Brake job

[pinang]

I have a 1992 Taurus gl with the 3.8. I must say its a pretty peppy car for its year and size. Dpfe kept melting, but replacing the converters and O2 sensors stopped that.
After awhile of hearing a grinding noise coming from my front passenger side brakes I decided its time for a brake job. I took off the wheel and tried to take off the caliper but it wouldnt come off. Are those 2 hex bolts on the rear of the rotor holding it onto the knuckles? Why would they be so difficult to remove (they are a size 40 aren't they)? Just wondering so I only buy the tools needed to do the job. If not, how the heck do you get the calipers off so I can remove the old pads and get the rotor turned?

[vicv]

Size 40? Maybe size 10 for the caliper retaining bolts. You may be trying to remove the wrong thing. My 97 has 2 bolts (M10?) at each end of the caliper (back side). Remove them and the caliper can be lifted/pried off. Make sure you clean and put never-seize on them before you reinstall them so it's easier next time you do the brakes.

[shorod]

Originally Posted by pinang

I have a 1992 Taurus gl with the 3.8. I must say its a pretty peppy car for its year and size. Dpfe kept melting, but replacing the converters and O2 sensors stopped that.
After awhile of hearing a grinding noise coming from my front passenger side brakes I decided its time for a brake job. I took off the wheel and tried to take off the caliper but it wouldnt come off. Are those 2 hex bolts on the rear of the rotor holding it onto the knuckles? Why would they be so difficult to remove (they are a size 40 aren't they)? Just wondering so I only buy the tools needed to do the job. If not, how the heck do you get the calipers off so I can remove the old pads and get the rotor turned?

It sounds like your brake rotors are seized to the hubs. Get some Blaster PB and spray it around the hub and the wheel studs. Let it soak a while, agitating randomly or periodically (your choice) with a dead blow hammer to help it wick into the rust (capillary action). You may need to reapply once or twice, just don't use too much as you will have to be sure to clean up any residue on the braking surface. You may also need to rap on the rotor had between the wheel studs and possibly on the edge of the rotor. If you decide you need to hit the edge of the rotor, I would suggest using dead blow hammer for this.

Some aftermarket rotors and newer cars have two threaded holes in the rotor hat where you can install bolt and tighten them in an alternating pattern which will pull the rotor off. If you see a couple of small (1/4 inch-ish -- I believe they are usually metric) in the rotor, you may want to get some bolts to fit in them and go this route.

Good luck!
-Rod