Chris288

Need some help getting the front rotors off this sucker,,, do they just slip over the studs or do I have to take the center nut off to get the rotor off ?? Thanks Chris

Lmarth

Chris288--I've got bad news for you. If your F150 is a 4wd, the front rotors are a B***H to get off. I had to do it on my 99 Expedition. I did NOT have to remove the center nut! I cut both mine off with a sawzall after calling the service manager at a local Ford garage. He said that they frequently had to break them(impact hammer??) to get them off. I too live in New York state. The problem is that the wheel flange (with studs) is a tight fit inside the recess in the rotor. The flange is only about 3/8" thick so the counterbore in the rotor corrodes and keeps the rotor from coming off despite serious beating. I put antiseize on the flange when I put it back together but don't think it'll help. I removed the caliper and used a couple small c-clamps to keep the rotor from turning. With the sawzall, I aimed for each of two adjacent wheel studs. A couple hard whacks with a big hammer and and this pie shaped segment broke off. After this, a couple hard whacks and the one rotor came off. On the other side, even that almost didn't do it. I was ready to cut another segment out when the rotor moved. A couple hits and it was off. Unbelievable. Wait to you have to get the rears off or deal with seized up emergency brake cables. Maybe Smitty or the other OSO experts have better advice. Just telling ya what I went through. As with anything, if I had to do it all day long, it wouldn't bother me a bit. I just didn't expect this after 25000 miles. Let meknow if you need more info. Lou

Chris288

Lou, thanks for the help, yes it is 4x4, I haven't seen any rotors that didn't just slip over the studs, some honda's have a small screw sometimes but thats it.

My old toyota 4x4 had the rotors siezed on and I was able to use a large gear puller to get it off,, cranked it up and heated and sprayed liquid wrench and a few hours later I heard a big bang out in the drive way,, rotor popped..

This is a 2001 w/ 39,000 miles and these rotors are stuck big time...

wifes explorer has 4 wheel disk and I know all to well what you mean about the rear rotors with the e-brake pads on the inside with frozen adjusters,,, Ford guy told me they usually just beat the rear rotors off and replace everything.. Then they charged me 110.00 for the e-brake pads...

Lmarth

As a follow-on, I didn't have the shop manual when I first tried to get the fronts off. I even removed that center nut when nothing else worked. A giant puller, liquid wrench,etc might work. Personally, I wouldn't use heat. The problem is that after 25000 miles in our salt environment and those old rotors were junk. I kept one as a doorstop. Interestingly, the Ford manual ($200) says that if you turn the front rotors, Do it ON THE VEHICHLE!. The clearance holes in the rotor for the wheel studs are big. The hole in the rotor is naturally tight around the wheel hub. By cutting out a segment of the rotor, you allow the rotor to slop around a little about the hub so you can beat it past all the rust buildup. The rotor is ventilated and it's 'open' where you would cut towards the hub aiming for the studs. Since there are holes in the rotor for the studs, you've got a natural breaking point (kinda like breaking a piece of glass or drywall that has been scored). My point in all this is that if you know what your up against when you start ( and you do ), it sometimes goes a little better. By the way, you're right on about the rears with frozen adjusters. You just hammer or cut the rears off and replace whatever isn't seized up. Good luck! Let us know how you make out. Lou

Iggy

I used a brass hammer pounding between the studs, and generous ammounts of WD-40 sprayed around the studs and center flange, while prying with a large prybar. After about 5 minutes of pounding and prying it popped free.
Before reassembly I lightly coated the spindle flange with wheel bearing grease as well as the mating surface on the rotor. I did this on the rear rotors and haven't had trouble getting them apart since.

BTW this is on my '97 F-250 4x4 with 120K on the clock.

Chris288

again thanks for the tips,, my current gear puller isn't big enough to go around the rotor. I'm thinking of drilling some holes in the rotor and put the puller through them and give that a try..