Jim Grant's Tech Tips

00 Ford Expedition AWD, Rear Brake Rotor Removal

Q: The rear brake rotors are not coming off my ’00 Ford Expedition AWD. Have you got some suggestions?

- Nick

A: Doesn’t it drive you nutz when a seemingly simple task turns into an adventure of its own? The problem you’re having is not uncommon and there are a couple of possible causes for your brake rotors not coming off the rear of your vehicle. One would be rust and the other could be rust. The first rust problem is where the rotor meets the flange and hub surface of the axle. The corrosion in this area can really lock the rotor on. Using a wire brush to remove the corrosion at the hub to rotor surface followed with penetrating oil is pretty standard. After allowing the penetrating oil some work time a hammer is called to use for encouragement. This generally does the trick but I’ve seen some brake rotors so rusted to the axle that the rotor had to be cut away from the axle for removal. That covers the first and most common rust problem. The second problem is where it cannot be seen. The rear brake rotors on your vehicle, like many others have a brake drum designed into them. This provides the surface for the em-brake’s shoes to apply against. This area of the brake rotor will develop a rust ridge that will not allow the brake rotor to be removed past the em-brake shoes. If the em-brake adjustor is not rusted you can back off the adjustment to allow for clearance to get by the em-brake shoes. But you may want to have a set of em-brake shoes on hand, it seems more often than not the rust has got into the bonding of the em-brake shoes and they will need replacing as well. Gee, I guess, there was more than just a couple of possible rust problems. That’s what I like about living in the rust belt. Just goes to show how a simple job can get to be a problem.