Trying to get the rear rotors off our '03 Explorer; of course they're stuck. My guess is that the rust inside the rotor has formed a lip in the area not touched by the shoes. But I can't back off the shoes because there's no hole for the adjuster. Or it's welded on ther sheetmetal. No rubber plug. ???
Adjuster for disc brakes? That I've not seen yet. Generally you have to remove the calipers. I usually compress the cylinder away from the pad and make sure your fluid reservoir doesn't spill all over the place.
Or did you mean drums and not rotors?
Newer models might be different, but Explorers (and other bigger Fords) use rotor/drum combination on the rear. The first is for the service brake; the latter for the parking brake. Anyone here familiar with the '03 and newer to clue us in?
Yes, the adjuster for the little parking brake drum built into the rear disc brake rotor. I looked more closely at the backing plate and it has what looked (only a little) bit like the nickel-sized knockouts one sees on electrical outlet boxes, which are quite easy to remove by poking with a screwdriver. But they wouldn't budge when I beat on them with an admittedly blunt chisel and a decent-sized hammer. Started denting in the backing plate. I eventually got the rotor/drum off each side by using a big gear puller on it. One side flew off and fell on the floor without damage; the other side ripped off the mounting hardware inside and hung up the rotor/drum from coming off more than about 3/4" as the brake shoes cocked sideways as I tried to remove the rotor/drum. But it came off far enough that I was able to reach in with a screwdriver and back off the adjuster enough to then get the rotor off. The gear puller action had also ripped the linings from the shoes.
As I'd suspected, there was quite a rust buildup in the area not contacted by the shoes (it was now a smaller diameter than the shoes), making it quite a challenge to get the rotor/drum off. What was Ford thinking by closing off the holes? The factory service manual only says to reach in through the holes and back off the adjuster. !
Holy shit! I have the same setup on my '97. I sure hope I never have to replace the shoes. Did the parking brake get stuck on or something? It seems like it would take a very long time to wear down the shoes.
This is really odd! Have you looked? My '98 has the access holes and rubber plugs. Even if the shoes don't need to be retracted to pull the rotor off, they are not self-adjusting. So how would you adjust them with no access?
No, I had not looked. I just did. There are access holes and rubber plugs but I don't see where the shoes would be. The parking brake cable appears to go to the top of the differential. I have not had to do the brakes on this car yet. Maybe I was getting upset about nothing.
Ok, looking at the Hayne's manual it says "remove the disc" and "inspect the thickness of the lining material on the shoes." That doesn't sound anything like what hillpc was talking about. I stlll need to read about the brake cable..... Little brake shoes behind the discs... not so bad, I guess. The moral of the story is "don't buy an '03 Explorer?"
Dang, the transfer case is leaking....
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