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Jim
Grant has been working in the automotive industry for over twenty
years. In addition, Jim is an ASE Master Technician with advanced
L/1 certification. He works as manager and technician in his
family's automotive business in New Hampshire. He writes weekly
automotive consumer columns and is editor of an automotive newsletter
that is circulated throughout North America. |
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Jim Grant's Tech Tips
00
Ford Expedition AWD, Rear Brake Rotor Removal
Q:
The rear brake rotors are not coming off my ’00 Ford
Expedition AWD. Have you got some suggestions?
- Nick
A:
Doesn’t
it drive you nutz when a seemingly simple task turns into
an adventure of its own? The problem you’re having
is not uncommon and there are a couple of possible causes
for your brake rotors not coming off the rear of your vehicle.
One would be rust and the other could be rust. The first
rust problem is where the rotor meets the flange and hub
surface of the axle. The corrosion in this area can really
lock the rotor on. Using a wire brush to remove the corrosion
at the hub to rotor surface followed with penetrating oil
is pretty standard. After allowing the penetrating oil some
work time a hammer is called to use for encouragement. This
generally does the trick but I’ve seen some brake
rotors so rusted to the axle that the rotor had to be cut
away from the axle for removal. That covers the first and
most common rust problem. The second problem is where it
cannot be seen. The rear brake rotors on your vehicle, like
many others have a brake drum designed into them. This provides
the surface for the em-brake’s shoes to apply against.
This area of the brake rotor will develop a rust ridge that
will not allow the brake rotor to be removed past the em-brake
shoes. If the em-brake adjustor is not rusted you can back
off the adjustment to allow for clearance to get by the
em-brake shoes. But you may want to have a set of em-brake
shoes on hand, it seems more often than not the rust has
got into the bonding of the em-brake shoes and they will
need replacing as well. Gee, I guess, there was more than
just a couple of possible rust problems. That’s what
I like about living in the rust belt. Just goes to show
how a simple job can get to be a problem.
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