04 Front brakes shenanigans

[captainofiron]

So the wife and I are going on Vacation and she doesnt want to rent a car like we normally do and she wants to take her Vibe.I figured I might as well do a little maintenance on it, I changed the oil, no problem, changed the spark plugs, no problem.BUT THEN....The wheel had been shaking severely when I would hit the brakes lightly, meaning the brakes were warped (I think warped might not be sufficiently describing this, I think bent might be right, haha)I got the rotors and pads from Autozone, they looked like floating rotors, so I figured I would be done within an hour or so.NOT SO...The car is automatic, so I put it in park and lifted the front thinking that the tires wouldnt spin, they did, so I took it off the stands and lowered it until the tires touched, and loosened the driver side which was tight, but not insane (maybe 100lb-ft), BUT THEN the passenger side was on there. I ended up standing on my longest 1/2 drive rachet and jumping up and down on it, finally it came loose, then I read the manual seeing 76lb-ft torque on the wheels. No wonder the rotors are warped some idiot at a tire shop with an impact wrench went to town on the wheels.I finally got everything off, and man its almost like the rotors are welded on. I took my wire brush for welding and went at the center hub, nothing, I sprayed silicone inside the back of the rotor and around the center lip, nothing. I have hit this rotor with my hammer as hard as I could possibly hit it. NOTHINGI took off the hub nut thinking maybe it wasnt a floating rotor, but after reading here I put it back on.Im thinking of going and getting penetrating oil and a propane torch and making the rotor expand and contract, and of course getting a bigger hammer.This is probably the worst brake job has ever gone for me.

[ehoff121]

Wow, that sucks.Every time I read about stuck rotors, freeing them usually involves extreme violence with a hammer.Hope it comes unstuck, but in the meantime, here's a link to Sublimewind's excellent front brake tutorial: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=30457

[silverbullet]

Try a big gear puller. I recently got a set from harbor freight, or you can usually rent them for free at autozone, or any other similar auto chain. I have not had to do this yet but I can't imagine why it would not work. Of course im sure you have thought of this but if you do not have one try to get your hands on a torque wrench. I got mine for thirty or forty bucks I think, or rental is an option of course.

[captainofiron]

Yea I am going to have to get a BFH today after work, we area leaving tomorrow, so it has to be done tonight.Im gonna take a torch to it and then use penetrating oil, that should do the trick.Afterwards im going to coat the hub surface with Antiseize, im sure that will prevent this from happening in the future

[captainofiron]

its going to have to be a BIG gear puller, if it comes to that Autozone rents them out.yea I got some torque wrenches lb-in and lb-ft, gotta do it right!

[captainofiron]

I got them off finally at midnight the day before we were leaving.I let them soak in PB blaster and would reapply every 30 minutesI went at them with a 4lb deadblow hammer and finally they came offI need to take a picture of the old rotorsI beat the crap out of them literally they are super warped now and have tons of gouges and hammer marks.BUT I finally got them off and got the new ones on. it brakes so smooth, I cant imagine how bad the old ones were with the lugs that tight

[vibedrivermatt]

nice. yea somtimes doing DIY is the most satisfying.

[captainofiron]

i made sure to put lots of anti seize between the rotor and hub.also the aftermarket rotors had a much larger clearance than the OEM ones did.I bet money that the engineers saved some money by making the tolerance looser, but we paid for it in the end

[kramer]

i could be mistaken but i thought the vibe had two threaded holes to put bolts in and wrench it like a puller ??????? force the bolt in inturn forces out the roter ....... its been a while sence i pulled the brakes on a vibe this is pic from vibdrivermatt i thout they had it here for future referance

Attached files

[captainofiron]

the rotors on ours had no such holes, the new aftermarket one does have holes though.Maybe it was a later development/design iteration as this problem arose.

[vibedrivermatt]

OH wow! I had thought those holes for the rotor would be on all vibes regardless of model year. I remember some cars from the 90's even had those holes for the removing the rotor. Kinda thought it was a standard thing but this is not so.

[captainofiron]

it would have definitely made things a LOT smoother, haha

[captainofiron]

Here is the damage from the "Battle" I had with the rotors

[lovemyraffe]

I had a similar experience while trying to replace the rotors on my Vibe. Hit the hell out of it with a rubber mallet until they came loose.

[Salsa Guy]

I used a couple of bolts and nuts were the Caliper is mounted. Put the Bolt through the hole then threaded the nut on tighten the bolt and a wrench on the nut and the bolt pushes on the back of the rotor. Do that with both holes and maybe a wack with a rubber hammer and off they come. There's a you tube video on it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtsTJCRljAs

[captainofiron]

interesting idea with the bolts, but I would be afraid of ruining the caliper mounting ears.

[frogette]

I'm having this issue with my 09 Vibe. It looks like it is all one part. I cannot find a seam between the rotor and the hub at all. If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.