Dejan

I just replaced my rear rotors, both came off pretty easily after I broke the initial rust weld holding them to the hub. The front is giving me a lot of trouble. First I had to drill out the two philips screws. Then I broke the initial rust weld by using the two 8x1.25mm screws in the holes designed to push the rotors off. Now the rotor wobbles but won't come off more than about 1/4 inch off the hub. I tried using the two 8x1.25mm screws but the rotor is so stubborn that the thread inside those holes actually stripped off. Also a crack has developed near one of those holes. I've been whacking the rotor from the inside with a hammer for the past hour. Any ideas?

TLTesh604

I have had luck using a small piece of 2x4 and hitting all the different areas of the rotor face. Give a few good hits holding it vertically on the left and right sides of the rotor. Best to stand up back against the fender to get more leverage. Watch ur fingers! Guessing you are throwing these rotors away anyways if u are using a hammer.

TLTesh604

Make sure rotor is in original position first obviously.

thoiboi

Put your back into it

Dejan

Update: rotor is moving away from the hub slowly but surely. It's now about a half inch away from the hub. I got a big rubber mallet and am pounding it hard from the inside.

Dejan

Rotor is off! Took a lot of pounding with a big rubber mallet. This is a 7 year old car driven in Toronto which has never had its rotors replaced. I'll post a picture of my old rotor so you can see how nasty this thing is. One front and both rears are now done. I'll do the last front tomorrow but based on my experience today I'm not optimistic about a quick job.

echodigital

Please post. I am based in Toronto too. I am curious how rusty it is...

Dejan

Here's some pics of one of my rotors. You can see all the marks I made when I was hitting it with a hammer. First I used a regular hammer then I switched to a rubber mallet which worked better. You can also see cracks around one of the screw holes. Apparently those screw holes are useless when your rotor is as rusty as mine was, the metal around them just cracks and the bolts spin in place. Also on both back wheels and one of my fronts, the inner pad was stuck. I had to hammer it out. The rear outer pads were worn to the metal but the inner pads weren't moving so they weren't that worn. And since that piece of metal that makes the warning soudn that your brakes are low is on the inner side with the stuck pads, I never heard that sound so I didn't know my brakes were dangerously low until my car was already making scraping sounds from metal pads on the rotors. This is what happens when you don't service your brakes at all for many years. I had stupidly assumed that since my car was braking fine, that everything must be in good shape. From now on I will take the pads out and regrease them where they sit in the caliper at least once a year.

KarKraze

You got them off, well done !!
Make sure to clean all the rust off the hub and then use some Copper Anti Seize Compound before installing the new Rotors.
I changed mine recently but my old ones came off easily, driving in the Summer only certainly accounted for that.

jim_c

You might want to refer to a thread I posted about brake maintenance.
I had a similar experience when I got my 2010 TL and it was only two + years old at the time. I managed to get the rotors off and re-use them but it was a very slow process.
When you have a bolt that is difficult to turn in a rusted nut or threaded component of some sort, you need to go back and forth, back and forth, clockwise, counterclockwise etc. and you can usually avoid stripping the threads. I also had a very difficult time removing rotors from a Ford F150 that was only two years old at the time. In that case I destroyed the rotors in removing them.
A friend who does this for a living told me he sometimes has to cut rotors off with a torch. This could all be avoided if the manufacturers wanted to make cars properly, but it would cost them a few cents per car, so they don't do it. Their approach also benefits the dealers' repair shop because they can sell you new rotors long before they should be needed.

Dejan

Next time I'll have to remember that tip about going back and forth with the screws. I just went to town on them with a breaker bar which stripped them but maybe if I repeatedly tightened and loosened them gradually it would have worked.