2007 Outlook rear rotors refuse to come off
 

Hi All,

My wife's 2007 Outlook needs the rear rotors replaced, however, they will not come off.

Backstory: This car has over 120,000 miles on it and has been treated like a rental car for most of it (until we got it). Worse than a rental car in some regards. All four corners have had the pads down to the metal a few times each from what I can gather. They were all badly chewed up.

I replaced the front rotors/pads etc. without issue. Well almost without issue; I lost a torx socket in the process because the dumb little screw was super-stuck on there. I can not get the rear rotors off.

I've tried pulling on them with my super muscles right after eating my spinach. I have Liquid-Wrenched the heck out of them about once a week for about two months (around the hub and studs). I've applied heat. I've pounded with a sledge hammer. I've applied heat while pounding with a sledge hammer. By "heat" I mean with a torch, hot enough that I've had the whole "hat" glowing softly in evening when the stars are coming out and I'm giving up AGAIN after another extended round. I've even tried torching it to a nice soft glow then pouring a few pitchers of ice water on it. That was spectacular, and also didn't work.

Oh yeah, I've also tried pulling with my big three-clawed puller almost as tight as I dare while the rotor was heated and while pounding on it. This puller was about three-times the size of puller I needed to pull the center carrier bearing off of my C30 crewcab's drive shaft.

I've kept all of the pounding on the drivers' side rear rotor. No telling if some pounding would get the passengers' side rotor off. My thought here is I just want to ruin one wheel bearing at a time during this ordeal.

Now I'm at the point where my last remaining idea is to cut the rotors off. Like yeah really with an angle grinder and a stack of cutoff wheels. I'm thinking cut in a circle outside of the radius of the studs (leaving only the top of the "hat"). Then I'd be able to get between there and the hub and either pry/pound/fight it off from there or cut more strategically between studs etc.

Needless to say, I don't want to do that if I can avoid it. Does anyone have any suggestions that would save me from this fate?

Are you hitting them hard in this area?
Areas are 0's

Also a tip, put the lug nuts a bout half way on there to protect the stud threads as you bang on it.

https://www.gmforum.com/attachment.p...1&d=1460574131

Yup, I've hit everywhere that isn't covered by the backing plate. Did one better on protecting the studs: short chunks of 3/4" pvc pipe about a half inch longer than the studs.A piece of tape over the rotor-end, then jam them on (with the stud piercing the tape) until they are about a half-inch from the rotor. They stay on nicely and don't deform much in the heat.

I just didn't want to take a chance of damaging studs or lug nuts (these are the chrome full-cap ones) and had some PVC pipe laying around.

You have probably already tried this, but when I have a difficult one to remove I alternate hitting it with a sledge from side to side, and hit it as far out from the center as possible to maximize leverage. In other words, hit it at 3:00 and at 9:00, and alternate between hits. Instead of pulling it straight off this will rock it back and forth until it comes loose.

The other option is to park it in downtown Detroit, and the rotors will be gone within 15 minutes.

LOL IDK if they'd take these rotors. Especially the drivers' rear one. I seem to take about a 16th of an inch off every time I pound it just in thr rusted outer-edge crud. Right now it's so bad the outer edgepad overhangs most of the rotor by about a 32nd. They are that bad.

Anyways yeah I tried going around in circles pounding inwards on the "sides" of the hat, I tried with two sledges at the same time left-sledge right-sledge left-sledge right-sledge with the left alternating around 8-10 o'clock and the right alternating around 2-4 o'clock.

. . . and inward/outward on the bottom of the rotor, rotating it about a quarter-turn every so often.

Appreciate the tip though.

I think you have the rotors that use an ebrake drum shoe on the inside of the rotor hub......if a grove has formed on the inside hub of the rotor, and the ebrake shoe is expanded, it is catching the lip of of the edge of the hub, preventing the rotor from coming off......

Yeah it is that kind with the little drum brake in the middle. It's (the rotor) not moving at all though, like it is welded onto the hub. Besides, if it was the ridge etc. I think I would have broken the emergency brake shoe and mechanism by now. :)

Try putting your 3 jaw puller on it, apply as much force as you can, spray it with parting oil, and just leave it sit with the puller in place and under pressure. Every couple of hours give the puller another turn, and spray on some fresh parting oil.

Never worked on an Outlook...but have tangled with Blazer's, that rust like a son of a gun, and have the same set up....a 5# hammer, with PB Blaster around the hub, always provided the appropriate persuasion....

That's a great idea! I'll try that next weekend when the snow clears.