Rear Discs Stuck To Hubs

[vvv]

I am trying to remove the rear discs on my 2001 Grand Voyager. Another driver in our household kept forgetting that the Voyager doesn't have an electric parking brake and it has been driven with the brakes on frequently and now needs new brake shoes. I have got all new parts to go back on, discs, pads, shoes, springs, slides, adjusters, pistons, seals...

 

I have removed both calipers for rebuilding but I can't get the discs off the hubs. The clips on the studs must have been discarded when a previous owner had the brakes done.

 

The discs rotate freely by hand. They probably have very little lining left on the shoes inside and I have pushed the cable levers rearward to create some more slack for which there is quite a bit of travel on the levers.

 

I have tried to wind in the adjusters but I can't see them or tell if they are actually rotating when pushed upwards with a screwdriver.

 

The disks are stuck solid. I have tried penetrating oil, hammering and heat from a blow torch which is something that I don't like doing near bearings but I'm getting desperate now. I am going to hire a three leg puller with an eleven inch span tomorrow but other than trying that I don't know what else to try that is non-destructive.

 

I have thought about cutting five radial slots, one from each of one side of a stud deep into the hat but not through it but all the way through the disc surface. With five segments clearly cut, driving a cold chisel wedge between them may fracture the disc enough to get a chisel between the hub face and the rotor hat to separate them.

 

[vvv]

Solved with perseverance.

 

It needed lots more blind poking with the screwdriver on the adjuster. I tried ten squeaky clicks at a time followed by outward pulling on the top of the disc while gently hammering the side of the hat near a stud and rotating and repeating on the next stud. Then repeating with more adjuster twiddling.

 

I have removed the disc rotors from both sides ready for shoe removal tomorrow.

[bignev]

Good one! Did the handbrake shoes go on and work alright - seems to be another point of trouble that does on these. My first one included.

[vvv]

I had to unseize the brake shoe lever on the left side. As a loosely mounted component in the backplate it presented a challenge. After thinking for a bit I used a pair of vice grips to clamp the thinner end of the shoe side lever to the cast bridge between the shoes. Then I drenched the joint in PlusGas and went to work with a hammer and flat punch on the lever poking out the back of the backplate. A few taps from the left then a few from the right and the lever hinge started moving. Eventually it moved freely by hand and I lubricated both levers with green brake grease hopefully to stop them rusting up again.

 

I did the handbrake shoes today without removing the hubs. I made a special tool from an old 8" long posidriv screwdriver to fit the springs. I cut the pointed tip off the screwdriver and then made a wide saw cut through the recesses in the end to create a four small prongs that are used to push the spring hooks into position. I also used an adjustable pipe grip wrench as a spreader to enable me to fit the adjuster. It was a bit fiddly for the first side developing a technique but the second went back together in a couple of minutes.

 

The new disks are on now. Tomorrow I will make a start on unseizing the right hand brake caliper. I should have used the brake system to pop the pistons before I removed the calipers. Now I will have to reconnect the hoses and hope that I can force the stuck piston out without bleeding the system if I can get away with it. I am going to change the brake fluid anyway so I've got enough new fluid if I have to bleed it. I also have new pistons and seals for both calipers. Hopefully the Voyager will be useable again by the weekend.

[bignev]

Well persevered there, a good result as you know they are as good as they can be, which is sadly not all that good usually!!