Need Help With brake rotor

[Christopher Pavick]

Hi,

I need help please..... I have just changed my rotors and brake pads. The last rotor does not want to come off because the emer. brake seems to be stuck on the inside. I don;t want to pond it too much but can;t seem to get it loose..

Thank you

Chris

 

[Fudged Undies]

not certain exactly what you said. but if it's that the caliper is sticking, remove both bolts that hole the caliper in place and try using a large flathead screwdriver to pry it out. Maybe tapping it a bit with a hamer will help as well. Since your changing the pads use some lubricant spray to help the pad slide out with the caliper. If these are your new pads DON'T use the lube spray as this will ruin them. If it is a stuck caliper, you will need to rebuild it or get a new one.

 

[EddieS'04]

I think he is talking about the rotor on rear disc brakes. The park brake is shoes like a drum brake. Maybe the cable is frozen not letting the shoes back off. Or the shoes have worn a groove in the drum portion of the disc. I would make sure the cable is loose. Then knock it front to back with heavy rubber mallet. I never had any trouble like that so thats all I have for you...sorry

 

[Richard L]

The emergency brake would not grove the drum unless you drive with the emergency brake on all the time, or use it to stop instead of using the brake pedal .



If your rear wheel turns freely with the transmission in neutral and the tire jacked up, it's not the emergency brake shoes holding the drum, so the drum is probably rusted to the axle flange. (a very common problem). They can usually be persuaded off with a hammer if you have the touch (don't beat it off and ruin your rotor/drum) but it's justa as easy to use a brake drum puller. You can probably rent one for about $5



...Rich

 

[Mike Wilson]

More help on this one...Silverado (G.M.) had the same problem when they went to rear

disc brakes on the '01 model. Internal drum on the parking brake (rear). Many T.S.B.'s

on this one from G.M. I'm guessing Ford is simaliar. The internal parking brake release

spring is weaker on an internal disc-drum-parking brake set-up than it was on the old rear

drum brakes.(Limited area/size to fit the spring, etc...) Which means less spring tension,

release pressure, etc. Not sure if our ST's have an external spring mounted on the

parking brake cable under the truck, or what. Till you find out, don't try a puller, as this

may do more harm than good. To add to RichardL's good advice, try this:

Jack up ST from rear:

Remove suspect rear wheel and tire assembly(ies):

Visually inspect brake assembly (ies) for rust/corrosion:

Remove rear caliper (given you have rear discs):

Attempt to remove rotor:

If rotor does not come off easily, use gentle pressure with a rubber mallet or dead-blow

hammer:

Once off, do brakes as you normally would (if they need replacing).

When replacing drum or rotor, use a little bit of Silver or Copper Lube, as we Old-Schools

use to call it, on the flange, or mating surface of the drum or disc-to- rotor backing

surface,on the axle hub, to prevent further problems when removing the rotor or drum

again.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

At our shop I have changed hundreds of this style brake rotor. As Rich mentioned, it is common for it to seize tot he axle stub. Some penetrate fluid and a hammer normally do the trick.



If you feel the cable may be seized here is the best way I have found to release it.



Get a pair of Vise Grips. Clamp the cable where it is exposed, about a 1/4 inch away from the end of the housing where it slides through. Normally there is a bracket right at the end to support the housing. Once clamped, hold the vise grips in your hand at the handle end of the vise grips. Take a hammer and hit the head of the vise grips in the direction of the rear bumper. The same direction if the e-brake was released and was trying to slide. Once it moves the 1/4 simply unclasp the vise grips and do it again. You only want to do 1/4 at a time so the cable does not bend when you hit the vise grips.



Hope this helps.



Clear as mud???

 

[Christopher Pavick]

THank you for all your help everyone I am going to try again today or tomorrow, I should have said this is for my explorer XLT. I also have a ST. They are the same year. 02. The rotors were really rusted. That is way i am replaceing all 4.

 

[Dreman]

My father-in-law sold his Crown Vic to his son, who proceeded to replace the brakes. He couldn't get the rear discs off no matter what he did. When penetrating oil didn't work, I proceeded to hammer on the disc between the studs with a 2 lb sledge. Four or five whacks apiece did the trick. Just don't hit the studs or the brake surface!