Rear rotor stuck on

'96 CE LT1 w103k. 1st ever brake RR. New ceramic pads and drilled and slotted rotors(they look nice). I'm working one side at a time. DR side front came off very nicely. Rear more hassle due to parking brake hardware in the way. But I worked around it and left parking brake intact. Rotor is frozen tight. I tied hitting around the hat with no give. Should I try heating, although I don't have a torch. Also my Haynes manual (free from the local libary) says to replace all the self-locking bolts and the retainer pin and clip. None of the forums suggest this. I'm thinking about draining and replacing the brake fluid.

[c4c5specialist]

HI there,
Normally, shooting the stud/hub area with rust penetrant usually will loosen it up enough while tapping around the hub with a small hammer.
As for the fasteners, just make sure you torque them correctly and use 242 Loctite.
Factory brake pads come with new bolts for the calipers to bridge locations.
Allthebest, c4c5

[ToolGuy]

We make a slide hammer claw just for this reason. It is a hook that inserts into the vent on the rotor if a rotor is vented. Pull away with a slide hammer and they usually come off. Non-vented rotors could possibly use it too I suppose.

If you have access to a large slide hammer I can let you borrow my claw and ship it tomorrow next day.

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ToolGuy thanks for the offer. Motor City helping Buick City. I grew-up in Flint then 10 years in Lansing.
Thank you everybody for all the help. Part of the problem was that it was 2:00am.
I sprayed some lube in all the right places(all I had on hand). 5 hours sleep, a block of wood and a hammer and I'm good. Started putting it all back together only to see that I only got 2 bias spring clips w/front pads. Bought everything on E-bay, so we'll see how they do getting me the clips. Haynes manual recomends new retainer pins and c-clips. None of the fourm members suggested this but I found a pair at Auto Zone for $8.00. Nobody has the bias springs, not even the stealer. I'm seriously thinking about flushing and filling the brake system. Any input?

[froggy47]

Originally Posted by '96 Collector's

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ToolGuy thanks for the offer. Motor City helping Buick City. I grew-up in Flint then 10 years in Lansing.
Thank you everybody for all the help. Part of the problem was that it was 2:00am.
I sprayed some lube in all the right places(all I had on hand). 5 hours sleep, a block of wood and a hammer and I'm good. Started putting it all back together only to see that I only got 2 bias spring clips w/front pads. Bought everything on E-bay, so we'll see how they do getting me the clips. Haynes manual recomends new retainer pins and c-clips. None of the fourm members suggested this but I found a pair at Auto Zone for $8.00. Nobody has the bias springs, not even the stealer. I'm seriously thinking about flushing and filling the brake system. Any input?

Did brakes on my 96 several times. I would get dealer pads that included the clips & next time maybe Carbotech or Hawk & reuse the clips. Never got any new pins or new bolts from anyone selling pads. I would visually & with fingers check for fit/wear & if ok reuse.

Make triple sure the c clip is in the groove all the way! I always smeared some anti squeal stuff (I think it's pink loctite - but not the thread locker stuff) on the backs of the pads. Lube up the sliding places with high temp lube.

An old trick to loosen rotors is to loosen the lug nuts just like finger tight & drive around the block. It breaks the corrosion that binds the rotor to the hub. Don't drive too far. Throw out the speed nuts that are only used at the factory during initial assembly, not needed subsequent. Plus do all that c4c5 says.

You mention drilled & slotted rotors. If you track or autox the car check often for cracks that can develop where the rotors are drilled or better than that, swap them out for blank rotors which hold up better to hard use.

Be safe/use jack stands if you are not on a lift.

:)

[ToolGuy]

Originally Posted by '96 Collector's

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ToolGuy thanks for the offer. Motor City helping Buick City. I grew-up in Flint then 10 years in Lansing.

No way! I did not know you were in Mich too! I live in Rochester, work in Warren... Could have drove it out to you, my slide hammer too! I am not originally from the state, so I never saw Buick city though but heard a lot about it. Nice to meet you!

At any rate, glad you got that bugger off!

Thank you. I put some pic's on my gallery.

Michigan was 2 states and almost 10 years ago. I was in Billings, MT. for 6 years and now I'm 30 miles north of Atlanta almost 4 years.

Back to brakes. Every couple of steps it's something new. I got some new retainer pins and I noticed that they're a little different than the old ones. The old one only has a slot for the c-clip, while the new one has that slot, plus another slot about a 1/4 of an inch before the c-clip slot. Plus the old pin has a washer and the new one dosen't. Normaly I'd take my lead from the old set-up, but in this case there are some obvious mistakes in the old set-up. The retainer pin was backwards, the c-clip was on the in-board side instead of the out board-side; the pads marked right were on the drivers side; the out-board pad had the wear sensor when it should be on the in-board side. Most of my assertions are based on the info from the Haynes manual I'm using. The diagram in the manual of the retainer pin appears to have 2 slots like my new ones, but there is no washer in the diagram. I guess I'll have to go the stealer in the am and look at there exploded view.

My plan is to power flush the system. I've been told to flush each corner at a time. Then come back and bleed each corner. The Haynes says to jack-up the front to drain/bleed the rears until the bleeder screw is in the 12 o'clock position, so that no air is trapped in the caliper bore. Anyone ever do this?

[LLC5]

If you are going to pump the brake pedal to flush the fluid, make sure you pump only half way down. Pushing the pedal to the floor can sometimes cut the seal in the master cylinder, especially on older higher mileage vehicles.