Rotors will not come off?

[jbillakdsm]

Well, my front rotors are shot along with my front axles. I figured since I'm going to be in there I might as well kill two birds with one stone. My axle nuts are barely recognizeable so I decided to start with the rotors and I'm running into problems. First off, the bolts that hold my caliper on will not come loose. I have tried everything from PB Blaster to heating them with a torch and they will not budge. There is also the problem of the bolts that hold the rotor to the hub. The bolt heads are so rusted that I can't even get a socket in there to try and get them out. Does anyone know of a little trick to get these out or am I screwed a this point?

I'm at the point where I don't care how I get these off, it just has to get done (without destroying the old axles, I need them for the core) in the next week before I go back to school. I checked the local junkyard and he has 3 DSMs sitting there, a 92 Laser 1.8, 91 Eclipse GS, and a 90 Eclipse, all FWD. I don't know if any of them have ABS, it was raining too hard for me to check. Will the front brake setup off of any of these cars work in replacement of mine, he only wants $30 for the whole setup. I have a 92 Talon Tsi AWD 5-speed with ABS. Should I just cut my losses with the original setup and cut it off with a plasma torch or should I actually try to get it off? I'm more fearful that I'm going to break every bolt off inside the housings and spend the next 3 days redrilling holes.

 

[awdrst]

as far as your problem with the caliper bolts what kind of torch were you using. I'd bet that you just need more heat to get the bolts going. That is usually the best way i've taken bolts off that i didn't think would ever come out with heat. As far as the bolts that you cant get a socket over i usually find the socket that would fit and than line up the socket and hammer it on. I'm going to assume that if they are that rusted on there than they will probably be stuck on there so i would suggest heat there also. Good luck

 

[jbillakdsm]

I just took some pics of my delema and maybe this will help my description. I got teh two bolts out that hold the pad part of the caliper off so I'm 2-to-the-good. The rest are really stubborn.

The first pic is of what's left of the brake pads. I started haering a grinding two days ago and I took it as easy as possible, guess it wasn't enough.

The second pic has the two bolts I can't get at circled in red. If you want, feel free to admire my so-called axle nut and any suggestions on how to get it off would be appreciated.

 

[Busa_DSM]

I just had the front end of my 92 GSX apart last week replacing the tranny and I don't have those bolts that hold the rotors on. All I can say is get some penetrating lubricant, spray them down, let them sit over nite, dry them off good and add more heat. Make sure all the lube is dried off so you don't light them up. Good Luck

 

[jbillakdsm]

Update: The two little bolts came out and now the rotor is ready for removal. I've tried to use the threaded holes to push it off, but it stripped every bolt that I stuck in there and even when I've hit it with a 5lb sledge to try and break it loose. I've also tried heating it to get it loose and nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?

 

[OWGTI]

are you 100 percent positive those bolts actually hold the rotor in place and those are not just locating pins? I ask because I have NEVER had a bolt holding my rotors in and in my 90 there are not even holes in the hub FOR the bolts you show. Try whacking the rotor with a BFH and try to keep it "ringing" hit it fast and hard in a circle. Otherwise push come to shove take a torch or if you have it a plasma cutter, torch the heads off the bolts then beat the rotor off then clean the hub up with an angle grinder. There is no need for those bolts.

As far as getting the axle out of your car, get an oxy-fuel torch or plasma cutter and cut a slot in the nut that holds the axle on the full length of it. Then take your socket that fits that nut and an impact gun and buzz it off, it will come off quick. Then take your torch, heat the shit out of the axle, hit it with a garden hose or some oil to cool it quick, then hit the end of the axle with your bfh. One good big hit and it will pop free.

If anything, get the hubs out of the boneyard (they are all the same well maybe not with ABS) and put as much as you can get off the car as far as the axles are concerned as your core, get some new axles, and be done with it.

Good luck.
Later
Arnie

 

[2.4 turbo Hyped]

Nothing holds those rotors on. Those two holes are made for two 8mmx1.25 bolts to press the rotors off of the hubs. If you had bolts in there when you pulled the wheel off somehting is defenitely wrong.

Do they salt the roads where you live in the winter?? If so I feel sorry for you cause those will be the biggest headache to get off.

 

[jbillakdsm]

Yes I am positive that the bolts went all the way through the rotor and the hub. I sprayed PB Blaster and it went all the way through. There were two other holes that were meant to be used to force the rotor off and they both are useless. One had the threads rust out and the other one literally pulled off the rotor. I now have a crack in the one side of the rotor that I'm flooding with PB Blaster in hopes that it will spread and help break the rotor loose.

