breaks.

You can buy a rebuild kit which will come with the seal...

 

[Gibson486]

You can buy a rebuild kit which will come with the seal...

how hard are they to rebuild?

 

[SooperDave]

Need pics of this caliper. It is almost impossible to damage your piston seal in the
manner you described. The dust boot is more likely what was damaged and thats an easy
fix.

 

[StageLeft]

Sucks, but at least you are making progress in a way

 

[Gibson486]

Need pics of this caliper. It is almost impossible to damage your piston seal in the
manner you described. The dust boot is more likely what was damaged and thats an easy
fix.

Either way, it was leaking from the piston (and it will no longer compress)....that is not a good thing regardless.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Either way, it was leaking from the piston (and it will no longer compress)....that is not a good thing regardless.

In my experience leaking from the piston is bad.

You may be able to buy a cheap reman caliper from autozone/napa/etc. No offense but you might end up in a 'deeper' hole trying to rebuild that caliper.

 

[Gibson486]

In my experience leaking from the piston is bad.

You may be able to buy a cheap reman caliper from autozone/napa/etc. No offense but you might end up in a 'deeper' hole trying to rebuild that caliper.

Yeah, I ordered a reman. caliper from Pepboys. It's $90. It's the cheapest place I found it. I would buy it online, but i do not want to deal with the core fees through the mail.

 

[SooperDave]

Either way, it was leaking from the piston (and it will no longer compress)....that is not a good thing regardless.

Piston seal alright.

 

[brblx]

the piston seal isn't necessarily bad, it just sounds like the piston popped out of place.

it can be very difficult to get it to go back in, but it can be done. you need to have the bleeder valve open so that fluid pressure doesn't provide any resistance. then i usually put my thumbs inside the piston and clamp my hands around the back of the caliper. you'll have to push on it while wiggling a bit to get it to find dead center, but as soon as the piston is lined up it will go right in.

 

[Gibson486]

Boo to pepboys! They said I could get my caliper today, now it's "you;re not going to get it until Friday". If I wanted to wait till Friday, i would have bought it online!

 

[BUTCH1]

All these crazy stuck rotor stories. All my rotors start to fall off the hub, being held only by the caliper, as soon as I take the wheel off

Yeah, I live in FL, used to live in Mass, what a difference it is working on cars, not having to deal with rusted parts and such..

 

[AMCRambler]

Sledge hammer. 8 lbs and hit the disk from the back. Then spin the hub and hit it again on the opposite side. Alternate until that sucker comes off. Unless the thing is rusted all to crap it should not snap the disk off the hat. You're not going to be able to take a huge swing at it anyway because there's not much room coming at it from behind. Make sure you took any retaining screws out of the hat before you start wailing on it. You may warp it doing this, but if you're replacing the rotor that doesn't matter.

Puller would be the next solution but I've always had luck with the sledge.

 

[Elantra 99]

Hey guys, I just want to say quickly that I have to solution to removing a rusted rotor.

On your rotor there should be two holes for bolts. Go to your auto store, tell them your car ask to see a rotor for your car. Then find the bolt sizes that will fit in the threaded holes.

I have been banging for hours, using a torch, pb blaster. Nothing helped. Read a post on this thread and remembered the bolts. Went to Advanced Auto got us a pack of 10, came home put them in and it was off in less than a minute. Turn the bolts evenly.

 

[LTC8K6]

Not all rotors have those threaded holes...

 

[exdeath]

Could try one of those old school bumper jacks. Just jack it up as high as it will go, take off the tire, then kick the jack out from the bumper. That should break the rotor loose.

Kidding aside, if you're going to beat on it with a mallet, you need to hit the hub in a up/down direction perpendicular to the studs, not the disc laterally. You want to create shearing shock between the hub and rotor.

 

[exdeath]

Hey guys, I just want to say quickly that I have to solution to removing a rusted rotor.

On your rotor there should be two holes for bolts. Go to your auto store, tell them your car ask to see a rotor for your car. Then find the bolt sizes that will fit in the threaded holes.

I have been banging for hours, using a torch, pb blaster. Nothing helped. Read a post on this thread and remembered the bolts. Went to Advanced Auto got us a pack of 10, came home put them in and it was off in less than a minute. Turn the bolts evenly.

If it's rusted and stuck on that tight, chances are those holes will be rusted closed or the threads will be completely gone.

 

[StageLeft]

Could try one of those old school bumper jacks. Just jack it up as high as it will go, take off the tire, then kick the jack out from the bumper. That should break the rotor loose.

Kidding aside, if you're going to beat on it with a mallet, you need to hit the hub in a up/down direction perpendicular to the studs, not the disc laterally. You want to create shearing shock between the hub and rotor.

That is a good idea. I absolutely defy the rotor to stay on or intact with the sledge approach mentioned above. That will definitely cause something to happen, but if you knock in the direction you mention FIRST then I think it would greatly lesson the chance of a snapped rotor, assuming a rotor would ever actually snap before coming off. Maybe it would, maybe not.