JohnWJ

Hi, ladies and germs! Nice forum!

I have a 2002 WJ with about 250k on it. I have no idea if the front rotors have ever been replaced. I"m trying to replace the pads, rotors, wheel hubs, and CV axles.

I cannot get that thing off! I have the calipers off, and I've been beating on it with a big engineer's hammer, and with an air hammer. It just won't move. I've removed other rotors and there's been nothing like this.

I tried removing the three hub bolts front the rear, hoping maybe it would come loose and I could remove them together. No go. They came out okay with an impact, but that thing is still not budging.

My questions are:

1. Did I miss some fasteners or do I just need to keep beating?
2. Since I'm replacing the hub anyway, can I use an angle grinder and cut the stupid thing off? Or would I be shooting myself in the foot?
3. What are your thoughts on using some dynamite?

TIA!


I will be using some anti-seize when it goes back together!



FOLLOW UP FOR FUTURE READERS: No missed fasteners. Just needed a bigger hammer.

Same with the hub once the three bolts were removed. I used a hammer driving it clockwise, then counter clockwise until I saw a tiny bit of movement. Then I used the air hammer to drive it back and forth, and kept adding penetrating oil. Twisting it like that broke the rust loose enough that I was finally able to get it out.

TheNoticer

I would say keep hitting it from different spots and different angles. It should come right off just like the tire.

JohnWJ

Thanks. I'll post this for future readers:

After watching a couple of YouTube videos, I got a bigger hammer. An 8 pounder. That did it with three hard hits. The passenger side took only one with that thing. I had been afraid to go that big, but really, the only thing that could be hurt would be the bearing hub assembly, and I was replacing that anyway.

The bearing assemblies turned out to be a similar nightmare. For those I used the smaller hammer (2 or 3 pounds) and an air hammer to rotate it back and forth (clockwise and counterclockwise) until it finally broke loose. After whacking it hard with the hammer a few times and not seeing ANY movement, I scribed a line across the edge of the hub and the knuckle assembly to serve as a reference point. After about 10 minutes of work I could see I had barely moved it. But, movement is movement, so I kept at it. Between the hammer and the air hammer I got it going one way and then the other, a bit more each time. Lots of PB Blaster, too.

I'm pretty sure they were the originals. The new ones got some anti-seize!