yank_my_chain

I had the rear pads and rotors replaced on my 6mt with 60K miles at a local shop this past weekend. I looked into doing the job myself but couldn't even get the screws out that hold the rotors on. I watched the mechanic do most of the job and he had a bitch of a time. He was able to remove the screws without a problem but the rotors were stuck on. He said the emergency brake pads inside the 'hat' sometimes form ridges that make it difficult to remove the rotor. He first tried inserting longer bolts into the rotor and gradually tightening to push the rotor off but that did not work (he applied alot of force on the screws and then said he was afraid of breaking something else). He ended up just hammering on the back side of the rotors to get them off. When the passenger side finally came off, the entire emergency brake assembly came out with it (springs and pads all fell out because the pins broke). He ended up replacing the entire emergency brake assembly at no additional cost.

Two questions: 1. Is there a better way for him to have removed the rotor without the extra damage? 2. When he installed the new rotors, he did not reinstall the screws that hold the rotor on. When I asked, he said they were not necessary and that they are only required during assembly. Is this true?

Thanks!!

05TLdcc

Im pretty sure the screws are meant to be there to hold the rotor on... if they werent why would they be there in the first place?

VQPower37

for number 2, he is correct the screws are unnecessary as the wheel holds it in place, although personally i kept the screws, not sure about number 1 though

Jiggy2dmax

iTrader: (1)

Hitting it with a hammer is pretty standard and is how I've seen it done the majority of the time.

LoveMyTL-S

For #2, he is correct.

yank_my_chain

Thanks. Makes me feel better about the local shop I brought it to. At least they didn't charge me for the new emergency brake assembly. It seems like there must be a better way to get the old rotors off than the brute force method.

LoveMyTL-S

Normally after you pull the screws, the rotors just slide right off. Does sound like you had a good mechanic. Gave you a good deal without charging on the emergency brake assembly.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Screws are only used in production to keep the rotors in place, so once the wheel/tire is installed, the rotor isn't going anywhere.
Never liked hammering on the outside of the rotor whether it's going to be replaced or not as possible danage to the bearing can occur. With a troublesome rotor, I will always reinstall the lug nuts to protect the threads, then hit, not smash, the rotor hat all around to break loose the rust. Once the rotor is loose and won't come off, adjust the parking brake shoes away from the rotor hat by turning the star wheel through the access hole, then remove the rotor.

05TLdcc

Thanks for letting me know guys, i learn something new everyday on this site!

thrasher865

iTrader: (1)

That's the way I've always done it on my car, and I'm sure he would have skipped the other ineffective methods completely and gone straight to pounding on it if you weren't watching over his shoulder.

I think a lot of the time, mechanics are afraid to show customers the gritty truth about car repairs, even though competely harmless, it looks like your car is being abused half the time.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't say that a bull in a china shop is completely harmless, as I have seen hub bearings destroyed because of what some thinks is harmless pounding on the rotor.

Usalinh

Ok I did my own brakes last month with the help of a friend. I changed out my pads and rotors. To get the job done right you are going to need a couple of socket wrenches (not sure what sizes) but I think 17 to 21, impact driver, regular flat head screw driver, pb blast, a plastic dead blow hammer, new screws for the old ones you are going to take out, anti seize for the screws and some shade lOl... I did it without shade around 10 am and by 12 it was burning up. I purchased new pads from Acura but got new EBC slotted and dimpled rotors from Horsepowerfreaks. There is a how to video on You tube by a mechanic on how to take off your rotors if you need something visual. The impact driver and pb blast you can get from any local auto parts store, but I got my craftmans impact driver one from Sears. It should cost around $15 to $20 for a basic one. Basicly it is a screw driver that you hit the end with a hammer and it turns and torques the screw loose. This helps make the job alot easier.I got new screws from Honda for about $.97 each but I'm sue you can probably get them somewhere else cheaper. First thing you need to do after you take off your wheels is to take off your brake calipers. There are two bolts holding them on that you have to get to them from the back side of the rotors. Once the caliper are off you need to hang them or set them somewhere out of the way but becareful the brake lines are pretty short so you can't move them far. I took a small bucket and laid the caliper on it out of the way. Spray your pb blast on the screw which will help loosen them and let sit for about 10 mins. Ok, second take the impact driver and hammer to the screw and give it a couple of good wacks! They should come off pretty easy. I learned the hard way when I tried to take the screw out with a regular screw driver before watching the You tube video lOl... Third the rotors are probably seized or rustied on pretty good so you will have to take the dead blow hammer to it and hit it from the back side rotor while rotating it to loosen it off enough for you to remove it. After removing the old rotors I put the new rotors on with the new screws. Remeber to put some anti seize on the screws. This will help the next time you have to take them off so they won't be to difficult to take off. The old brake pads are easy to out with the flat head screw driver. In the box that the new pads come it there is a kind of lubricant that you will have to put on the back side of the pads where the metal pieces are. Most mechanics don't use them because they got some other type of non squeak crap they put on instead. After the pads are in ease the caliper back on and re-bolt up the two bolts you took off of them that held them on to the brackets. Put your wheel back on and repeat 3 more times lOl... It took me a week to do my brakes because I didn't know what all I need and I ran into an issuewhere one of the screws on the rotor was ate up to hell and I had to take a drill bit to get it out. Other then that it's a pretty easy job lOl... First time will always be the hardest but knowing is half the battle...

shadowkahn

Yep, agreed. I actually wouldn't have had a problem with him charging you to fix the e-brake. It wasn't the mechanic's fault that the thing was keeping the rotor from coming off. He did you a very nice favor. Wish he was in my area - I could use a really good mechanic for when I'm feeling too lazy to do my own work.

And as others have said, he's right on #2. The screws hold the rotor on the car as it moves down the assembly line before it gets the wheels put on. There are two of them because they don't want the guy putting the wheels on to have to unscrew the screw first - they want him to be able to leave it in, and if there were only 1 screw, you'd have a balance issue. I leave 'em off on every car I do.

platinum1

For #1, I'm not sure if there is another way to do it since most likely the e-brake rusted heavily.
For #2, yes, as everyone else said, you don't need them. They become a problem when you need to change the rotors (front and rear), or to adjust the e-brake.

I'm having a hard time removing one of them on front left rotor right now. I'm trying to find other options to remove it.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

platinum, I posted this in your other thread.