Taximan1

My rotor hats are looking a bit beat. A few are rusted. So I figured I'd take them off, mask and give them a nice new coat of hi-temp paint... No can do... These things are WELDED on... Any ideas... With the exception of beating them off with a sledge hammer ???

jangy

Not sure what you mean but the OEM rotors are 1 piece. There is no separate hat.

Are you having issues taking the rotor off? Or getting the hat off?If the rotor, then take the calipers off and remove the rotors.
If trying to separate the rotor, don't

shardul

iTrader: (1)

take a hammer and hit them on the hub, the metal is fused to the hub, hitting it will make it losse so you can get them off.

bassn_07

Smacking it with a hammer is what my tech did to break the rotors loose. I can't remember exactly where he tapped the rotors at but after a few smacks the rotors came right off.

Taximan1

Ok, so the center hub bolt needs to be removed???

Yes, I realize they are 1 piece and the hat is not seperate. I took the caliper off, and tried of an hour to break it loose. Would not budge.. But I did NOT take the center Hub bolt/ and cap off... Do I need to? There was a single torx bolt in the rotor.. I did remove that. But it does not appear to be holding the rotor on the hub..

I mean, Ive done brakes many times. Often the rotors the pretty well stuck on, due to heat. But these things aint coming off..

Was considering spraying them down with WD-40, and let sit overnight.. But I can't have the car off the road for 2 days. And have yet to find a "safe" way to lift all 4 wheels up on jackstands. So, I'm doing 1 wheel/rotor at a time..

At this point, I gave up and put the car back together. Its not worth that much hassle..

Taximan1

was thinking about doing this. And would have, if I was replacing the rotors. But I need to get these off and back with no damage.. And I don't see how its possible,

jangy

I didn't have to jar mine loose at all. Have you removed the one bolt that hold the rotor onto the hub? I NEVER took the hub not off.

Taximan1

Yes, I did remove the 1 torx bolt to be sure. But it doesnt seem like it "holds" anything together. So, Im not sure you have to..

honestly, I just think they are heat welded on there.. The car is all original, so these have never been off before..

The MB guys REALLY toque down on this stuff.. Had to use a BIG leverage bar, just to break the 2 caliper bolts loose..

shardul

iTrader: (1)

that is why i said hit it on the hub portion of the rotor not the breaking surface.

Taximan1

Ok, thanks... I'll give that a shot, along with some WD-40 I guess.

Taximan1

I just googled this, and found a nice trick. The bad news for me is, this won't work. Because I need to re-use my rotors. "The bolt trick"

Once you remove the caliper. You have 2 nice bolt holes to work with. Take about 4in. bolt through the hole and NUT on the opposite side through the hole, and tighten both.. The bolt will push against the rotor and pop it right off. Many people on another forum claim this work in about 30 seconds, after spending hours with sledgehammers. When you hammer them, the energy does not go the right point.

The bad news is, Im sure this will leave a nasty gouge in your rotor.

mkonei

i always used a dead blow mallet where the wheel sits against the rotor, and it usually pops right off..

komp55

Agree on beating them with a mallet. Metal if they're being replaced; rubber if you're putting them back on. Once you've remove the small allen head bolts that secure the rotor to the hub, the only thing holding the rotor on is rust and crud. You will find that if you whack the rotor at its outer edges, rotating it about 30 degrees after each whack, it will come off. It's harder to do with a rubber mallet simply because the mallet head doesn't have the same mass as a small sledgehammer type mallet.

Green E-300 DT

When I had my W-210 Diesel, the local backyard type Chinese mechanic
at the local gas station knew just how to get 'em off.

He tried with a heavy sledge, but they were rusted on and probably had never been off the car.
The E-300 DT was six years old at that time.

He hit the rotors with good old WD-40 between the axel hub and
the rotors and told me to come back in a couple of days.
I did and he only had to tap each one a couple of times, and they fell right off!

Mr. "T" is one talented mechanic don't you know? I don't think there is anything he can't fix.

gonzjed

Taximan...spray wd-40 around the small hex nut holding the rotor on and hub to rotor area. Let soak for a few minutes. Remove the small hex nut. NO NEED TO TAKE THE HUB NUT OFF. Smack the end of the rotor face with a RUBBER mallet. The rotor will loosen and maybe fall right off.

The caliper should already be removed...right.?

Taximan1

Thanks for all the help guys, I appreciate it....

Ever have a job in your mind that you think will take a few hours, thats ends up taking the ENTIRE weekend?? This was that job...

First, the front rotors were welded on... After some WD40 and hit with a hammer. They DID pop off...

Now, the next nightmare was the rear caliper bolts... You guys ever seen these?? They must have been toqued to about 400ft/lbs. To top it off, they are those goofy star bolts. So, I had to buy a socket special for them.. After HOURS of pry barring these, they did finally come off.. 2 are totally stripped and destroyed. So, a trip to MB parts counter will be needed, to put the car back together. Not exactly digging the home depot bolts, in a crucial spot like this, or believe me I would have finished it today. Thank god they came off.. I thought I was screwed.. I was using 1/2 drive and a 3 foot pry bar, and they still would not budge at first.

Then, I had to sand and prep them. Which took forever...

But, they end result is HUGE.. The car looks fresh again... Noting like drving a nice car, with rusted rotors... Maybe its just me. But something had to be done.. 1 weekend, down the tubes.. Oh well, Hopefully they will last.. I stripped ALL the factory gray off, and prepped them very well. So, Hopefully they will last. I used hi-temp, chemical resistant VHT caliper/rotor paint. Supposed to the best you can buy.. Like $10 a can.. Thanks again

squidj

It was worth the time and agony. congrats

Dogshine

must be from the roads where you live. for those of us in the sunny lands, it isn't this difficult.

CA_E55

BTW - for those who use the sledge hammer approach to get the disks off, be ready for a follow up wheel-bearing replacement job in the not too distant future. Nothing is more destructive to a roller/ball bearing assembly than a static overload, i.e. the ol' hammer treatment (bell bearings can withstand 3 times the dyamic load vs. static load)

Taximan1

Exactly.... This is why I wanted to avoid this.. I admit, I did tap the passenger side front a few good times with a sledge.. But I dont think I damaged it. I only hit it about 2-3 times. And I did not pound on it.

The bolt method is much prefered for the reasons stated above

soundeffects

I just used the bolt trick on the front rotors to get mine off in 30 seconds after spending 30 minutes yesterday hitting them with a big hammer.

Now the rear caliper bolt do not want to come off. I don't get it...I have the rear rotors jacked up just off the ground so not a whole lot of room to get a breaker bar in there, I may need to jack the rear up more but my other option is to remove one control arm and use an impact gun at 100psi. Any other suggestions?

jangy

Lift it higher to get a bar in there. It is a tough one with just a jack.

stevebez

Yes you do it holds the rotor onto the wheel hub. More of a locator but I doubt you will get the rotor off with that bolt still on.

Green E-300 DT

When he couldn't get the rear rotors to break loose, he hit the rotors where the axle flange
and the rotor make contact with good ol' WD-40 and had me return the following day.

It only took him a couple of taps with his handy eight pound sledge, and they both popped right off.
In other words, they were in rusted together, and this car is an original California car!

soundeffects

Are you hitting them on the brake FACE or the rotor hub to brake it loose? I finally got the caliper bolts off with a huge *** jack handle over 3ft long after my 580ftlb impact gun laughed at me.

I can't use the bolt method on the rear as the dust shield is there.. I need help!