Front Brake Rotors

[MainePellethead]

Hey peeps!

I have got to put some rotors on the wifes Monte Carlo SS. I have got to get the rotors off......but they have a "lock tite" kind of seal.....cannot get the bolt(s) loose for the life of me. Gonna try again this weekend....some friends said I have to heat them up to loosen the seal that the factory put on. Do I have to put a lock tite seal back on when I put the new rotors on?

Thanks!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

One of the best purchases I've made for things like that is an electric impact wrench. Autozone seels them really cheap. Otherwise a pipe attached to your half inch rachet should work.

Loctite isn't necessary, but I had a 91 Buick that would vibrate the bolts loose after a brake job. I've never had another vehicle that would do it. After I retightened the bolts down it wouldn't happen again... It really is cheap insurance. Do I use it? No. But I keep an eye on it for a while after brake work.

Matt

 

[granpajohn]

...Otherwise a pipe attached to your half inch rachet should work...

Agree, but...
Use a breaker bar, not the ratchet. Hi torque breaks ratchets.

 

[backpack09]

Not familiar with that specific car, but in the past when I have had rotors seized/rusted to the hubs, the best solution I found was to take my angle grinder and cut the rotor in 3 places. Then go to vatozone and rent the biggest gear puller they have and go at it.... It usually broke the rotor, but the scrap man really doesn't care how many pieces he gets his steel in. Be careful tho, this can be very dangerous

 

[woodsman23]

Hey peeps!

I have got to put some rotors on the wifes Monte Carlo SS. I have got to get the rotors off......but they have a "lock tite" kind of seal.....cannot get the bolt(s) loose for the life of me. Gonna try again this weekend....some friends said I have to heat them up to loosen the seal that the factory put on. Do I have to put a lock tite seal back on when I put the new rotors on?

Thanks!

A good 1/2" drive impact will do the job if not then a breaker bar with leverage will do the trick.

 

[mayhem]

Hold up there, what exactly are you trying to break loose? I've done new rotors on many occasions and never once have I seen a set of rotors that are fatened to the car in any way...they're always held on by friction to the hub and the wheel that bolts on. If you need to get rotors off a car all you need is a big hammer.

 

[MainePellethead]

Thanks all for the advice etc. Mayhem.....theres 2 bolts that hold the rotor on....these are installed with a lock tite goop from the factory. The Monte that I am doing this weekend is not that old...2003. So isnt rusted etc. My other Monte was a 2001 and I couldnt get the darn rotors off because of that crap lol. So took to a garage. But...not going to garage this time.....last time was in COLD weather so lost patience. This time it will be warm. Gonna try the breaker bar way etc....then try a LITTLE heat to melt that lock tite stuff....I'll let ya's know how I made out and THANKS alot for the responses

 

[struggle]

Some foreign cars are like that as well having to bolts actually screw heads or alens that hold the rotors on.

 

[Beanscoot]

Ummm... two bolts that hold the rotors on? Are we perhaps talking about a caliper here?

 

[MainePellethead]

Ummm... two bolts that hold the rotors on? Are we perhaps talking about a caliper here?

No....I'm sorry I was clearer....There is one bigger bolt in the middle that holds the rotor in place......what I was talking about guys is the bracket that hold your caliper(NOT the caliper itaself) That bracket HAS to come off in order to get the rotors off.

 

[Jack33]

The big "bolt" in the middle is not a bolt that holds the rotor on, it is the nut that holds the axle in the hub.

Yes, GM uses a Loctite on the caliper bracket bolts. You should not need heat to remove them though. One of the following methods will break them free. Use a 1/2" impact gun, use a breaker bar and cheater bar if necessary, or use a boxed wrench and pop it with a good sized hammer. Use a wrench for the latter so you do not break your tools. I never put Loctite on these when I reinstall.

 

[dave11]

I second what Jack33 said. You might be thinking you need to get the large center nut off because the rotor is stuck on tight. But loosening the nut won't help, because it's not holding the rotor on. The rotor is stuck likely because of some bridging rust between the the wheel studs and the holes they pass through in the rotor. I have done the brakes once already on my 2002 Monte Carlo, and it's pretty standard.

I use a medium sized hub/gear puller, which pulls the rotor off without much trouble. I'd be careful about too much hammering though. Rotors weren't designed to be hammered on.

 

[MainePellethead]

Thanks all!

Heres the scoop....ALWAYS listen to your lady lol...Especially after 40....the memory on guys tend to flutter.

A couple months back I did my wifes brakes. Well....didnt do the back because the BACK ones needed rotors. So as I procrastinated until recently I asked her to get the rotors for her Monte...so in MY mind I'm thinking FRONT..lol. She stopped at the parts store on way home from work and she automatically kicked in her awesome womanly memory lol....and she bought REAR rotors. So.....as I was doing them this morning she says.....why you jacking the front? I said to do the rotors....and she said I bought rear....and I immediately sighed. And said why??? lol. She immediately with a firm voice said....because it needs rear rotors lol She was right. ugh.

The reason I asked about the caliper bracket and the removing is....we did have 2 Monte Carlo SS's. Mine was a 2001 and hers is a 2003. I traded mine for a new Jeep Cherokee. But before I did I replaced the front rotors and brakes. I FOUGHT very hard to get those caliper mounts off and gave up and went to a garage a friend of mine owns. Thats why I was asking of an easier way to take off. BUT....taking the ones off of my wifes car this morning was a breeze. Not sure why lol....but they were no where near the effort to get off as my Monte was. However.....getting the rotor broke free was another story.....but they came free.

Thanks again all for the help! Nice to go to a place and get some insight rather than opening a Chiltons

 

[govmule84]

Gentlemen, as an ASE certified mechanic and a veteran Bubba, I feel compelled to chime in.

First, you ain't need no impact to get off caliper bracket bolts. I got one, and don't even hook it up for a brake job. You just need that breaker bar, or, if you ain't got the room 'cause you didn't jack 'er up high enough, use a wrench and whack it with a rubber mallet.

Them lil threaded holes are for driving the rotor off...but if you're junkin' em anywho, just take a hammer to the inside. Pop right off.

Now, Pellethead, when you get to pushin' them pistons back in to fit the new pads in (You is usin' new pads, right? Don't marry up old pads to new rotors. That makes as much sense as a padded hammer), they ain't like FRONT calipers every time. Sometimes, to operate that there parkin' brake, them calipers SCREW back in...you can tell them kind because the pistons got two lil notches cut out of her. You need a special tool to drive 'em in...Lisle makes a little one for about eight bucks that every auto parts store sells, and it sucks totally. For sixty bucks, OTC and a host of other tool makers make a good one - either one will work, the cheapy might just bust up your knuckles some. DON'T use a C-clamp to push 'em in, though, otherwise you'll be buyin' a caliper and some brake fluid and wastin' precious beer drinking time.

Good luck...
Liam