brake rotors

[Bluhaven]

need help with brake rotors

I'm going to be helping a friend put new rotors and pads on his 97 4x4 dodge ctd this weekend and was wondering if there is anything special I should know about before we start. Any help would sure be nice, thanks in advance.

 

[illflem]

Many times the unit bearing will be rusted to the axle and very difficult to remove. It may require a puller and even oxy/acetylene persuasion. Take care not to pull the axle out of the differential when removing the rotor, it can cause the seal to leak. Avoid this by leaving a couple of the four bolts behind the rotor loosely attached while freeing the unit bearing. Anti-seize on the axle shaft upon reassembly will prevent this next time. Otherwise the instructions in the service manual tell it all.

 

[dan_gilson]

You did not say whether truck being replaced was a 2x or 4x. On a 2x you should pick up inner seals. Also plan on repacking the bearing. You can do this by hand (if you have some patience) otherwise invest in a bearing packer that you can put into a vise or stand on.



Inspect bearings and races when you pull hubs apart to replace the rotors. If there is any wear you probably should replace both bearings and races together.



Make sure that you have some brake cleaner on hand. So that when you get everything back together you can give the rotors a good cleaning. Otherwise you will cause yourself some brake problems.



Make sure that you know the correct pre-tension on the bearing nut. I overtightened one a long time ago. It caused a lot of heat in the hub which allowed me to catch it before it destroyed itself.

 

[Bluhaven]

How does the rotor come off the hub. Got the hub pulled but does the rotor come off the hub.

 

[dan_gilson]

I just just checked with the manual and for 8 stud hubs it does seem to have a separate hub and rotor. The manual say that if it does not come off you need to use a Puller C-844. You can probably use just about any 4 post puller that will properly mount. There are 4 stud that go through the hub and the other 4 stud do not. My guess is that you want to mount to studs that do not go through the hub. I have not done this one on a RAM. Maybe some one else out there has and they can shed more light.



For 5 stud hubs it appears that it is an integrated hub and rotor.



I did not know this before. Thanks for making me check. I always thought I had an integrated hub when I do not. That will make it cheaper when I need to replace the rotors.

 

[Steve Campbell]

Don't forget to...

Lube up all of the caliper/knuckle/slide pins with the appropriate lube. The knuckle and slide pins should have Syl-glige (I like the stuff in the squeeze tube) and the caliper dust boot should be pulled back and some brake cyl assemly lube added to the piston.



All of the above will help with "pull free" operation and fend of the next rotor change for a while.