I think my latest acquisition, '88GT was either in a very BIIIG storm (I bought it in Iowa!) or was partially underwater.

Nice looking car but....can't get the nut off the front seat stud to remove the seat, the rear side light socket contacts are green with corrosion, the "frame" is cruddy-looking (tho not rusted) and at least the front brake rotors are JUST flat UN-removable. I've hammered about as much as I want to.

Does anyone have any ideas? WD-40? Puller? Bigger hammer? Prayer?

TIA

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John

Use PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench - soak it down good and whack it a few times after spraying. Hitting it sets up vibrations in the material that helps the oil penetrate better.
Let it sit overnight then have at it with a BFH.

well if they are toast you can always heat them with a torch if you have one near by! heat does wonders! pb blaster, wd 40, soak it for a couple of days and get a good breaker bar!

Take a torch and slowly work it around the studs and the flange of the center hub. Mostly around the studs.

Get it fairly warm. Usually if your lucky you will hear a pop or ping and it will pull right off.

If they are really stuck I'll also us a bar clamp on each side to a cross piece and block pushing on the center of the hub. Just enough to put a little pressure on the rotor while I heat it.

I had the same thing on my 88GT, I thought the front rotors would never come off.

What I did was soak them in PB blaster and beat the **** out of them with a hammer. After that didn't work I heated them with a torch around the lug area. Then I got PISSED and went crazy with a hammer and they popped off.

So the trick is to get mad, and use a hammer.

Hey! I'm already mad...I guess I just need PB and a bigger hammer! Thanx, guys, for all the help.

John

Bear in mind that pounding on the rotors that hard may damage your very expensive to replace front wheel bearing assemblies, as may overheating them with a torch. I would recommend getting a large 3-jaw puller instead.

JazzMan

Ditto! Do Not Use a TORCH! Use a dead blow hammer and lots of penatrating oil. Also if you use any penatrating oil, DO NOT use a TORCH. My dad burnt his Mercedes up to bits that way..... Try to save the hubs even if you destroy the rotors. Hammer in both directions. Did you wire brush off as much rust as you could with a drill or some other rotarty device? Be patient, do not ruin your hubs.... Time is on your side. Resoak it! Did I mention do not ruin your hubs? I can't say this enough. Buy a dead blow if you don't have one. Hope it all works out for you.

quote Originally posted by Mark A. Klein: Ditto! Do Not Use a TORCH! Use a dead blow hammer and lots of penatrating oil. Also if you use any penatrating oil, DO NOT use a TORCH. My dad burnt his Mercedes up to bits that way..... Try to save the hubs even if you destroy the rotors. Hammer in both directions. Did you wire brush off as much rust as you could with a drill or some other rotarty device? Be patient, do not ruin your hubs.... Time is on your side. Resoak it! Did I mention do not ruin your hubs? I can't say this enough. Buy a dead blow if you don't have one. Hope it all works out for you.

Didn't try to brush off the rust because it's in the back of the rotor, holding it to the hub. ;-) However, I already have new rotors, that's why I want the old ones off. The old ones are really scored.

Dunno what a "dead blow" hammer is, but it sounds sexy! Is it legal? :-) Just kidding! I'm gonna let it go for the weekend and really get on it on Monday. I have a puller, just didn't try it yet.

I found an '88 in the Pick-N-Pull here in San Antonio, so will attempt to get as much off IT as possible.

John

i got my rusted ones off with lots of PB and a crowbar. you can slip the crowbar between the backside of the rotor and flange where the brake calipers attached. pry and rotate, repeat.

There were some big floods in Iowa in '93. Maybe it got caught in one.

My '86--also an Iowa car--has a lot of silt all over the back of the car, under the skin. There was more than an inch of gunk on top of the intake manifold, and lots more in the rear fascia.

Ed

I live in Iowa, and I've seen plenty of cars with rusted floor pans, seat rails, etc. on the inside and stuck rotors, etc. on the outside. I'm pretty sure most have never been even partially underwater. It's more likely moisture inside from wet shoes, maybe having left the window down once or twice, maybe a leaky sunroof. You'd probably much worse problems if it had been partially submerged, so I'd guess it was just driven in wet or snowy weather more than most Fieros.

I second the PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench. Sometimes vibration from something like an engraving tool is much better than beating on something. Soak, beat on it or vibrate it, soak it again for a few days, repeat the process.

