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I don't think it's the rivets. It's the corrosion between the hub and the rotor. Get a heavy rubber hammer and whack the rotor from behind as you rotate it.
Nope... I could go larger Dia hole, but 5/16 is the largest punch I have... And I don't want to get that wedged in and stuck. That would be the sort of thing that would happen to me.
Locate your punch so it is close to the edge of the rivet (NOT centered on your relief hole) and apply one whack. Move the punch tip on the opposite side, whack, move punch tip 90 degrees, whack, move punch to opposite side, whack. Repeat sequence as necessary. Be sure to hold the punch as close to level and square as possible.
Be patient, forceful and deliberate when whacking. Wear eye protection.
I'm doing this from memory so bear with me. Take a metal paint scraper and put it behind the caliper bracket. Take one of the front caliper bolts out(they are longer than the rear caliper bolts). drive the longer bolt with an impact against the metal paint scraper and it will drive the rotor off. The metal paint scraper will save the rotor from being damaged.
I hope this makes sense. It worked perfectly for me when my parking brake was rusted.
I'm doing this from memory so bear with me. Take a metal paint scraper and put it behind the caliper bracket. Take one of the front caliper bolts out(they are longer than the rear caliper bolts). drive the longer bolt with an impact against the metal paint scraper and it will drive the rotor off. The metal paint scraper will save the rotor from being damaged.
I hope this makes sense. It worked perfectly for me when my parking brake was rusted.
Yes! This is making progress! The rotor now wiggles. It did turn relatively freely (I think some resistance from passenger side caliper)....
I think the last thing to worry about is saving the rotors. I also think that it is very unlikely it is hung up on the E brakes. More anti seize,,,, and big rubber hammer from the back. Hit one side,,, then the other side,,,, back and forth, it will work itself loose.
MPLS -- Skol from a former Minnesotan, having just done this on an 82 project we've had on jackstands for 2 yrs, you not only are going to have to drill the rivets and "punch" them out, but a plastic deadblow hammer with Thor-like swings from the backside may also be required................doing the first wore us out so we left the other side for another night !!
Thx guys. The dust shield prevents me from hitting on the one side. So I am hitting where the dust shield isn't... Then turning the rotor a bit and hitting again... Turn and so forth. I kight also go buy a longer bolt to thread into the caliper mounting hole. The bolt I used the first time ultimately bottomed out. But it definitely helped break things free.
You know, the whole reason for doing this is to change out the broken wheel stud... All of the videos I have watched show just hammering on the end of the stud to pop it out the back of the hub. I have a bad feeling that based in this experience, those wheel studs aren't going to just pop out... Uggggg.
take the bolt with you. many caliper mounting bolts are a different more fine thread than standard common stuff. backing bolt out and slipping a chisel or wrench between bolt and rotor may get you more push distance. you do not want to eff up that thread with the wrong bolt.
Last edited by derekderek; Aug 24, 2021 at 10:16 AM.
So I'm noticing that when I wiggle the rotor, the E brake cable is moving.... So, if it's hung up on E brake shoes, and I can't move the star wheel.... Hmmmm
You have nothing to lose now by destroying the star wheel. Take your punch and whack on the adjuster along the centerline (not the “star” itself) and simply break it.
Sorry for the fuzzy pic, best I could do on short notice.
This is where my "F" this brain would kick in and I would pull the T/A and rebuild it.
I kinda agree with you. But, my hope was that I could get this fixed in time to still drive the car this year... Starting to run out of nice weather. And, if I can't do this, I doubt my ability to pull and rebuild a trailing arm.
You have nothing to lose now by destroying the star wheel. Take your punch and whack on the adjuster along the centerline (not the “star” itself) and simply break it.
Rivets are not removed. They have broken free of the rotor, but even still, I can't knock them back and through the hub completely. I imagine the tail end is stuck/corroded in the hub. I'm imagining thst if I ever get this darn rotor off, I will cut the rivets off at the hub with a dremel and cut-off wheel, and then drill the remaining tail/butt out of the hub?
Just pulling the trailing arm comes with its own set of headaches, not to mention the process of rebuilding it.
There is the bolt that holds the arm to the frame and the shims for adjusting toe, the shock mount/outer strut mount, halfshaft bolts and the spring bolt (and rear sway bar attachment if you have one). All of those areas are potential cesspools of pain and frustration to get them disassembled. I didn’t include the brake caliper/connections because you already have removed that.
Take a good long look at each of the aforementioned before you throw in the towel on getting the rotor off and go down the path of arm removal. Keep whacking on the brake adjuster and break it so you can get the rotor off.
Keep whacking on the brake adjuster and break it so you can get the rotor off.
The adjuster looks solid (based on the new one I got in my kit) ... You really think if I whack it with a screwdriver or something it will break? And if it does, that should allow the brake shoes to pull in towards the center, correct? From lower spring tension?
Last edited by Mpls Funk; Aug 26, 2021 at 12:02 AM.
