HELP - 03 GM can't get rear rotor off!!!

[Dale]

Hello,

My GM's rear rotors failed inspection today. I got new rotors and I am having a hell of a time getting them changed. I removed the brake caliper, the emergency brake is NOT on, and I can't get the rotor off. I removed the rotor clips, and everywhere that I have read...it says the rotor should come off. I have sprayed with PB blast, I have banged the hell out of it with a mallet, etc.

Any suggestions? When I bang on the old rotor...where should I be hitting it. on the sides?

frustrated in pa!!!! I am ready to take my sledge hammer to the car right now.

[1987cp]

Dang, I had no idea your state safety inspections extended to brakes as well! I could so not afford to own a car if I lived there. :(

Random thought, have you tried a three-jaw puller? I've had success with that on drum brakes that absolutely refused to come off despite any amount of PB Blaster, heat cycling with a torch, and whacking around the rim with various hammers.

[Dale]

Dang, I had no idea your state safety inspections extended to brakes as well! I could so not afford to own a car if I lived there. :(

Random thought, have you tried a three-jaw puller? I've had success with that on drum brakes that absolutely refused to come off despite any amount of PB Blaster, heat cycling with a torch, and whacking around the rim with various hammers.
Took it to a Tires Plus...they had to find something. Anyway, not sure what a 3 jaw puller is but I will try anything at this point. Thanks for the advice.

[1987cp]

Here's a representative 3-piece set from Harbor Freight, albeit too small for pulling brake rotors. I frequently rent stuff like this from my local AutoZone, as it's free. Their 10" model was what got me out of trouble before.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=8832

[p71towny]

The parking brakes can be a real bitch. Sometimes you just have to pound to get it off.

[Southern_Pride]

Maybe back off the adjuster on the parking brake. Instead of using a mallet use a real too. Rotors are junk anyway. 4 lb mini sledge works good.

[82LTDQS]

Im thinking parking brake.

[Dale]

Hello Again! Thanks to everyone who responded. After a about an hour on each rotor, I was able to get them off. I kept spraying with PB blast and hammered and hammered! There's the shield on the inside of the rotor so you only have a 2 inch space to hammer. I put the car in neutral and then could whack it, turn it a little, whack it again, etc. I probably made the job 10 times more difficult than it had to be...guess that's what happens when frustration sets in.

Happy top-notch mechanic in Harrisburg, PA.

[85crownHPP]

Ha, your proximity would have made the easiest solution to go see scottmang, a master guru who just happens to live near you... if you didnt know.

[gadget73]

PA state inspection does require a very comprehensive check of the vehicle, including measuring rotor thickness, ball joint play, and other stuff. Honestly its not a bad thing, for the $75 it costs you end up with a car you know is safe for yourself and other people on the road. Of course, there are places that will slap stickers on, but since there is a lot of potential coin to be made off inspection items, shops like to do them.

[Lincolnmania]

got it dale good!
sometimes you gotta use a bigger hammer

[1987cp]

PA state inspection does require a very comprehensive check of the vehicle, including measuring rotor thickness, ball joint play, and other stuff. Honestly its not a bad thing, for the $75 it costs you end up with a car you know is safe for yourself and other people on the road. Of course, there are places that will slap stickers on, but since there is a lot of potential coin to be made off inspection items, shops like to do them.


Dang ... you mean you have to PAY for the inspection so they can tell you your junk isn't up to snuff? I would have assumed that being required by the state, the testing would be done at state expense, just like emissions testing in NW Indiana.

[Lonnie]

Sadly no. In PA the customer pays for the state inspection and depending on which county they are in an emissions test as well. The shop I work in is in an emissions county and we charge about $47 for both.

As for the rear rotors the adjusters would be the first thing to back off, and the pivots for the parking brakes tend to rust solid in the rust belt so it would be worthwhile to free them up to.

[O's Fan Rich]

This is why you should be in the habit of using your parking brakes.


Helps keep things working and makes things a bit more secure!

[82LTDQS]

In FL, they dont care. No emissions or inspections. I wounder what they would say about my car if we did have inspections?????

[CheeseSteakJim]

I would've never even seen my truck if this state had safety inspections.

[1987cp]

In FL, they dont care. No emissions or inspections. I wounder what they would say about my car if we did have inspections?????

Hard to tell. I know my wagon would definitely not be being driven right now, and they'd probably find something major wrong with the P72 as well even if they didn't test for emissions. I guess like I've said before, what bugs me worst about state inspections of any sort is that they force older vehicles off the road when people can't afford to make the repairs and/or give people unnecessary incentive to go into excessive debt on a brand-new car.

[89merk]

Why did they eliminate inspections in FL? i remeber as a kid my parents taking their cars to get inspected and they only checked emissions not the detailed check PA does. thats crazy.

[Southern_Pride]

Not sure. I'm fairly certain my car would pass though. Unless they check for oil leaks.

[1987cp]

Why did they eliminate inspections in FL? i remeber as a kid my parents taking their cars to get inspected and they only checked emissions not the detailed check PA does. thats crazy.

That's the exact same thing I grew up with in Lake County, Indiana. I remember one summer it was incredibly hot and the line at the smog-check station was amazingly long, probably stretched around the block - and I had to sit in that line not only with my mom in her car, but also with her in a family friend's car that she took to get tested! That alone taught me that smog testing is evil. :D

In '96 my Quad-4 Cutlass Calais flunked emissions in the rev-to-2-grand-and-hold-it-there test and needed a new oxygen sensor or something (don't know what, wasn't allowed to work on it much), and in '97 the Colony Park passed the chassis dyno test just great on the first try. Then I left that corner of the state and haven't had to worry about emissions checks since.