Front Roter removal question

[smorrismi]

Pretty rusted up front roters. Removed the calipers already. I've been hitting the roters pretty hard, then realized there might be something holding them on other then rust??? Do I need to take anything off the front to get the roters off the front of the car other then the calipers???

The reason I'm asking is because my "one" roter in the back came off no problem. With a few whacks it came loose. Not the same for the fronts???

 

[6880 Mike]

Uh...the fronts are held in place with the bearings, castellated nut, cotter pin, washer, etc. If the original rivets have already been drilled out, the only thing holding the rears will be the e-brake shoes. Are you using a shop manual?

 

[smorrismi]

Ah! Gotcha... I have an assembly manual, but it doesn't show an exploded view of what I needed to know. Going to this site for help has been a great "tool" within itself. Since I've never actually removed roters for any vehicle I wanted to be sure before I got too frustrated. Thanks for the quick response.

 

[LVMYVT76]

The rotors are riveted to the spindal, which can be taken off by removing the bearings. Then you can drill out the rivets to remove the rotors. Mark the rotors and spinals so they can be matched back up to each other. If replacing the rotors, or turning them, you should check the round out on them so you don't get air problems in your break fluid.

 

[6880 Mike]

Before you get too very involved, my advice would be to purchase a shop manual.

 

[GTR1999]

Since you are new to corvettes/car mechanics get the proper tools and books. I commend you for digging into the car it will be a rewarding but somewhat expensive trip.

The 65-82 vette brake system is a good one but one that had had a bad rap for years as a result of improper repair work.

As mentioned above, the rotors were riveted to the spindles and hubs during assembly. Then they were turned and the rotor surface was perpendicular to the centerline of the axles. This was required with the use of the 4 psiton calipers used on these cars. Any rotor runout over .005 and you're going to have brake issues. Any bearing endplay over .003 and you will also have issues.

I set the bearing endplay to .002 when rebuilding and the runout to under .003"

So if you are replacing rotors you have to be sure about the runout. If the rivets are already gone then you know someone was in there already, not uncommon to find.
If they are still riveted on then mic them up to see if they are still good to use. If so and there is no uneven wear then you may only need to deglaze them with a 100 grit pad on a D/A or flat board.

 

[smorrismi]

Thanks for the information. I just ordered a shop manual also. Luckily my brother-in-law is really handy with working on older cars.... he's currently restoring an Impala station wagon and he's a lot more "informed" on these things then I am.

The rotors are still riveted to the hub... would you suggest that I just take them and have them turned and cleaned up professionally? I'll be sure to find out what your talking about with the bearing endplay and runout. The brakes are not something I want to take a chance with doing wrong.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

The rotors are still riveted to the hub... would you suggest that I just take them and have them turned and cleaned up professionally?

NO- unless the shop can turn them while still attached to the hub AND the rotors really need it..

As a general note, rotors on C2-C3 Corvettes very rarely need to be turned. This is a classic case of fixing something that's not broken. Many garages do it as routine work, bad news for Corvettes.

 

[6880 Mike]

...The rotors are still riveted to the hub...

If the original rivets are there, the rotors have never been off the car. IF you remove them, index them first for run out purposes when you reinstall them. I agree with Vettehead Mikey -- no need for all this if the run out is within specs.

 

[GTR1999]

Mic the rotors, should be between 1.250- 1.215 When they get to 1.220 I toss them. If they are in spec, check the runout and again clean up with a 100 grit. You don't want to dig into them, just surface clean. wipe down with brake cleaner.