The Money Pit

This weekend I plan on drilling the front rotor rivets out and though it's been about 16 years since I did the back, which if memory serves,..was a royal PIA, I was wondering if anyone has any tips that might make life easier for me.

Plan to replace all four rotors this time around, stock calipers are getting redone now(SS sleeved O-ring pistons and powder coated), and stainless braided soft lines. Car has 255,000 miles on the clock, and the brakes need a tweak.

I bought cobalt bits last night, and the fridge is stocked with beer.....

I plan to drill the rivets on the car,...but think I should remove the rotor hub assembly to drive the rivet out once the heads have been drilled off. I don't want to beat the spindle/bearings to death trying to get the rivets out.

Option B,...I pull the rotor hub assembly and take them to work and use the drill press................


Option C,...Drill rivet heads off, remove old rotor, leave rivet body in the hub, and replace with new rotor. I will clean up the hub mating surface and check the runout either option.

Jig A Low

I drilled mine out with standard bits on the car, the biggest thing is to get the right size bits, I used one that would fit in the hole of the rivet then went in about 1/2", then went up and did it again, the "studs" of the rivets are much bigger than you give them credit for. if you don't use a big enough bit they will fight you all the way, when you use the correct bit, the studs just tap out of the rotors and hubs.

The Money Pit

I bought 1/8", 1/4", and 5/16" bits,...a few of each. Do I need bigger bits? What about the bearings? If I have to tap the rivet with a two pound sledge, .. won't that put flats in the wheel bearing?

qwank

One of the old guys at work said the rivets are soft enough to push them through with an air hammer. is this true?

Frankenvette

When I did this I sprayed WD-40 on the bits every few minutes to help keep them cool.

C3 Stroker

I used 3/8" bits.....what remains after the drilling easily taps out. Sometimes you don't even have to tap.....it just falls out.

wyocat

I wouldn't consider it hard just a little time consuming. On my 68, I used oil to lubricate the bits and took my time. I did use my 1/2 electric variable speed, not my battery powered drill (more RPM). As far as damaging the bearing, I can't imaging tapping out the rivets would do any damage to them.

njfl

3/8" bit, electric drill, fan or air conditioning blowing on you and take your time. Also, like others have said, spray the bits with WD-40 every few minutes. You don't need cobalt or any exotic coated bits, but you should try to use High Speed Steel (HSS) bits. This will be marked on them if they are HSS.

Also, people tend to think that high drill rpms are better, but when doing this (and most metals), keep the rpms lower, about half throttle so that the tip of the bit cuts the metal without over heating.

my 76 ray

I have a drill press and when/if I need to remove the rivets from the front rotors that will be my choice. Take them to work and spend the time you save drinking beer.

The Money Pit

I got them out pretty easy using the cobalt bits. Had one bit break, but I got lucky because it left enough bit sticking out I could re chuck the drive and reverse it out.

I checked the run out,..looks good enough without shims to me. I don't have a dial indicator, but I did a check using a bucket, and a left over piece of hardwood flooring. What I did was place the bucket close enough to the rotor that I could lay the hardwood on top, and have the end hit the rotor. I slowly spun the rotor and watched the run out. Once I determined the high spot, I backed the rotor 180 and used feeler gauges to slip in the gap left on the low spot. Looks to be between .003 to .006,...I did not have any other feeler gauges.

Next dilemma. I plan to remove the proportional valve and run the brake lines straight to the master cylinder. Others have done this mod, and claim the rear brakes improve. I pulled the PV, and was going to gut it, make a few mods,(pipe plugs) and reinstall, but when I pulled the guts out of the back it broke it. The rear section was full of rust, the valve clearly could not have worked,...which explains my crappy brakes.

Any way, I need to find a T to plumb the fronts together, and a union to extend the rear line up to the master. Anyone happen to know what sizes, and where to get these items? I do have the old ends, and I will likely take them with me when I go to the parts store. Just thought I'd ask. It's Saturday,...all the good parts stores closed at noon.

gkull

Yes, use a grinder and take the heads off. I use a big hammer and punch, but an air hammer would work even better.

donyue

I used cobalt bits and drilled the rivet heads off.

Once I removed the heads then I used a punch to push the rivet body out the back of the hub.

Took maybe a half an hour per rotor, was only a little time consuming but not at all difficult.

An air chisel with the proper punch tip to push the rivet body out the back of the hub is even faster than the hammer and punch, but both methods will work.