# Trick to removing 2000 F-150 4x4 front Rotors?



## Deere John (May 14, 2001)

I tried a search, but it turned up nothing to help me pull the rotors off my wife's 2000 F-150 4x4. A pad separated from its lining and the remaining pad ground into the rotor. I want to remove the rotor to look at replacement or turning, but so far, I can't get it off.

What is the trick? It looks like it is just a tight fit, with some corrosion in it. 

Please let me know

Thanks in advance,

John


----------



## clueless (Aug 5, 2003)

the best thing to do is to buy new rotors,we tried to get a pair of a 97 and they almost weld themselves onto the hub.take a big hammer and beat them off the hub.they will be garbage after,and a new rotor would be better in the long run.i feel when you cut a rotor it takes the temper out of them and they warp quicker than if you dont cut them. 

i think we paid $40 a piece for the better ones at autozone.well worth the money in the long run.

when putting new ones on neversieze the hub really good.this way they might come off easier next time if you have to do it again.


----------



## Fordtech (Feb 1, 2004)

Option 1- If the rotor isn’t scored badly just put the new pads on or take it to a shop with an “On car brake lathe” and have them cut them.  
Option 2- Buy new rotors and then heat with a torch and beat the old ones till they come off :realmad: and if that fails just cut them off with a torch carefully so you don’t damage the hub face. 

After using option 2 clean the hub face with a wire brush and/or sandpaper then coat the hub face and inside the new rotor with antisieze compound before installing the new rotors.
I wish I could tell you a magic trick to getting them off but there isn’t one they suck the I.D. “hat” of the rotor is a tight fit to the O.D. of the hub face so a little rust will sieze the rotor and hub together forever.
Good luck.


----------



## lownrangr (Nov 21, 2003)

if the f series was anything like my parents' 2000 expedition, the rotors are almost self-destructive when doing a brake job. A guy at either the dealership or a tire place showed us what it took to get the rotor off and looking at it, it was all banged up from all the prying.


----------



## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

They must of changed the design on newer Fords. All the 4x4 Fords I ever worked on had the rotor and bearings as one piece. Which was then bolted to the spindle ( Dana axles ). If it is a two piece design use a piece of wood between the hammer and the rotor to keep from hurting the rotor. Spray the rotor with wd40 etc. at the point it meets the hub. Rotate the rotor 1/4 turn bang on it a few times, rotate 1/4 turn bang on it, keep at it till it comes off. Try to have the rotors/ drums turned each time you do brakes regardless if they are scored. This "trues up" the surface which makes the brakes work better and last longer.They don't need a big cut just trued up and roughed up to make them work great.


----------



## Emstaxi (Jan 29, 2004)

Are you able to get the brake caliper off? The best thing to do is to spray wd-40 or something like that aroud the center of the hub and hammer around the rotor to knock it loose. I talked to a ford guy a while back and the material that they use for rotors won't stand up if they are cut to be reused. He told me that if there was not that many grooves to reuse them. If they were too bad then to replace them. Honestly rotors aren't that expensive. I would just go ahead and replace them and get a better set of pads...not oem but like high performance.


----------



## JMR (Feb 24, 2003)

You all ready said the brakes went metal to metal, so the rotors are already junk. WD40, a BIG hammer, a 12 pack of beer. Remove the caliper and start beating. Not small blows, but full fledged swings. You will destroy the rotor coming off. They literally weld themselves to the hub. We do tons of these every week at my shop. Have fun a get ready for a good workout.


----------



## crashz (Jan 12, 2004)

Just did the brakes on my 2001. Rotors and wheels were fused to the hub. Took a hammer and clubbered them off only after soaking them with PB Blaster. Took a long time. Once everything was disassembled it went well. Two things to watch out for:

1) If you beat the hell outa the rotors to get them off, be extremely carefull with the unit bearings. Hitting them hard enough and often enough may damage them. Ball joints can also see some damage here.

2) Put some high temp never-seize on the slide pins on the calipers. Mine were covered with rubber boots, but moisture seeped in and rusted them solid. I also covered the hub, rotor and lugs to keep them from corroding together again.


----------



## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

It's getting harder and harder to find a place that will turn rotors and drums. The only place I have left around here is NAPA and another place that has a machine shop. But most times on the weekend your out of luck! Rotors have got cheaper and thinner some you can't even turn they are warped already.( that's why you get the brake pedal pulsations) Buy the best pads you can get for the truck. The cheapest ones just don't last and you end up re-visting the job in 15-20k miles. I bought AutoZones best brake pads, they didn't count on me putting 150k on the wifes Windstar. They replaced worn out ones two times for free. Use the brake grease.I bought a bigger jar of it and I have done 10 brake jobs with it so far.


----------



## Foxfire (Sep 25, 2003)

*Rotors*

All I can say is get a Big hammer, Just went through this same problem on my 97 F-150, I had to hit mine so hard the rotor broke in 2 peices......Good Luck !!!........


----------



## clueless (Aug 5, 2003)

same with the ones we took off also.hit them from the back and front where the caliper goes on till it works off.what a royal pain.


----------



## Emstaxi (Jan 29, 2004)

Sounds like everyone has been there, done that, anmd got a t-shirt for it...lol. Good luck


----------

