Rotors rusted to Hub

Try a little PB Blaster first, THEN pick up the hammer.

My daughter's 2001 Taurus had the rotors seized on the hubs. A BFH loosened them.

I put some anti-seize compound on the spindles before installing the new rotors.

Frank

Yep. Common in the rustbelt states. Some cars are worse than others. What are you working on?

Very common.

If you want to save the rotors, install the lugnuts backwards, then rap hard (not pound) between lugs, then take a 2x4 to protect surface and rap the rotor face.

The dealer was working on the brakes for a 2001 Expedition. They supposedly soaked the rotors in liquid wrench or similar. Apparently they had no choice but to break the hubs to get them off. The cost was $85 per new rotor plus labor.

The dealership doesn't have a 5 lb rubber mallet in their shop? Or torches to heat it up a bit? Are you sure your vehicle is at the local Ford dealership and not Speedy Muffler?

I'm sure there would have been some way to get them off without smashing the front hubs of your car to hell. If they beat them off as hard as you're explaining, you better hope they don't rob you for a set of front wheel bearings, new flex lines and a set of calipers.

Sharky

Sharky, On most cars I would agree with you. On the Expy, and F-150 I won't. When I was in the dealership, we had F-150s and Expeditions that had rotors siezed to the hubs to the point that the rotors and hubs were replaced under warranty for other concerns, like a failed ABS wheel sensor. It seems that after about 1 year or so, those rotors grab a death grip on the hub that the Almighty himself couldn't release. They would look fairly rust free, but you couldn't get them off short of a sledge hammer(which would, of course, damage the hub and bearing as would heat). The clearances when new were pretty tight. After just a little bit of exposure to rust belt conditions, those rotors ain't coming off. You could spend 1 hour with a LITTLE heat and a SMALL hammer and MAYBE get them off, but by then the rotor was damaged enough that it needed replaced anyway. For brake jobs, we usually machined those rotors on the vehicle, which is the preferred method anyway. Aftermarket rotors for those trucks are about $50 each. Replace 'em.

My experience with some of these is the same as Toms.... Mother nature has her way of marrying some parts.

FWIW.... smack a brake rotor sideways with 5 pounds of anything and there's a better than even chance that you now have a spendy lump of scrap metal.

After nearly 40 years of doing this, I have yet to see "everything"..... I see you live in Canada... how about an all expense paid trip to Slave Lake, Alberta.... all the best food and the bar will be open 24/7... however, if you can't remove the rotors of my choice without destroying them. you pay the tab.

Gawd, I wish my job was as easy as some think.....

Yeah Tom, you're right. Even here in Nova Scotia, we get handfuls of rust thanks to that wonderful road salt (I guess the Atlantic doesn't help much either). It's just hard to imagine that on a vehicle that is only 4 years old, such a simple part as a rotor would seize itself onto the hub. Then again, I've never owned a vehicle newer than 1997 and so far I've never run into this problem working on any of their brakes.

I guess knowing that we live in these kinds of areas, one should have a box full Anti-seize and another one beside it with Rust Check formula. Problem is, with a new vehicle, you would almost have to start right from day one. Even undercoating is not the perfect solution, especially for the mechanicals of the vehicle. Just another item to add to the service list.

Sharky

I pretty much agree with this. Though there is a trick to freeing rust frozen discs/drums. Install lug nuts backwards. lower car. reverse out of shop, firmly apply brakes, drive forwards, firmly apply brakes. repeat as necessary. This will break the hold. As for removing it without damaging the hub or rotor.... that's something that may or may not be possible.

I have definitely heard of this problem on older Expeditions in rust belt areas. 1997-2002 Expedition used a hub centric wheel design. The wheel centers fit very tightly on the hubs and this provides the centering (other designs depend on the lug nuts to provide centering). The hubs are machine to tight tolerances, and the rotors are machined to fit tightly. Unfortunately this makes them vulnerable to seizing. It is not uncommon for the rotors to need to be cut apart to remove them. Some people have managed to get them off by loosening the lug nuts, driving a short distance, and sharply applying the brakes several times. Pounding on them with a hammer may work, but I think I like the idea of using a sawsall to split them the best.

I suggest you join the Expedition Owner's Group mailing list for better advice on this subject. See

Ed

A Sawzall?? That could work, couldn't it. That's one that never crossed my mind.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Adkins" Newsgroups: alt.autos.ford Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 12:46 PM Subject: Re: Rotors rusted to Hub

I never did this myself, but a guy in that participates in the Expedition Owners Mailing List said it works fine. You make a few cuts through the beefy part of the rotor with a sawzall and then hit the rotor with a hammer and it will split apart.

Ed