Pulling a stuck rotor

EvanB wrote: I like the miata rotors with a threaded hole in the rotor to thread a bolt in and press it off the hub.

Mazda and Mitsubishi LOVE to do that, and I thank them.

Those screw holes are mainly good for breaking the hub face At least, Hyundais are horrible for that.

90% of the time, on a truck, the rotor is stuck because the inside of the bell is crusted with so much rust that the ID is now smaller than the hub's OD. Even after much hammering breaks the face loose from the hub, the rotor still won't come off.

I learned this lesson a while ago, thus always just reach for the sledgehammer to break the rotor off. Iron rotors break like glass, very brittle. The sucky part is when they need a wheel bearing and the brakes are only a year old, then we have to add pads and rotors to the estimate as a "maybe". Sometimes they come off, sometimes they don't...

The Magnum is the same - rims and rotors never want to come off without a fight. I have two 3lb hammers. His and hers.

I have my eye on a 10lb rubber sledge to better influence the wheels as my smaller rubber mallet doesn't have much mass

Heat has worked for me in conjunction with a big hammer.

10lb rubber mallet seems like a good idea. I have noticed problems getting wheels loose on LX cars with aftermarket wheels, but never the stock wheel or rotors on my Magnum.

I absolutely support this hammer idea, and in fact i just went from mostly using a 3lb hammer at work to mostly using a 4 lb hammer.

But funny story, i just had a 1960 rambler wagon come in with a stuck front drum. I got it off fairly easily with 4lb sledge but not before actually DENTING the friction surface inword. I banged it back out and smoothed it out a little bit so it will spin again but the guys at work are all mad at me and talking about how i cant use a hammer without breaking E36 M3, but my take it on it is this: There has NEVER been any other car ive ever worked on where you could BEND a drum with a hand sledge. It's just a E36 M3ty part!

Knurled wrote: Those screw holes are mainly good for breaking the hub face At least, Hyundais are horrible for that. 90% of the time, on a truck, the rotor is stuck because the inside of the bell is crusted with so much rust that the ID is now smaller than the hub's OD. Even after much hammering breaks the face loose from the hub, the rotor still won't come off. I learned this lesson a while ago, thus always just reach for the sledgehammer to break the rotor off. Iron rotors break like glass, very brittle. The sucky part is when they need a wheel bearing and the brakes are only a year old, then we have to add pads and rotors to the estimate as a "maybe". Sometimes they come off, sometimes they don't...

That's where the CP714 comes in, rattle the rust right off the part.

Vigo wrote: 10lb rubber mallet seems like a good idea. I have noticed problems getting wheels loose on LX cars with aftermarket wheels, but never the stock wheel or rotors on my Magnum. I absolutely support this hammer idea, and in fact i just went from mostly using a 3lb hammer at work to mostly using a 4 lb hammer. But funny story, i just had a 1960 rambler wagon come in with a stuck front drum. I got it off fairly easily with 4lb sledge but not before actually DENTING the friction surface inword. I banged it back out and smoothed it out a little bit so it will spin again but the guys at work are all mad at me and talking about how i cant use a hammer without breaking E36 M3, but my take it on it is this: There has NEVER been any other car ive ever worked on where you could BEND a drum with a hand sledge. It's just a E36 M3ty part!

Not a rubber hammer. In fact, I have every kind of hammer in existence I think - probably 20 or more, all different - but no rubber hammer. A rubber hammer bounces off whatever you're trying to impart force into.

Use a steel hammer and use a piece of Aluminum, maple, or HDPE plastic to avoid marring what you're hitting.

Or use a cast urethane deadblow hammer.

Rubber mallets are for people who don't understand hammers.

Boy am I glad I live in Texas.

I finally got the rotor off. I had to drill holes in a line, connect the holes with a hack saw, basically cracking half the rotor, and then it finally came off with the puller. I'll try to get pictures. It was bad.

Now to replace the hub, swap the caliper, finish up the brake job, replace the LF fender, get the truck to the shop for a proper bleed, alignment, and inspection and the truck will finally be back on the road after 4-6 months.