Removing Frozen Rear Brake Rotor(w/o wrecking anything else?)

[Rich C.]

Finally going to tackle removing trailing arms (on my '73) for a rebuild. I don't have the tool that presses out spindle on the car. Didn't really want to go that route anyway. I'm sure I could use my press once off the car, but what about parking brake cable? Some trick to remove it with rotor in place? Or just cut it?(the cable) Any tricks to get rotor off without damaging anything else? (and no I don't have a torch!)

'73 LS-4 454, owned 21 3/4 years

[Gene M.]

Re: Removing Frozen Rear Brake Rotor(w/o wrecking anything else?)

Rich, Are the 5 rivets drilled out? If you drill out the rivets the rotor should just about fall off with a couple blows from a heavy mallet.

[John H.]

Re: Removing Frozen Rear Brake Rotor(w/o wrecking anything else?)

Finally going to tackle removing trailing arms (on my '73) for a rebuild. I don't have the tool that presses out spindle on the car. Didn't really want to go that route anyway. I'm sure I could use my press once off the car, but what about parking brake cable? Some trick to remove it with rotor in place? Or just cut it?(the cable) Any tricks to get rotor off without damaging anything else? (and no I don't have a torch!)

Rich -

Once the caliper is removed, there's plenty of access to smack the inboard side of the rotor to remove it (assuming the rivets are drilled out); disconnect the parking brake cable equalizer from the pull cable to create slack, and disconnect the ball end from the parking brake actuator lever on the backing plate (the rotor doesn't have to be removed to do this). If you're going to send them out for rebuild, you'll want to send the rotor with it anyway so it can be trued (or replaced and trued).

[Rich C.]

Re: Removing Frozen Rear Brake Rotor(w/o wrecking anything else?)

Yes, rivets already gone. (someones been in there before apparently) Good point about room to whack rotor with caliper out of the way! Thanks!!!

[Gary R.]

Re: Removing Frozen Rear Brake Rotor(w/o wrecking anything else?)

Make sure you back off the parking brakes, they may be holding them on if not frozen. Look through the access hole in the rotor over the star wheel to see how much adjustment is showing in the threads.
Also I never ever use a spindle press tool. They are ok for a spindle that may have been out in the recent past but for one that has been in place years chances are you are going to break the caliper bracket or bend it. I just use a hammer tool and a 5 lb hammer. I haven't used a press to remove a spindle in years now and I've done a lot of T/A's.

[Gene M.]

Re: Removing Frozen Rear Brake Rotor(w/o wrecking anything else?)

After you do what Gary suggests you can insert 2 big long screw drivers in the vanes of the rotor 180 degrees apart and use as pry bars to walk off a stubborn rotor.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Removing Frozen Rear Brake Rotor(w/o wrecking anything else?)

Having done this on a couple of cars, I'd just remove the whole trailing arm and send them both to Bair's or to Gary and have it done by a pro.
The proper tools alone cost as much as the trailing arm job, and you don't get a prize - or a discount - for disassembling it first.

There isn't much I haven't taken apart or rebuilt on a Corvette, but the trailing arms I send out.

Patrick

[Gary R.]

Re: Removing Frozen Rear Brake Rotor(w/o wrecking anything else?)

Maybe this will help, this is a LH arm with the rotor off.