Brake Disc Rotor Seized on Hub

[Bluesabre]

I was replacing my worn brake pads and also wanted to replace the front disc rotors at the same time. Pads (Hawk Performance) were no problem, the rotors on the other hand - big problem... I cannot get those puppys off! (P.S. I have 118k miles on this car.)

I've seen some posts on this topic, but wanted to learn how others have dealt with this problem.

What I've tried so far...
- Had both front wheels off and on jack stands, so I could rotate the discs
- Removed the calipers and torque plate. No extra holes in these rotors to help with removal.
- Used Liquid Wrench in the lug nut areas and around hub... overnight
- Next day, Used various hammers from the back...
-- started with a rubber mallet, went to ball peen hammer with wood block, then went to small sledge with wood block, rotating disc as I tried to "persuade" the rotor to come off.
Also tried some "persuasion" from the front of the disc, near the lug nuts. (Toyota suggested this.)
No luck. That rust must have welding those things on pretty tight.

Finally, a guy at my local Autozone suggested using a torch to heat up the rotor, near the hub/lug nut area and continue to use the (large) hammer from the back, rotating a quarter turn every so often. I tried that, but it still didn't pop off.

My question regarding the torch method, how long should I keep that propane torch on there? I tried about 20-30 seconds, then tried the hammer. Was that too short? I know rotors can take a lot of heat, but I was concerned about the hub bearings. Should I just try again, but keep the heat on longer? I'd really like to get my Brembo rotors on (which have the 2 extra holes to help when getting them off the hub someday.)

[mazdaverx7]

keep the torch on there until its about red hot. heat expands metal, thus relasing the rust. hit that fucker from the front with a small sledge. map gas works a bit better. it burns hotter. beat the piss out of it. take care and avoid hitting the studs. if you're replacing it, beat it like it nobody's business.

[Mike Gerber]

I too would be worried about the hub bearings.

If the new rotors have holes drilled and tapped for easy removal, I would put a bolt in the holes to find out what the thread size was. Next I would put the new rotor hub on backwards to the old rotor hub (you can probably just slip the new rotor on over the lug studs and hand tighten 2 lug nuts on temporarily) and mark the 2 hole areas with a sharpie. Then I would center punch those 2 areas and then drill and tap the 2 holes to the right size thread. Actually, the thread size doesn't really matter. You can probably drill and tap an SAE 5/16-18 thread there (that should be about the right size from memory) if you have those handy since you are probably going to throw the old rotors away. That's what i had to do with 2 new rotors the next door neighbor kid bought for his Mitshubishi Diamonte, when the new rotors didn't have the drilled and tapped holes. It might even be easier with the old rotors still on the car as they will be held in place better. Now get 2 corresponding bolts and thread them in to the holes you have drilled and tapped, to lever the rotors off the way it was intended. The whole procedure shouldn't take more than a half hour, if you have the right tools to do the drilling and tapping.

Good luck.

Mike