12-10-2011, 10:47 AM
I also have lived this. All the advice is good. That trick in the vidoe makes sense, but the warnings about the threaded brackets on Focii is an important point.
In one case (on a Mazda Protege - same brakes as Ford Escort) I wound up having to cut the rotor through, right down to the hub before it would let go. Horrible experience. Amazingly, the bearing and CV joint survived it.
Ever since then, each time I swap winter/summer tires, I spend a few minutes to do the following:
- push back the brake pad into the caliper a small amount (any method is OK, just don't damage the seal - I use Giant Channel-Lok pliers usually)
- tap the caliper outward to create a bit of space between the pads and the rotor
- then wobble the rotor to be sure it is not seized to the hub yet; if it does not wobble, tap the back until it does
- finally, pump the brake pedal to get the pads back out where they belong.
That way, I know I will not have the misery of a welded-to-the-hub rotor sometime later.
Good luck, and I hope you get yours free fairly easily.
Bob the Duck Canuck
In one case (on a Mazda Protege - same brakes as Ford Escort) I wound up having to cut the rotor through, right down to the hub before it would let go. Horrible experience. Amazingly, the bearing and CV joint survived it.
Ever since then, each time I swap winter/summer tires, I spend a few minutes to do the following:
- push back the brake pad into the caliper a small amount (any method is OK, just don't damage the seal - I use Giant Channel-Lok pliers usually)
- tap the caliper outward to create a bit of space between the pads and the rotor
- then wobble the rotor to be sure it is not seized to the hub yet; if it does not wobble, tap the back until it does
- finally, pump the brake pedal to get the pads back out where they belong.
That way, I know I will not have the misery of a welded-to-the-hub rotor sometime later.
Good luck, and I hope you get yours free fairly easily.
Bob the Duck Canuck