03 Vibe front rotors - Do I have to take the axle nut off???

[navaidstech1]

Hi guys....Last night I attempted to replace the front rotors on my 03 Vibe and got highly confused. I'm not sure if this is because of rust or what but it appears that the rotors on the car are different from the replacement ones.The replacement ones seems to be just "slip-on" types, while the ones on the car look like they're being held down by the axle nut. I tried cleaning the rust from the spot where the rotor sits on the axle hub but it appears to be one solid connection. Is this possible or is the rotor rusted onto the hub so badly that it appears like one piece?I resisted pounding the crap out of it to see if the rust comes off until I confirmed it with you guys.Any info would be greatly appreciated...Alex

[joatmon]

You do not have to take the axle nut off, the rotors are rusted on to the point where it looks like all one piece. Pound the crap out of it (obviously, not until you have the wheel and brake caliper removed)Here is the part you need to get off, anything else in the center needs to stay on the car

[navaidstech1]

Thanks joatmon.... that's exactly what my replacement rotors look like. Man... I got fooled by the rust, LOL.It's funny because moments earlier I replaced the rotors on my Saturn and the old ones were so tired and beat to hell that they came off by themselves almost. Thanks again for the info... I'll pound the hell out of them later today...

[navaidstech1]

All done!!! Took a lot of pounding but both came off! Thanks again for the help...

[Vibe4Me]

I went through the same thing about 3 weeks ago.

[Houdini1]

I just used this method on the frozen front rotors on my '03 GT:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...eddedI used 7/16 hardware, only 1 nut & a flat washer between the bolt & rotor.