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Rotor removal....stumped

trouttrooper

trouttrooper

Big Blocks ROCK!!!
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Caldwell, ID
OK, I'm having a blond moment with the '05 silver beast. Tire is off, e-brake is NOT set, caliper bracket etc is off. Can't seem to get the rotor to come off. Is it just rust or do I need to undo the e-brake cable to release some tension? I don't see any of those little metal tabs on the studs either.

My rear pads were unfortunately victims of a rust/binding scenario that I didn't catch in time. Worn down at a severe angle plus my rotors have "chunked" off in some spots. I don't believe it was due to the pads. Not sure what happened with the rotors as I actually got the dealership to replace them 2 years ago under warranty. I'm wondering if I didn't get a bad set or something. The originals were literally falling apart.

My front pads/rotors look great. Not sure why I'm having so many issues with the back.
 
Hammer

Hit with a dead blow plastic hammer. I had all the same problems as you have with the rotor clunking apart. I have never seen a rotor do that before or since. If that don't work back off the automatic brake adjustment wheel at the back of the dust sheild, remove the little rubber grommet at the bottom. It sounds like the E brakes have worn down so much to make a groove in the drum of the rotor and are holding on to it. And if thats the case you will need to replace the E brake pads also.
 
Its pretty common up here for the rear rotors to no want to come off, there is probably a rust ridge that prevents them from sliding, very similar to the way drum brakes are whent hey are very worn. Like the other psoter said, you will need a brake adjusting tool to back off the park brake pads. Trust me, you dont want to force the rotors over the park pads, they are VERY expensive.
 
ok, thanks. I kinda figured that was probably my problems, but just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious.
 
So I'm putting the new rotors and pads on the back axle. Something I've done quite a few times on a number of different vehicles. I had to literally hammer the old pads off the caliper bracket. Never had that happen before but I didn't think too much about it, chalking it up to rust/corrosion. I cleaned up the metal clips the pads slide on. Then go to put the new pads on......they won't fit unless I hammer them into place just like I had to hammer the old ones off. When I did some brake maintenance on the front axle last month they were nowhere near that tight. I ended up pulling out the Dremel and grinding down the ends of the pads a little bit so I could actually put them on without a hammer.

Why would they be so tight? I'm doubting I got the wrong pads, since the old ones were the originals and the same size. Are my caliper brackets too short by 1/32". Again it doesn't make sense. It does explain why the old pads were worn at such an extreme angle with all the binding they were doing.
 
I've had to do the same thing. The last ones I bought were a little big, but once I filed the paint off they fit fine. I dont think they take the added thickness of the paint into account.
 
With aftermarket pads on these trucks, you always have to grind the pads a little. This is according to my cousin who owns a gasser and has done many of these. Also there are two different rotors for the rear. One has a 4.6?" hole in the middle and the other has a 4.8?" hole in the middle.
I just did all my brakes, and all the rotors were stuck on.
 
Sparky8370 said:
With aftermarket pads on these trucks, you always have to grind the pads a little. This is according to my cousin who owns a gasser and has done many of these. Also there are two different rotors for the rear. One has a 4.6?" hole in the middle and the other has a 4.8?" hole in the middle.
I just did all my brakes, and all the rotors were stuck on.
Click to expand...


you are correct on the different sizes Jay, im not sure on the measurements are though. i ran into that issue when i changed out my rotors all around. had to bring the rears back twice to get the right ones. the only issue i had with the entire thing was getting the fronts off, warped beyond belief!!! i have Hawk pads all around, and didnt have issues when i put them on
 
I had to back of the e-brake to get over the ridge of the rotors. Be sure to readjust when you put it back together or you wont have a good working e-brake setup.

As for the pads fitting, I have had to grind any aftermarket pad for my truck or other GM vehicles. The pads need to move back and forth freely on the calipers. Any binding will result in improper wear.

I have not had any braking issues with my truck since I replaced the pads and had the rotors turned around 35-40k ago. Stops as good as it did when I replaced them back then.
 
I guess I've been lucky with all my other vehicles I've done brake jobs on. This is the first time I've ever had the pads not fit.

As it is. Had to back off the e-brakes all the way to get the old rotors off. Even then it took a fair amount of pounding with the hammer to break things loose.

New rotors and pads are on. Everything slides like they are suppose to. Can't get the damn bleeder screws off though. I think I'm just going to take it to Schwab and let them deal with it. Normally I don't worry about it but I had to unscrew the brake line to put the assembly on the bench vise in order to get the pads off. Those stupid torx bolts are too close to the spring packs to get my breaker bar on it. Why oh why do they use torx on the back axle and regular bolt heads on the front??????

Drove the truck a little tonight. I do notice a difference in stopping power. Much better now.
 
trouttrooper said:
I guess I've been lucky with all my other vehicles I've done brake jobs on. This is the first time I've ever had the pads not fit.

As it is. Had to back off the e-brakes all the way to get the old rotors off. Even then it took a fair amount of pounding with the hammer to break things loose.

New rotors and pads are on. Everything slides like they are suppose to. Can't get the damn bleeder screws off though. I think I'm just going to take it to Schwab and let them deal with it. Normally I don't worry about it but I had to unscrew the brake line to put the assembly on the bench vise in order to get the pads off. Those stupid torx bolts are too close to the spring packs to get my breaker bar on it. Why oh why do they use torx on the back axle and regular bolt heads on the front??????

Drove the truck a little tonight. I do notice a difference in stopping power. Much better now.
Click to expand...
Next time take off the two 18mm bolts that hold the caliper bracket on, then put the caliper on top of the spring bracket and you can use your torx bit on an impact and get them off pretty easily. That's what I did.
 
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