Rear brake rotor stuck - need ideas

lfhoward · **Posted:** Wed Oct 01, 2014 6:13 pm

Hi Jeepers,

Here's the situation:
I started a project today to replace the rear pads and rotors on our Jeep, as the pads were down to 1/8 inch and the rotors were not looking great. I got as far as trying to remove the passengers side rear rotor. It is stuck on the parking brake shoes. I loosened the tension as far as possible using the star screw, and the e-brake is off. The rotor is loose until pulled 3/4 inch out, then sticks. For the last 4 hours I've tried a hammer, prying with a big screwdriver, twisting, pulling, and swearing at it, and it won't budge, except to go back inward. I figure someone knows the trick. Is it as simple as I need a bigger hammer? I do not yet own a BFH or a crowbar.

Thanks a lot!
Lauren

I can get the rotor out to this point:

KK out of action:

Until we figure this out, this is my transportation:

DirtyKK · **Posted:** Wed Oct 01, 2014 7:14 pm

Have you tried a bigger hammer? :lol:

nFodzy · **Joined:** Sun Oct 06, 2013 1:30 pm **Posts:** 389

Ya try spraying WD-40 in the spaces around and see if a neighbour has a sledge hammer or crowbar!

ajohns1288 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 01, 2014 9:10 pm

Not much help, but the service manual says:

Quote:

1. Raise and support the vehicle
2. Remove the tire and wheel assembly.
3. Remove the disc brake caliper adapter (2) and pads (3), (Refer to 05 - Brakes/Hydraulic/Mechanical/CALIPER, Disc Brake - Removal) .
4. Remove the retaining clips and rotor assembly (1).

Looks like your stuck on 4. I would try moving the rotor up/down and front/back while pulling as well as twisting it side to side to try and jiggle it off. The parking brake shouldn't be touching the rotor, especially if you can move it that far already, so I'm wondering if its catching on something else.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Wed Oct 01, 2014 9:39 pm

The rotor is catching on the side opposite from the caliper (9:00), where a brake dust shield blocks effective use of a hammer. It is good and loose on the caliper side (3:00) where I can give it a good smack. So here's my idea. Let me know what you think:

1) Buy or borrow a pair jack stands (as my other pair of jack stands are 600 miles away right now).
2) Use them to support the rear axle.
3) Now that both rear wheels are off the ground, turn the axle 180 degrees so the section of the rotor that is stuck is positioned over the caliper gap in the dust shield (3:00).
4) Whack it with a hammer! Turn, whack! Turn, whack!

Currently I am working with one tire on the ground, so I can't turn the rotor I'm working on. I think a bigger hammer would help, but I need to hit the rotor in more than one spot.

toy4everyseason · **Posted:** Wed Oct 01, 2014 9:51 pm

lfhoward wrote:

The rotor is catching on the side opposite from the caliper (9:00), where a brake dust shield blocks effective use of a hammer. It is good and loose on the caliper side (3:00) where I can give it a good smack. So here's my idea. Let me know what you think:

1) Buy or borrow a pair jack stands (as my other pair of jack stands are 600 miles away right now).
2) Use them to support the rear axle.
3) Now that both rear wheels are off the ground, turn the axle 180 degrees so the section of the rotor that is stuck is positioned over the caliper gap in the dust shield (3:00).
4) Whack it with a hammer! Turn, whack! Turn, whack!

Currently I am working with one tire on the ground, so I can't turn the rotor I'm working on. I think a bigger hammer would help, but I need to hit the rotor in more than one spot.

This is exactly what you need to do. I had a rotor/drum that was pretty hard to get off too but this technique got it off

Scar0 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 02, 2014 7:51 am

When this happened to me, I pushed the drum in hat (rotor) back on, ran some sand paper back and forth inside the hat to cut the rust ridge down. Popped right off.
You can also put the rig in neutral (front tires blocked so your rig does not role) and rotate the single rear tire a little to get access.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2014 9:54 am

Thanks for your ideas, everyone. I am going to borrow a BFH and some jack stands from a buddy. It is raining here, so the project is on pause. I hope to get back to it tomorrow or Monday.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2014 10:18 am

lfhoward wrote:

Thanks for your ideas, everyone. I am going to borrow a BFH and some jack stands from a buddy. It is raining here, so the project is on pause. I hope to get back to it tomorrow or Monday.

Wish I was still " up North" I'd be there with everything to help you out
But your "plan" seems like it should work

lfhoward · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2014 10:56 am

Thanks, Tom. I started this project by doing a lot of research. Looked up how-to's and YouTube videos on the subject. Thought I was good, but of course things didn't go as planned. Even a good how-to thread is no replacement for having someone with experience helping out!

