Shoorty911

hey guys,

i did a search to see if i could find anything on replacing the rotors on my 2nd gen, they are pretty badly warped, and i couldnt find anything. Anyways, i am actually outside doing it right now and im stumped. I got the caliper off but have no clue how to get the rotor off. I unscrewed like 6 little nuts off what seams to be a bearing seal but have no clue on how to get it off...or anything else off. Can anybody please help...thanks a lot.

shoorty911

AgRunner06

I just did this about a month ago. To do this job you are going to need a torque wrench.

Here is a great write-up that I used for doing mine. You are also going to need two new grease seals.

Good Luck

szf2

Probably not a bad idea to read all the links on this page (which includes the link AgRunner06 posted + begining disassembly + reassembly + more). Unfortunately, the rotors aren't just a remove the wheel and caliper then remove the rotor thing. Its more like a remove the wheel, remove the caliper, remove the outer hub, remove the inner hub, remove the rotor type of thing. You will need a few special tools including the 54mm (=2 1/8") scoket (availalbe at Sears), a spring scale that weighs up to about 20 lb., torque wrench, etc + grease for the hub and spindle.

Also, if you have the ADD drive flanges with cone washers, be warned they are a pain to remove. What I found worked best is taking a very small tapered punch and driving it into the slit in the cone washers then running some 8mm bolts into the two holes for removing the outer hub. Do a search for "cone washers" though and you will get more input + read through the links on the page I provided a link to.

Best of luck.

Shoorty911

OK...thanks for all the quick responses...i actually had to put the caliper and wheel back on because i didnt have the two seals. So i went to the parts store to get them and they didnt know what the hell i was talking about. So what is the correct term for the seals...i was just telling them that i needed the seal for the back of the hub and they were clueless. So what is the correct term for it....and in the write up on 4x4wire....what do they mean by taking off the "center cap" at the very beginning. Is that the gold "bell" looking thing on the very end of the hub?? if it is, how do i get it off....ive already tried prying it off...but that doesnt seem to do the trick....thanks again..

shoorty911

PAhydrohead

Shoorty,

I just replaced both of my front calipers and one of my rotors last weekend. First off, you have to have a special huge 2 3/32-inch socket and a torque wrench to do this job. You can get the socket from Downey Mfg or elsewhere but don't even start until you have that.

To answer your most recent question, the center cap is the gold bell and it is most easily removed with a pipe wrench or a large pair of channel locks. Put a rag between the teeth of the pipe wrench and the cap if you are concerned about marring the surface of the cap. Give it a twist pulling slightly away from the hub and it should start to come right off. Then remove the bolt on the end of the axle, then the cone washers (I use a brass bar and a hammer to beat on the end of the studs which loosens the washers. The brass is softer than the steel studs so it won't screw up the threads). To remove the flange you might have to screw two bolts into the only available threaded openings and then yank on the bolts. Or you might get lucky and beating on the studs to remove the cone washers may have loosened up the flange enought that it comes right off by sticking a putty knife between the flange and the hub. Once the flange is off you'll see a large nut which is held in place by a lock washer. Bend the teeth of the washer out of the way with a screw driver so you can remove the lock nut with the big ol' socket you just bought. Remove the lock washer and the nut behind it and now you can pull the whole hub off the spindle. When you pull the hub, the outer bearing and thrust washer will be loose so be careful they don't fall into the dirt because then you're going to have to clean them and repack them.


You actually don't HAVE to replace any of the oil seals to change the rotor (the shop manual just calls them oil seals so if the parts store doesn't have a clue and you want to replace it I would suggest you go to a local Toyota dealer and buy it from the parts dept). If you are going to repack the bearings while you have the whole assembly off then you will need a new oil seal that holds the inner bearing in place. Removing in inner oil seal is a bit of a trick in itself and I'm going to skip it unless you are planning on repacking the bearings.

So to get the rotor off, with the outside of the hub facing the floor remove the bolts. Cut a piece of 2x4 that is just a bit larger than the diameter of the inner hub. Flip the whole hub assembly over and set the inner hub on top of the 2x4 (the rotor should not be touching the floor). Take another piece of 2x4 and a big hammer and beat on the rotor alternating from 12 o'clock then 6, then 9 then 3. The rotor is just press fit onto the hub so you should notice it slowly coming off.

Once you get the old rotor off, putting the new one on is easy. Just set the new rotor on the hub aligning the holes in the rotor with the bolt holes on the hub. Hand tighten all the bolts into the hub. Then tighten each bolt little by little using a cross pattern like you do when you put your wheel on. Tightening the bolts will pull the rotor back onto the hub. Torque the bolts to 47 ft lbs.

Now you can put the whole hub back onto the spindle and follow the directions in the links that others have given you to re-torque the lock nuts. If you didn't buy a new lock washer you can reuse the old one as long as you didn't break the tabs off (the lock washer is only a buck or two so you might as well get one and a gasket for the flange too).

Good luck

Shoorty911

hey PAhydrohead,

thanks A LOT....that really helped clear some things up. I already had the really big socket. and NO i dont want to replace the bears or have to repack them...haha...only if there are messed up which i probably dont think they are. anyways...thanks again...im at work right now but when i get home i will be trying it again.

thanks
shoorty911

PAhydrohead

Your welcome. Glad I could help out that's what this forum is all about.

One other thing, I haven't read the other links on replacing your hub so I don't know if they say you need one of those spring tension gauges to measure the preload on the hub after you torque down each of the nuts with the big socket. When I asked a Toyota mechanic where I could get one he laughed at me and said they never use those things. So I never bought one. I was told to just torque the nuts to the specs and be done with it. It has worked so far.

If your going to do a lot of your own maintenance, get a set of shop manuals. Sometimes they show up on ebay.

Hope you get it done tonight.

Bill

Shoorty911

ok...haha.....i didnt realize that the socket was THAT big....ive been to ALL the parts stores around here and even to sears, lowes, and home depot....where other than downey can i get a 2-3/32" socket??

thanks..
shoorty911

AgRunner06

I hate to break this too you, but 2 3/32" is the wrong size. You need a 2 1/8" socket. How do I know this? I just replaced my rotors, that's how. It's going to be a 3/4" drive so you will probably need a 3/4" to 1/2" adapter. I spent $40 on two adapters and that socket at Sears before I did mine.

Have Fun

szf2

Ditto. 2 1/8" socket from Sears (like I said before ). You can get the 3/4" to 1/2" adapter at Autozone for cheaper than the one at Sears ($2 vs. $6 or something like that), but Sears is the only local place in my neck of the woods that sells sockets that big (Autozone's biggest socket is 2").

PAhydrohead

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by AgRunner06

I hate to break this too you, but 2 3/32" is the wrong size. You need a 2 1/8" socket.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have 2 3/32" written down in pencil in my shop manual. Right now, I don't know where I got that dimension from but I'm gonna bet it's from the Downey catalog . Anyway, 2 1/8" is 1/32" larger

than my previously stated dimension and if Sears has that size socket you should be in business.

Shoorty,

What did you decide to do about the spring tension gauge that you are supposed to use to measure the preload on the hub?

dean s

I Just Used 2 3/32 Today And Was A Perfect Size!

dirtoyboy

......mis post