piratemike

I have another brake question...oh btw...thanks for all the info about the caliper rebuild. Now, I know this may sound silly but, I can't get the rotors off of the spindles/lug studs. On other cars I have worked on, the rotors will just pull right off by hand. These won't budge. I have checked the manual and it doesn't mention any special procedures for this. As you may have guessed, this is my first Corvette, and I am not terrible familiar with some of the procedures for some of this simple maintenance. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

Shutdown1

Hey Mike,


You're in for a real surprise. What looks like alignment studs on the back are rivets that have to be drilled out in order to remove the rotors. My front brakes did just pull right off, but not the back. Had to drill out the rivets with increasing size bits up to 3/8. You don't have to rivet them back. Ask GM why?!!!

'74 Turbocharged 350, "Molested to Perfection", class of '71

77inprogress

If they are original they will be riveted to the hub. Drill the tops off of the rivets and punch them out. I'm sure someone else will have some more details but this is most likely the issue.

Good luck!
Anthony

opps guess we posted at the same time!


[Modified by 77inprogress, 5:52 PM 11/22/2001]


[Modified by 77inprogress, 10:35 PM 11/22/2001]

Shutdown1

......that's OK, 77inprogress (Anthony), you said it better than I did...! Regards

rollavette71

Even AFTER I drilled out my rivets, the rotors wouldn't come off the hub. I had to remove the hub
and (carefully) hammer :smash: the rotor off the hub.

Dave68

The original rotors were riveted to minimize runout. Driiled-out rotors can be a bear to get to factory runout specs, but an out-of-spec condition can result in air-inclusion into the caliper pistons, which in turn can lead to a spongy brake pedal.

Eddie 70

When the rotors go back on, do they need to be riveted back to the hub. I would think that the wheel should hold the rotor in place and keep it from sucking/pumping air in. What`s the scoop here. I didn`t rivet mine in place, do I need to think about doing this?

Shutdown1

Eddie,


I wouldn't worry about putting those rivets back in if I were you. In the first place how would you do it? GM had special tooling to install those monsters! Mine weren't replaced and I've had no braking problems. If another forum member wants to set me straight on this, I am all ears..... See you around the big city (KIngston) some time! Regards,

'74 Turbocharged 350, "Molested to Perfection" , class of '71

yogi78

I thought that I had read somewhere that GM riveted the rotors at the factory to only aid in the assembly process and that re-riveting was not necessary. The lug nuts should hold the rotor firmly in place anyway!

Dave68

No, you do NOT have to rivet the rotors. However, you should check runout whenever you replace rotors. Most service manuals will explain how and identify the factory specification for runout. O-ring sealed caliper pistons can tolerate more runout than the standard cup-seal piston calipers and I've heard of some people who shim their rotors to get them "in spec".

Hopefully, someone will chime-in to comment on this procedure.

lou

I'm with Shutdown, The wheels and lug nuts do basically the same thing. Mine no longer have the rivits either. lou