Since I have you right here, I might as well ask another question. What is the best way to get effective torque on the bolt that connects the brake hose onto the caliper? Install the caliper on the vehicle first? (But then I would worry about bending something important.) Cut the line and put the caliper in a vise? That bolt was installed in the Toledo North Assembly back in 2007 and hasn't budged since.

toy4everyseason · **Posted:** Sat Oct 04, 2014 2:36 am

Are you talking about the banjo bolt?. It's hollow & will break long before you bend other things. I'd say assemble it on the car & use short impacts to break it loose. Constant torque tends to sheer bolts easier.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:13 pm

Using the procedure above I got both rear rotors off today and replaced the pads also. :BANANA:

I got the JBA extended brake line installed on the drivers side, and got partway thru the passengers side install before it was time to quit for the day. (I am taking pics for a how-to thread about this.) I will need to re-flare the hard brake line on the drivers side tomorrow as it didn't come out well the first time. :banghead:

A teaser pic of the extended line:

lfhoward · **Posted:** Wed Oct 08, 2014 6:48 pm

I thought I had finished the job this afternoon, but there are two, no three, issues. Feedback is welcome. Am I on the right track?

1) I think the parking brake is dragging inside the new rotors. Both rotors smoking hot in under a mile, and the Jeep slows down way too quickly with foot off the gas. I am thinking this: viewtopic.php?f=104&t=51247
I don't think the disc brake calipers are stuck because the brake lines weren't hot, but the rotors' centers were.

2) I may have a tiny leak at one or both of the banjo bolts. Not sure if the small amount of fluid I felt was from them or left over from bleeding the brakes. Tighten them a bit?

3) The Jeep stops all right but I don't like the pedal feel. Seems too mushy and I can hit the bottom by pressing hard. (Couldn't do that before.) Am thinking there is still air in the lines and need to re-bleed the system. Since I didn't touch the front brakes, do those need bleeding also? The rear hoses were dripping for several hours during the flaring process (I am still a noob at that), so there was plenty of opportunity for air to get in.

Thanks for your help, everyone!
Lauren

Gageraid · **Posted:** Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:32 pm

I'm no expert on brakes, but I think you answered your own questions Lauren.
Have you tried using your emergency brake yet since doing the brakes?

lfhoward · **Posted:** Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:38 pm

Gageraid wrote:

I'm no expert on brakes, but I think you answered your own questions Lauren.
Have you tried using your emergency brake yet since doing the brakes?

Thanks, Gage. I did try the e-brake and it does work (not that it ever worked phenomenally well). I think it is too tight and is rubbing the inside of the rotors even when it is disengaged. Hopefully adjusting the star wheel some more will do the trick.

toy4everyseason · **Posted:** Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:16 am

Did the master cylinder run dry? If so you'll have to bleed the entire system. May just want to do it anyways just to change out the old fluid. Did you use the copper washers on the banjo bolt? Be careful about tightening it too much, you'll sheer the head off & really have problems. If your pedal is hitting the floor than you have air in the lines.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Thu Oct 09, 2014 8:30 am

toy4everyseason wrote:

Did the master cylinder run dry? If so you'll have to bleed the entire system. May just want to do it anyways just to change out the old fluid. Did you use the copper washers on the banjo bolt? Be careful about tightening it too much, you'll sheer the head off & really have problems. If your pedal is hitting the floor than you have air in the lines.

The master cylinder did not run dry, so I am in the clear there. Yes, I used copper washers on the banjo bolt. It occurred to me last night that there may be road grime under the copper washers, as I just popped the old lines and washers off and installed the new ones without being able to see what was back there. I used new copper washers.

toy4everyseason · **Posted:** Thu Oct 09, 2014 9:07 am

Did the jeepin by al kit include torque specs for the banjo bolts? I honestly have no idea what it should be but a quick call to the stealer ship might solve that question.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:45 pm

toy4everyseason wrote:

Did the jeepin by al kit include torque specs for the banjo bolts? I honestly have no idea what it should be but a quick call to the stealer ship might solve that question.

That's a good question. I picked up my kit used (although the brake lines were never installed) and it didn't come with directions. I am also without my torque wrench, so I just installed the banjo bolts until I thought they were reasonably snug.

I won't have the time to poke around under my Jeep until tomorrow, but there was no dripping of brake fluid overnight onto the cardboard I left under it. That must be a good sign.

Hopefully I can get to the star wheels and adjust the e-brakes without having to disassemble everything. The rubber plug and hole for that are sort of behind the caliper assembly.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:00 am

Update: I crawled under the Jeep and adjusted the parking brake star wheels 100% to loose. The parking brake will not even hold the Jeep when engaged now, so I think I can rule that out as dragging. The wheels are still hard to turn, and the rotors still got hot when I drove around the block, so the caliper/pad assembly must be the problem. I plan to disassemble everything, lube the brake pad slides and caliper pins again, and reassemble everything again and re-bleed the brakes. Hopefully that will do it. Is there anything I should look for specifically?

Rear brake rotor stuck - need ideas

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