Be careful if using heat as the bearings and seals don't like it.
Cleaning the exposed bit of the hub with a wire wheel will make final extraction easier once you break the bond.
Penetrating oil, get in around the lug openings as well as the hub, and patience help, brute force remains your best friend. If you have a puller don't rely on only the force of the puller. Keep hammering away to shock the bonded parts. Once you get any movement you're home free,just patience from then on.
OH! anti-seize paste on the hub when re-assembling. Save the next guy(perhaps you) the headache.
Wow! Thanks for all the feedback! I must not be getting e-mail notifications.
I usually anti-seize everything, and this one has been off fairly recently. I’ll report back on what I find when I get it off. I am most certainly the “next guy.”
Try a big plastic dead blow hammer. Probably pop right off.
I don’t have one, but in my area, I find a 16-lb sledge usually won’t budge them easily if at all.
I'm not a pro so take this for whats it's worth. Had a very difficult rear rotor on an older F150 that i had almost given up on. As stated above penetrant oil in stud holes and around center hub. Give it a few hours or overnight to work. Hit between studs with a dead blow. Heat same area with propane/mapp torch. Keep working it with hammer. I wound up buying a large puller put some tension on it and kept working it with hammer. It eventually gave up the battle. Be sure to put one or more lug nuts loosely on studs to keep the rotor from flying off when it breaks free.
Oh be sure to release emergency brake and that there are no screws or clips retaining rotor to hub. Not familiar with Chevy Express.
I forget which hub puller I bought but it's pretty substantial. May be the Astro or OTC. I'm assuming you're in Northern NJ by your username I'm in Rockland county right across border from Bergen Cty. LMK if you need the puller happy to help if I can.
I appreciate the offer! I actually bought a two-arm puller when I was replacing a hub and I couldn’t separate the front rotor.
That's what I do. Air hammer with flat bit between the studs. The Snap On should hit hard enough to get it done. Always does for me. I wouldn't use a puller on a rotor I wanted to use again.
A GM part made in USA? That should be in a museum!
It is as actually an Akebono. Haven’t been able to find another since. I can get EBC front rotors, but Mexico (AC Delco) is usually the best I can find for the rears.
Not sure if there's access on that model but sometimes it helps to back the parking shoes off before trying to get the rotor off
My reason for getting in there is to tighten the parking brake. It’s not really accessible from tbe back side.
Air hammer around the hat area where it contact the hub, hope. If that doesn't work you need to add a puller. Screw the lug nuts a few threads so when it goes POP it doesn't go flying. Rattle it with the air hammer with the puller tension applied. Hope.
Be aware that rotors exist which are entirely impossible to remove and salvage. Enough pressure on the puller will eventually break sections of the braking surface off. If you're really unlucky you can have just the center section frozen with all of the braking surface broken off. Usually those GMs are mostly stuck on the parking brake shoes. It's been a good while since I found a parking brake adjuster I could both reach and was not rusted sold. If you can back it down, do so. Be aware even with the adjuster 100% collapsed the rust ridge on the rotor can be large enough the rotor still cannot slip off. As soon as the rotor moves hose down the parking brake area with penetrating oil to help the rotor slide over the shoes. If you're lucky you can have the friction material break off the shoes which really speeds up the process.
My man I'm going to have that rotor hat liquifying. LOL
A little plumbing torch of course wouldn't hurt it, and also probably not do anything, although I've cut rotors off hubs before with an oxygen/propane torch.
The hat area isn’t really rusty, and I’m actually getting in there to tighten up the parking brake. I think it’s just salt-seized to the hub. I may have rushed last time and failed to use anti-seize. We’ll see soon!
If you pull the caliper, can you push against the rotor with a bolt and nut you insert into the caliper bracket? I don't have a picture, but a spare bolt and nut, diameter of the bolt smaller than the caliper bolt and it goes into the threaded/thru hole on the bracket. (edit) Nut is on the outside of the caliper bracket. One wrench on the nut, one you "loosen" the bolt with until the bolt head hits the rotor. Turn a bit. Back off. Rotate rotor 90*. Repeat.... It's a slow process but it's worked for me when big plastic hammers and the air hammer wouldn't.
I’m hoping the extra punch from the 3050 hammer will do it. I’m afraid the above method would cause more rotor damage than the two-arm puller.
