I'm replacing the front rotors on my '03 SE with Powerslots. I started on the the left side. The caliper and bracket came off fine but the rotor wouldn't budge. I tapped the backside of the rotor with a rubber mallet and then moved up to a 3 lb sledge hitting a small block of wood with no results. Do I need a big gear puller or am I missing something?
I also noticed that 2 of the new Hawk pads I'm installing have a clip that matches the guide pin on the caliper but 2 of the pads don't have this clip. Both pads I took off the left side have this clip. Is this clip not needed on all 4 pads?
Thanks in advance.
Bruce
'03 SE - 60K miles

 

just hit it really hard until it come off.....like this or like this

 

+1 I have had a few very difficult rotors but never on an 03. Just beat the **** out of it.

 

Did mine 2 weeks ago....just used a block of wood and a hammer and pounded the **** out of it. Try rotating the rotor a few times hitting it in different places and it should come off.

I put on slotted rotors with Hawk hps and I must say I am more than happy with them. Great stopping power and no more shaking.

 

If you're not reusing the rotors, hit them directly with the hammer. A block of wood will just deaden the blow. Good luck. Don't hit the cv boot.

 

tap it with a hammer (no wood) at 12 o'clock 3 o'clock 6 o'clock 9 o'clock positions...

 

I replaced my rotors over the summer and had the same problem. Ditch the block of wood and just hit it with the sledge until it comes off. I used a 10 lb sledge and still had to hit it pretty hard.

 

Easy with the hammering....my rear rotor was frozen in the hub and I didn't have a proper size bolt to loosen it. I ended up hammering the shat out of it till it came off. BUT in the process I bent my hub.

 

Try shooting some WD-40 or Brake/Carb cleaner between the rotar the the joint. Let it set for about 10 minutes then get your UBER hammer and start to beat the living shiz out of it!

 

jus get a blow torch and cut that shizzzlle of there but same happened to me and i hammered that thing off the hub

 

I've had a couple stuck on. Turn the rotor as you hit it, or like someone said above, hit it at 12, 3, 6, 9 in that order. Since you're not reusing it, beat the crap out of it, just watch the boots down there.

 

Works like a charm .... usually only need the 9 and 12 .. :

 

My fronts did not have the tapped holes so I used a big (I think it was 12") jaw puller on them (got it for $25 at a hardware store) and the rears had two tapped holes in them. I just had to find the right bolts for them. I think they were M8. Drive the bolts in and it will get the rotors off...

 

Thanks to everyone that responded. I just got the old rotors off tonight and installed the new Powerslots rotors and Hawk pads. I ended up going to Harbor Freight and buying a $10 8" gear puller. It popped them off real easy. I hopefully seated the pads and rotors in properly.
Can't wait for that first hard stop without that warped rotor vibration!
BruceB
'03 SE

 

This is how I removed them. Buy a 4 inch long, 1/2" wide bolt with a hex head. Along with a matching nut and washer. Then insert the bolt into the caliper mounting bracket from behind the rotor (the hole that is used to mount the caliper). Use a regular sized ratchet to turn the bolt. With your other hand use a wrench to hold the nut steady. Tighten it up and within 1 minute the rotor will pop off. No need to

I had this same problem last week when trying to remove my front oem rotors, which were completely rusted on (60K miles with Canadian winters). Here's a pic of the bolt, nut, & washer setup: (used a camera phone)

 

Use the Holy Hand Grenade, for Christ sake!



Serious, if you are replacing the rotor, get a ballpine hammer and knock the **** out of it.

 

wow naTHAN very creative...i just beat the **** out of it...had fun doin it too got some anger out...rotors were all messed up but still its gonna be trash anyways

 

Does that damage the rotor? I did my brakes just this summer, glad mine came off with ease.

 

The screw thing (excellent idea BTW !!) will likely damage the rotor but who cares if you are replacing it anyway... Besides, I am not too big of a fan of hammering on it as the wheel bearing may suffer and the neighbours may not like the noise...

 

hmmm...ive never had that problem but then again it feels like i replace my front brakes just about every other oil change. O wait i do... thats right new pfb (performance friction brakes) pads and a machine of the rotors as needed every 4-6 months. i get new pads free from autozone i just tell them they started squeaking now if i could only get rotors that would be sweet

 

Well, here in Canada where we get snow and salt regularly throughout the winter, so the chances are that they will rust and cause some problems in the long run... All 4 of my rotors were nicely fused to the hub and I had a lot of fun taking them off

 

No, the bolt won't damage the rotor because it doesn't actually touch the rotors surface where the pads make contact. The bolt touches the inside hub part of the rotor, and since the oem rotor was junk it wasn't such a concern.

 

**** beating the **** out of your car or wasting time on elaborate ways to remove rotors.... do this and sit back drinking a cold one > I replaced both rotors with powerslots and put new hawks pads in under 30 minutes!


2 minute job........get a torch form home depot, lowes ect...the knid you do home plumbing repairs with. Heat the hub on the flat surface in between where the studs come out just heat up evenly all around...it will fall right off in less than two minutes.....I have done this on many, many cars.

 

Using a puller or the screw techique that Nathan mentioned is less than a minute job too and will not affect your eyebrows

 

Plus the screw & nut technique only costed me $3 CAD to do...lol

 

This is a great thread. Thanks for the great info Nathan. I could've used this a few weeks ago when I was trying to replace my warped rotors.

 

glad i found this thread, i have to pull my front right rotor to put new studs in it tonight, haha, good tips here.
-WHEELMAN