super4

hi, i know i saw it somewhere before, but whats the trick to removing the rear rotors?? and do the front ones come right off or there is something to those as well? thanx!

poltergeist

No trick....remove the caliper, remove the two flat head phillips screws that hold the rotor to the hub and pull the rotor off.

Usually you'll need an impact driver to get the phillips screws loose and sometimes you have to tap the edge of the rotor a bit if it's rusted to the hub.

Fronts basically the same.

kvan2007

I'm about to order a hub bearing assembly for my '05, as one of my rears is bad. I have a Hitachi cordless drill that is not a driver but has 500 lbs. of torque and is very adjustable, torque- and speed-wise. Would this work in place of an impact driver?

curls

Very doubtful. What I would do in your situation is get the strongest screwdriver you have that fits the screw head, and get a hammer. WEAR GLOVES. While turning the screwdriver (and NOT stripping the screw), whack the handle end of the screwdriver with the hammer. This is essentially an "impact driver". It helps to break the rust bonds, as well as keep the screwdriver in the screw head and prevent it from slipping out and stripping (which is what would happen if you used the cordless drill).

I've done this before and it works just fine, although now that I found an impact driver on sale at Canadian Tire I won't have to bother with that method any more.

Edit: You can also substitute a piece of 2x4 board, or anything heavy with a flat surface so whack the screwdriver handle with (dead-on... driving the screwdriver INTO the screw). A hammer can be tricky when you're trying to twist the screwdriver and you might end up missing the handle -- OUCH!

kvan2007

Ouch. That sounds serious. BTW, I have an '04, not that it's relevant to this post--errant keystroke. Thanks for the info, Stewie. ;-)

So, um, would Deep Creep help break up the rust, or is that a no-no in the vicinity of brakes?

curls

I love using Deep Creep -- Seafoam products are great! You could use it but frankly the method I described isn't too bad at all. Just don't whack the hand holding the screwdriver!

You could try whacking the screwdriver without twisting for the first few hits, and then try twisting while hitting it. I would avoid any deep-creep or penetrating oil until you know that the initial attempts aren't working. Else you might have a tough time keeping the screwdriver head from slipping and mangling the phillips head of the screw.

npolite

You could also get a manual impact screwdriver at your local auto parts store for about $15-20. Just get a good 3lb sledgehammer...works best for me.