Rotor

I usually enjoy brake jobs. I've been doing them for decades, there is little that is unexpected, and I have the right tools. Today--a very hot day, I might add--was different. It started well, but when I tried to remove the front driver's side rotor, it wouldn't budge. The shop manual says, "Two or three stout blows with a rubber hammer may be necessary." Ha! I started with the five-pound persuader, before graduating to the fifteen-pound sledge. It didn't help. Mechanics often call this "chemical welding," but it's just rust--and it is tenacious. I tried penetrating oil, light blows, heavy blows, levers--all in vain. It was 30 degrees out, and I was nearly beaten. Finally I called in the big gun: a cutting wheel.

When I had cut about one-third of the way around, I forced in a heavy pry bar. A large chunk of the rotor face came away, but it remained bonded to the hub. I cut more, and brought the cold chisel to bear.




It put up a magnificent resistance.

As you can see, I cut more than half the face from the rotor before it began to loosen up. It still took many strong blows to knock it off the wheel hub


Fortunately, although I did extensive cutting, I did not damage the hub at all. Also, it turned out to be much easier to cut than I had imagined.




It was a relief to get the new rotor and pads on--after all that violence, I felt the car was somehow tainted. But now all is well. Of course, I still have to do the passenger side. . . .

d