Hey Guys, I am working on my 2002 superduty. Working on a rear disc brake job and i cant get the dang disc's off!!! Any tips on how to do this ??

Thanks in advance.

Ryan

 

Just take a block of wood, hold against the back of one side of the rotor and tap it a few times, switch sides, top, bottom, with a hammer... it should just wiggle off... I dunno if you've tried it yet, but that's how I usually do it

 

I just changed the E-brake shoes on my 97' Expedition today, rear disks, to remove the rotor,,,It did'nt want to come off, so I placed a pry bar( large screw driver) between the caliper bracket and rotor, applied pressure to bar and with a hammer hit the rotor near the center between the wheels studs,,that sucker popped then ! Then just had to wiggle it a bit,,the e-brake had come apart, and locked up the wheel,,so had to do it. I think the Superdutys are about the same setup,,but bigger. Good luck !
Later,,,,,,,,Mark

 

I just did the rear brakes on mine and they were rusted on really bad. I beat the crap out of them with a dead blow hammer and couldn't move them. I finally fired up my air hammer and used it on the rotor all around the wheel studs. That loosened them up and I was able to work them back and forth to get them clear of the e-brake shoes.

 

if you have a red and green set. heat the area around the axle center untill you hear it pop then pull them off. its a old drum trick that still works. i have done it at home with a propane torch just takes longer

 

If you're replacing the rotor anyway, then beat the living crap out of it from the back with a sledgehammer. That pops it right off after a couple of blows, and badly mars the rotor surface in the process. Remember to smear a little anti-sieze on the hub pilot hole of the new rotor before putting it back. (And of course smear the anti-sieze on the hole in the alloy wheels if you have them!)

As a marginally-related aside: I have a 2003 F250 4x4. I assume the front rotors pop off the same way, i.e. no need to undo wheel bearings or anything? I think mine just have pad material on them which I'll try to clean off, but if they're actually warped then it's replacement time.

Duncan

 

Just like the dead blow hammer, I use a five pound rubber mallet and beat around the edges of the rotor to set up a harmonic and POP off it comes.

 

Answered my own question yesterday: yep, the fronts are put together just like the rears. Except, surprise surprise, Ford actually slathered anti-sieze lubricant all over the back side of the center of the front rotors, unlike the rears! They just dropped off in my hands once I got the caliper out of the way.

My fronts weren't as warped as the rears but they were all warped, at 45K miles. The pads were way less than half worn. I live in the flattest area you can imagine, not a lot of stop and go traffic, don't haul a heavy trailer (some trailering and bed payloading, but nothing extreme) I don't ride my brakes, I always torque my own lugnuts and the last time the wheels were touched was at 20K miles anyway. The factory rotors are just junk. I hope the enlarged brakes on the 2005 and up trucks finally fix this problem.

Duncan

 

Thanks for the help guys. I was able to get it off by hitting the part by the lug nuts with a hammer to losen it up and then using a big bar to pry against the caliper bracket to pop it off.

Thanks again!

 

Hi,

I'm new and while this is an old thread, thought I would toss in my 2 cents. MY 98 Explorer rear rotors were stuck as if welded. So, I asked my mechanic his trick. He chuckled and asked where I was pounding on the rotor. He said that the only place to hit which would work was on the flat part between the studs with a pretty big hammer... but don't hit the studs.

With the studs heavily on my mind I was a bit nervous about big whacks. There had to be a way to whack and protect the studs. My solution was low tech and worked nicely. What I did was cut 3 inch lengths of PVC pipe and put one over each stud. To keep the PVC from bouncing off I stuffed a small amount of paper towel in when I put them over the studs.

The PVC pipe protected the studs from both direct hits and glancing blows. In compression it's quit strong and I actually did hit one. Because the PVC is larger than the stud, a misdirected blow sends the energy to the rotor, not the stud. The PVC did not break.

And yes, I used a 4 lb hammer and heavy blows.

IT WORKED!

Dave

 

Get 2 long bolts the same thread as the caliper slide bolts. Thread them from the back side deep enough that they contact the disc to "press" the disc off.

 

That did not work, nor did the wheel puller nor did drilling and tapping the face of the rotor and using a steel bar on the hub tightening the bolts. The bar, 3/8 X11/2 just bent.
Dave

 

I use a brass punch and then wack inbetween the studs. The punch is already in contact with the surface and therefore the studs are fine.

I use a 5lb hammer. Takes about three/four wacks at most.

PB blaster of course generously applied the minute the wheel comes off.

 

Put anti seize o the hub surface before re-install of the new one and you shouldnt have any problems again. Also make sure your parking brake is released since the design is dumb IMO on our trucks.

 

BETTER WAY to REMOVE ROTORS
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mtsTJCRljAs&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dmts TJCRljAs