Brake rotors and pads 1-9 | 10-18 | 19-27 | 28-33
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This should hold it. I've wedged another wrench into the frame, and braced the opposite end against the floor. |
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After some hard twisting, the hub finally popped loose. Then, leaving the puller bolted in place, I just worked the hub off the splines that hold it to the axle. I can't see how I would have gotten the hub off without the special puller -- it was REALLY hard to remove. (I've read that an old mechanics' trick for removing the hub without a puller was to remove the hub nut, then put the wheels back on, let the car down, and drive in figure-8s a few times to break loose the splines. Sounds a little dodgy to me -- glad I invested in the puller!) |
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With the hub off the car, we can get a look at the back side of the hub/rotor assembly. The rotor attaches to the hub with these five bolts. Surprisingly (and it was a nice surprise) these bolts were NOT rusted into place -- they came off fairly easily. |
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A quick bump with a mallet and the center section comes out of the rotor. |
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The hub's center section looks pretty grungy. I wonder if it will clean up...? |
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A few minutes' work with a cup-type wire wheel on an angle grinder gets off most of the rust and scale. |
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After a wipe-down with brake cleaner, the hub (bottom) is ready for paint. I've had good results with Rust-oleum hammer-finish paint for this type of job. Above it is another one that Martha baked for us earlier... |
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Here's the new rotor. Look, famous name brand! |
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After going to all this trouble, I decided I might as well go for new bolts. Fortunately, they're a standard hardware-store size. The originals were SAE Grade 5, but I went for Grade 8. |