[This message has been edited by FieroGT42 (edited 05-16-2008).]

people i did not say heat it till it is cherry red! just heat the bolt, not the rotor, or wheel bearing, or get a rose bud and melt the whole car, if you know anything about a torch then you would not have a problem using one on a bolt.

but if you dont know how to use a torch then dont do it.

just put alot of ass into it!!

too risky on the 88's to use heat, those hub assemblies are expensive.
Mine were frozen on too. soak the heck out of em front and back. couple good shots with a hammer while rotating it to work it in. let it sit. then use a puller to put some pressure on the rotor, you might have to make something if you don;t have a real big 3 jaw puller... get as much pressure on the rotor as possible, then smack the rotor out. adding the tensioning does wonders.
Another method is to sit the rotor on a jackstand, on the disc and/or the hat, and smack down towards the stand while spraying it.
that takes the impact off the bearings and puts it right on the rotor. any deformations from the hits will let the pb work further in.
to preserve the hubs, dont make them take the hits.

ps. a deadblow hammer is hollow on the inside, and the hollow is filled iwth lead shot. with a good swing the weight hits the surface after the face is already in contact with the object being struck.

[This message has been edited by tjm4fun (edited 05-16-2008).]

You could put it all back together (assuming the brakes still work) install the wheel itght enough to stay on and run it front and back while working the brake. It will come loose from the rocking motion making it bounce from stud to stud.

quote Originally posted by punksable: people i did not say heat it till it is cherry red! just heat the bolt, not the rotor, or wheel bearing, or get a rose bud and melt the whole car, if you know anything about a torch then you would not have a problem using one on a bolt. but if you dont know how to use a torch then dont do it. just put alot of ass into it!!

Absolutely! you don't need to get them very hot, you just heat them enough to expand the metal a little and break the rust bond.
I just use a standard propane torch for a couple min. is all.
Just have to use your head and not go overboard...
Once I get the rotor off I can put my hand on the hub and leave it there. Not hot enough to do damage. Hard braking would get them hotter than a couple min. with a torch..

quote Originally posted by Tom Slick: i got my rusted ones off with lots of PB and a crowbar. you can slip the crowbar between the backside of the rotor and flange where the brake calipers attached. pry and rotate, repeat.

This is what I was going to suggest. I could not get mine off and I hammered as much as I cared to and it wouldn't move. Finally used a pry bar. It destroyed the rotors but they were toast anyway.

I also use the rock the car bit. Back off the lug nuts a little on the offending wheel. Drive about 20 yards forward and slam on the brakes. Do the same in reverse. Do this a few times and it will shear the rust off the rotor holding it to the hub. John

quote Originally posted by jscott1: This is what I was going to suggest. I could not get mine off and I hammered as much as I cared to and it wouldn't move. Finally used a pry bar. It destroyed the rotors but they were toast anyway.

your the one who gave me the idea, figure i'd pass the tip along.

Try using the caliper bolts to push the rotor off. Put the bolts in, with out the caliper, until they touch the back side of the rotor. Tighten the bolts until the rotor starts to move. Back off the bolts, rotate the rotor and repeat.

Spray on PB Blaster twice a day for 2-3 days. Then use a good sized hammer and hit it on each side and all around the rotor.

Or just mix up some thermite, make a V out of a piece of wide ductape, apply the thermite into the V, wrap around the rotor, light it and stand back. When it stops spraying around then hit it with a 5# sledge hammer and it will fall right off. hehe.... j/k

Let's see, that's a 50/50 iron oxide and powdered aluminum, right?

Norm

Steps

1. Obtain finely powdered iron oxide (rust), aluminum, and a thin strip of magnesium.
2. Mix them together in a 8:3 ratio (iron oxide:aluminum) in a ratio by weight. Note that the since aluminum is so light, it will appear that it is about a 50-50 mix by volume.[1]
3. Pour the mixture into a strong container, such as a cast iron container. Note that if you ignite the thermite, it will melt the cast iron though.
4. Select your site carefully. Make sure there is nothing that can burn within four meter radius of the reaction.
5. Insert and light the magnesium strip and it will burn out in a few seconds.

Yup, the Gandys use a form of it for making ribbon out of sections, if they lose any BATF and H/S come lookin' for it. Just like gremlins, don't get it wet!

Norm