2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Front Disc in 2 pieces

[starring]

Tonight on my way home from work someone deicded it would be a good idea to ride there bike in front of my truck and stop. During the stopping the front disc decided to break in two. How hard is it to get these off, do they just pull off, or do you have to pull the hub off? This is on the 95

 

[DPyles]

STARRING

Brother I just came in from the Garage and guess what I was doing. yup putting in new axle joints and new rotors on mt 95 turbo diesel.

To get the u-joints in the front axle you must remove the entire wheel and hub assembly. So I figured it was a good time to replace those bumpy rotors. The rotor on the drivers side was headed for two pieces like yours... . major heat cracks.

Any way it took me all day and I consider myself a pretty good mechanic. Ujoints were a big hassel... ... ... . rusty.



If you noticed there is a huge castle nut in the center of the front wheel and it has a cotter pin through it. The size of the nut is 1-11/16 Before you jack up the truck It would be a good idea to break this nut loose while the tire is still on the ground. needs a lot to break loose.



Next loosen the lug nuts



raise truck and place on stands don't just leave it on the jack. can get you hurt.



remove the wheel and tire and you can see the the caliper and rotor. to remove the caliper there are two Allen head bolts on the back side of it. can't remember the size and i ain't going back ouside tonight. When you get it loose turn the caliper 180 deg. and stick it in between the two parallel arms that locate the front axel. not a good idea to let it hang on the rubber brake line.



Now remove the big 1-11/16 nut from tthe center of the hub.



now there are four 14mm (12 piont socket) bolts that hold the entire hub assembly to the large bracket that the ball joints are attached to. I guess maybe you could call it the steering knuckle. these bolts come through the back and you really have to look for them. remove them and the hub and rotor assem. should pull off, be careful as it is heavy.



Here is where it gets ugly... . When you purchase your new rotor you will see that it does not have the hub assem. attached. You must drive the lug bolts out of the old hub/rotor. I tried using a 2X4 to protect the lig bolts from the hammer blows but that only busted up a good board. If you look at the end of the studs you will notice that there is no threads about 1/4 in. or so from the end of them. Place the rotor on the floor and using a 3lb. sledge, making your aim straight and true, you can pop them out with usually one smack. some take two. If you mess up the end of the bolt I used a bench grinder to fix it, worked well. Now place your hub in the new rotor and drive the lug bolts back through to assemble it like the old one. A trick I found works good is to lay the old rotor on the floor holes up and turn the new assem. upside down on top of it and line up the holes in all three pieces this will allow you to drive the studs in without hitting the floor. I was unable to drive mine in all the way but you can pull them the rest of the way in with a long lug wrench when you put the wheel/tire back on.



Put it all back together and you are done. Make sure you clean that oily crud off the new rotors that they put on for shipping them.



Also it is a good idea to drive it a short distance and get out and retighten the lugs and really lean on them to make sure you have pulled the studs all the way back in. I will do this for the next couple of days to make sure they are seated good.

Hope this helps out.

not the easiest job but not the worst I've done either.

 

[starring]

Well I have replaced not only the rotors, but the upper and lower ball joints, and u joints in the drive shafts. It only took about 9 hours with a hoist, lots of hammers, more air than I know what to do with and a 200 ton press but it is back together again. The rest of the repairs were made because all of the parts were marginal and I would never be closer.

 

[LHallmark]

dpyles: Nice explanation of the process. I just went thru all that a month ago... ... Here is a suggestion for everyone without a press... ... ... . When seperating the rotor from the hub, use the lug nuts... . Screw the nuts on to the studs until the end of the stud is flush with the end of the nut... ... . Then one smart hammer whack will drive the studs loose without damaging the studs or the nuts... ...

The reminder to double check the lug nuts after driving the completed job

CANNOT be over stressed. If the studs are not fully seated then the rotor can wobble causing brake fade and ruining of the hub. That happened to a friend with a '94 a couple years ago when a "Commercial Brake Shop" did his brakes. Had to replace the hub assy as well as the pads and rotor on his.