I'm replacing the front brakes and rotors on my 2000 Avalon. One side has a calapsed break line or stuck caliper, but that's another story.
I started on the good side (driver's side) last night and easily removed the caliper and shoe, but couldn't get the rotor to budge. What's the trick? I felt around the back of the rotor and couldn't find anything that felt like it was fastened to. Please help, I'm out of ideas.
If you have checked for and not found any rotor fasteners that hold it to the hub, such as a large flat head screw, then it is probably just stuck due to corrosion on the studs and the contact point (backside of the rotor) where the rotor mates with the hub. Try using penetrating oil around the studs and then use light blows with a dead blow hammer or slide hammer to break it loose, or if you don't have either of those, a board against the backside of the rotor using a regular hammer, preferably a maul. Leave one wheel nut on a stud threaded on a bit, so the rotor does not fly off and possibly hurt you as it breaks free suddenly when you hit it. If the penetrating oil / hammer does not work (rarely) then try heating with a torch around the studs and then the hammer.
Thanks for the input. I stopped and picked up one of those Haynes books for my model car which shows the repair process for basically everything on the car. From what it says, I've done everything that should be done for the rotor to come loose.
I assume penetrating oil is something that I can pick up at the local parts store?
You have not received very good advice for your problem.
Your rotor is not held on by anything...except rust.
The rust is NOT where the hub meets the rotor at the bolts, it is on the /perimeter/ of the hub.
Rust in the "top hat" portion of the rotor is hooking the rotor on to the hub. You must break this rust up in order to shift the rotor.
Penetrating oil will do absolutely nothing except make a hell of a mess.
After raising the car, securing it and removing the road wheel, do this:
1) Get an 8oz ball peen hammer. That's a half-pounder; a little guy.
2) Remove caliper and its mount bracket.
3) With ball end of hammer, tap on the side of the "top hat", about as hard as you'd vigorously knock on a door. Maybe a bit harder
4) Tap as close to the friction surface as you can, to make sure your blows are as far away from the hub as possible. You will damage the friction surface with occasional misaimed whacks, but you're replacing the rotor anyway.
5) Turn the rotor and keep tapping. Turn and tap, working your way around the "top hat".
6) Eventually (a minute or less), you'll start to hear and see rust breaking up and falling out the bottom of the rotor.
7) Keep tapping and turning.
8) At some point, you should be able to make the rotor move by wiggling it with your hands. Find out where it's still stuck, and concentrate your hammering there.
9) Once it's loose enough, THEN you hit the rotor from the back, to drive it off the hub.
Sounds more complex than it is. Should take no more than 3 minutes per rotor, with easy effort.
Warning: Stock up on 50-grit emery cloth (NOT sandpaper). You MUST sand off every bit of rust from the hub, making it flat as Kansas. Failure to do this will induce brake vibration with your new rotors.
Tegger wrote in news:Xns99B7AF86E75E2tegger@207.14.116.130:
You don't have to take my word for any of this.
Just look at the pictures here:
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(Note that the nylon-headed mallet shown in the first picture was NOT used to break up the rust. It was left over from another operation not having to do with the rotors.)
The Avalon is basically an enlarged Camry, so the it should use the V6 version of the hardware. The rotor can move around the hub and wheel studs normally. Tegger has some excellent suggestions there.
No rust with mine when I swapped out the OEM warped rotors with Raybestos Raymold noise dampening rotors (red box) for about $20 each. Akebono ProAct brake pads (OEM Toyota) are quiet even without the noise shims on mine.
snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com:
Not the same concept.
The idea of hitting the side of the "top hat" as far away from the hub as possible is to set up a vibration. This vibration breaks up the rust. That's what makes the whole idea work. Hitting anywhere else won't achieve the same thing at all.
Last time I had to do this I was going to take a video of the procedure. But just as I was starting, the camera's battery died and I didn't have a spare. So no video. :(
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