Propane for Rotors??

[Da Game]

Did a partial rear disc brake job today. Confuseed with partial?? Well the rear rotors have welded onto the hub. I've hit it with a 24oz Ball pein hammer, that didn't dislodge the rotor (hard to aim between the studs). I hit it a few times with a 25lbs sledge hammer (around the the studs), but chicken-out for fear of damaging other stuff. So now I'm thinking about appling some heat to it then whacking it.

Question... Does all bottle propane produce enough heat to do the job or is one brand better (produce more heat without cutting thru) for rotors?

 

[yonyon]

Don't worry about cutting through. The red glow will warn you before you get them that hot and with just propane I don't see how you'll get them that hot anyway. Something to watch out for though is that if you keep the heat on too long you might get something else hotter than it should be. Is there a bearing back there that you might be cooking the grease out of?

Have you tried some penetrating oil? I've found that Kroil can do a lot of loosening.

 

[Reggaemon]

I like to stay away from heat, afraid of cooking bearing.
All the times I faced this problem my 5 minute solution
was to use a sawzall with a good metal cutting blade.
I just cut into the disc and when its deep enough a chisel
hammered into the cut will crack or loosen the hub.

Might sound funny but I've found it quick and easy.

 

[Bandito440]

My Tacoma had threaded holes where you could put in a bolt that would press against the hub as you tightened it - great idea. Check for those.

Also trying soaking it with PB Blaster. Hose it down and wait an hour. Repeat if it doesn't kick loose.

 

[Da Game]

I have a can of Kroil, and spraying in the lug hole I wonder am I actually hitting the spot. Looking at my FSM it's not clear if there is a bearing, just the E-brake.The BernzO matic seems to be the brand to use, correct? I'll try the Kroil, heat and whacking. I just examin the new rotors and there is two maybe 1/8 - 3/32 holes for bolts (not the E-brake adjuster hole). That I can use to put bolts in to help the process, heat, whack and screw the bolts in gradually.

Thanks guys!!!!

 

[KrisZ]

Get a piece of 2x4 and start hammering away, but make sure you rotate the rotor with every blow. Also you may alternate between hitting the hub and the braking surface. Blows to the hub should break up the rust and hitting the braking surface should create a leverage action to separate the rotor from the hub.

 

[spasm3]

Bigger hammer!

 

[The_Eric]

Take a bolt and slip it through the caliper bracket (size is not critical, but should be close to the bracket hole size). It should be long enough that the end of the bolt can touch the rotor without the head touching the bracket. Spin a nut down the threads until it hits the other side of the bracket, so that it will draw the bolt into the rotor. Snug it down, give the rotor hat a few light raps, and repeat as necessary.

 

[Finz]

I believe MAP gas gets hotter than propane... Available in any store. But I agree with others that going too hot could create another set of problems for you

The thru-bolt and 2x4 placement are very good alternatives along with the solvents

The thru bolts should be tightened and then let the kroil, liquid wrench,... Soak for a while. A few taps/whacks with the hammer.

Sorry you are going through this and I know it stinks but an hour or 2 more and you should be good to go

Soak, whack, tighten... Soak, whack, tighten

You WILL win this battle

 

[Mr_Incredible]

PB Blaster. WD-40. Lots of it. BIgger hammer. Whack it from the back side.

Spray. Whack. Repeat.

 

[CourierDriver]

would this help

 

[doitmyself]

Here's an example of what The Eric describes....ingenious:

 

[exranger06]

When you do finally get it off, clean all the rust off the hub and coat it with anti-seize. This will prevent this from happening again in the future.

 

[threeputtpar]

I see you mentioned a parking brake. Is this parking brake one that has shoes inside of the rotor hat? I had similar issues with that set up on a Mountaineer and had to resort to a BFH to get the rotor off of the parking brake shoes that had lodged against the lip that was created on the outside of the drum. Ended up destroying the brake shoes in the process to get the rotor off because there was no room to reach the adjuster to back them down, but the adjuster was seized any way.

Good luck, just go at it with all you got and expect to fix the parking brake in the end.

 

[shDK]

Cut a a line through the rotorhat with a Angelgrinder or something similar. It can be a good idea not cutting all the way through. But taking the last bit with hammer and chissel.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
I see you mentioned a parking brake. Is this parking brake one that has shoes inside of the rotor hat? I had similar issues with that set up on a Mountaineer and had to resort to a BFH to get the rotor off..


Heck yes.. Breaking the rotor free from the hub is the easy part of this job.

You haven't even begun the process of getting the rotor free from the p-brake yet!

Lazy man way is to drive around with the p-brake on, to burn enough material off the p-brake shoes so you have enough clearance to get the rotors off. If it's got star-wheel adjusters you can get at and operate, you don't have to do the above.

 

[1 FMF]

what vehicle you working on?
i had the same problem on my 2006 sierra truck, has rear disc but the parking brake shoe is on the inside of the rotor. what happens is the parking brake shoe wears into the rotor but the shoe doesn't retract all the way because everything in there rusts and seizes so the parking brake shoe holds the rotor on. you'll know when you can wiggle the rotor and know it's not rusted to the wheel hub flange but doesn't pull off more than 1/8".
if it's rusted on the wheel hub, you need a heavy sledge and wack outward on the inside of the rotor and they usually dislodge off the hub easily. you can't use a 1 or 2 lb hammer, you need a full size sledge with a 18lb head or better, then one hand it against the inside of the rotor outward. the mass of the sledge will easily free the rotor off the hub if it's rusted to it. but getting the rotor off the parking brake shoe may be the biggest problem, worst case is you break the parking shoe and have to put new ones on. keep rotating the rotor and wacking on the inside of it and it'll come off. you can usually mail order the parking brake kit like the adjuster and stuff for cheap, the parking brake shoes are not that cheap. but unless you really bend or break the shoe in half, it's almost always useable. you'll be wasting your time with propane unless it's running off a 20lb bottle and is the gun you use to melt asphalt on your driveway. a handheld propane torch or any other won't produce enough mass heat, it'll be too localized. and if you had enough heat you'll definitely be cooking any grease or oil in a wheel bearing and melting seals.

 

[KrisZ]

Granted I don't have much experience with those parking brake drums integrated into rotors, but since they serve only a parking brake duty and even that is rare, how would the shoes create a groove into the drum when they are not used during every day braking?

Do they somehow over adjust and naturally drag on the drums? Am I missing something?

 

[Colt45ws]

Sometimes they sieze in the 'on' position. Or rather, after a period of no one using them, someone finally uses the park brake. Then upon release, the springs do not have enough power to overcome the rust on the components and so the shoes are stuck.

My CVPI had the brake shoes stuck on. Driver side only, passenger side was fine. No pad left at all on the siezed side. Had occured quite some time ago. Long enough for the shaved surfaces to rust.

 

[hattaresguy]

Heat the living heck out of the rotor hat than nail it with a sledge, they will come off.

Propane will work in a torch but its not as hot as it could be. Don't be shy heat them up!