They do salt the roads heavily in my area and I know it's a big PITA. I spray the underside of my car at least once a week to keep the amount of salt on my car as low as possible. The car also sat for a couple months before I bought it and I had a feeling it was near some water because everything all the bolts on my car are rusted like this.

 

[2.4 turbo Hyped]

Yes I am positive that the bolts went all the way through the rotor and the hub. I sprayed PB Blaster and it went all the way through. There were two other holes that were meant to be used to force the rotor off and they both are useless. One had the threads rust out and the other one literally pulled off the rotor. I now have a crack in the one side of the rotor that I'm flooding with PB Blaster in hopes that it will spread and help break the rotor loose.

They do salt the roads heavily in my area and I know it's a big PITA. I spray the underside of my car at least once a week to keep the amount of salt on my car as low as possible. The car also sat for a couple months before I bought it and I had a feeling it was near some water because everything all the bolts on my car are rusted like this.

Im glad I live in oregon. I still have the factory undercoating on my car.

 

[RedRain]

You guys should of seen mine, 10x's worst than that. It didnt even look like a bolt no more. It was more like a ball of rust. I had to take it to an exhaust shop to torch it out of there. Damn Salty Roads! Well yea, for taking it off, Big Rubber Mallet is my friend, maybe I can introduce you to him . Worked for me, hope it works for you. Just hit it all around as hard as you can.

 

[xcelr8n]

there is only 1 really easy way to get seized rotors off.
where the caliper mounts, there are 2 holes, they attach to the hub I believe its been a while sorry if im wrong.
anyways, get a good nut, and a long strong bolt, put the bolt through one end of the hole, and thread the nut onto it. put an open ended wrench on the nut so it doesnt spin as you tighten the bolt... as you tighten the bolt it will closely get closer and closer to the backside of the rotor...it will eventually get to the rotor, and a few more turns of the bolt and that rotor should just pop off. mine did, and I spent a solid 2 hours banging on it with a fatty sledge.

edit.. vfaq to the rescue...
http://www.vfaq.com/proj-pics/BigBrakes/works.jpg

 

[MattnGsx]

I had that problem before. :laugh: Just drill the heads off the bolt with a drill, don't worry about drilling through the rotor. Take the center nut off, and wack the hell out of the rotor with a rubber mallet should pop-off, though by the looks maybe not? If thats the case, put a heavy duty pulley pullers on it. You'll be able to get the rotor off! Once the rotors off, you'll see the stubs of the guide bolt on the wheel bearing or hub, or what ever the hell its attached to (right now I just can't think). Just spray it good with pb blast, and get a pair of vice gribs, and unscrew the stubs out. They'll come out pretty easy because the bolt's won't be rusted to the rotor. Hope this helps.

 

[huafist]

slide hammer.

 

[jbillakdsm]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm going to try the bolt idea from vfaq and hopefully that will work. I had my mom's car down at the local Lincoln dealer this morning and they told me if that doesn't work to drill inbetween the studs and use a coal chisel to break it up. He said that seems the only way to get bad rotors off in this area of PA. He also told me that befor I stick the new rotor on to smear anti-sieze all over the hub and back side of the rotor where they touch to prevent this from happening again.

Oh and by the way, I'm going to take pictures of the entire process from the rotor replacement to the axle replacement to the control arm bushing replacement. Hopefully the tech article that comes out of this will be helpful to others.

 

[jbillakdsm]

Update: The rotor finally came off, but not in the fashion I was expecting. After an hour of punding on it with everything I could think of, we decided to take a drill and drill some extra holes near the wheel studs to weaken the rotor and used a long hardened pick to try and crak it somewhere. After about 10 hits, the rotor began to shatter and come off. Here's a pic of the aftermath.

 

[2.4 turbo Hyped]

Sue the city for salting the damn roads.

 

[Coup D E'Tat]

Acetylene torches work great. A small propane torch couldn't get them hot enough, but the acetylene got them glowing red, and that's when we could pop my buddies off.

 

[ADrewzki]

Haha. Nice.

Hammer-1
Rotor-0

 

[RedRain]

Hammer is my best friend. . Who invented the hammer anyways?

 

[Coup D E'Tat]

Hammer is my best friend. . Who invented the hammer anyways?

Cavemen. I think Defiant was one of the first hammer owners.

 

[MNGSX]

Air hammer > Hammer

 

[Coup D E'Tat]

Air hammer > Hammer

Acetylene torch + regular hammer > air hammer. Those bastards were really on there (my friend's car.)

 

[MNGSX]

Plasma cutter (borrowed) > all

 

[Coup D E'Tat]

Damn, I can't top that.

 

[huafist]

Damn, I can't top that.

I can.
1/4 stick TNT *insert evil laughter here*