Autofocus - How to remove a rusted stuck brake rotor

Television automotive contributor, Ben Eytalis demonstrates a simple and easy procedure to remove a rusted and stubborn disc brake rotor.

[donjohnson]

You da’man! After fighting rusted front rotors with every trick I knew I resorted to the youtube and found your outstanding method. It worked like a charm. You taught a very old dog a new trick! I went to the hardware and got a couple of flanged grade 8 bolts and worked them in both bracket holes tightening one then the other. It popped off within a few tightenings. Thanks again for your excellent video.

[KodiakWoodchuck]

Thanks so much! Life saver... I was sitting in my driveway just beating on my rotor like a red headed step child with my rubber mallet and spraying PBlaster into the stud holes, then I saw this video and the rotors popped off in no time flat with this trick. You don't know how satisfying it was when I heard the pop. 

[KHighlandsSearchTeam]

You don’t realise how much hassle you saved me today 👍 I hammered at a stuck disc (rotor) but it would not budge a millimetre. I thought about heating it up or even trying to cut it off in the end. Then I saw your video, my god it worked in seconds, unbelievable. Thank you so much . Atb Bill.

[conniebye]

Hi, I just want to thank you for this tip! I spent almost an hour trying to free a rusted front rotor on my 2005 VW Jetta and gave up and came in for lunch. Decided to search youtube for help and found this. It worked like a charm. I used two 1/2" bolts and in less than 2 minutes had that rotor broke free. Thank you so much for a clever idea!!!

-Ron

[bes]

Spent 6 hours today trying to get stuck rusted rotor off my 2007 Toyota Corolla, using every trick I could find online, hammering rotor, hammering between nuts, hammering side, back, etc., heat, lubing it up with PB blaster, using triple bar to pry. There were no holes in the front of the rotor to screw into. This video showed me how to use the caliper holes in the back in a similar way and it popped off like butter, just using the bottom hole, after a few twists before I even tried the top. Remember to place the nuts loosely back on the tire screws because it went flying. Thank you so much.

[newportpa]

OMG! I have a 2002 BMW with 198K miles. During a selfie brake job, the rotor would not separate. Your video worked great! The rotor came right off. The cost of materials was about $7.50, & took about five minutes. Great tip. Thank you! Ken

[stevenorlowski]

I owe you a case of beer my friend! I was starting to freak out after a good 20 minutes of hammering away at my rotor. Your little trick had it off in 5 minutes. Cheers to you!!

[georgedemchak]

This method is GREAT! I live in Maine and had a 2014 Corolla with rotors that were stuck with rust so bad I could not budge them! Your method worked perfectly! Made the job much much easier. Thank you a million times!

[rogercowan]

Brilliant! I struggled with a rear rotor on my 2005 Toyota Sienna for 30 minutes this morning before coming in to search for ideas. I found your vid, and it worked great! You, sir, are a saint among men.

[briancressman]

Excellent! My rotors were seized solid. Biked into work to pick up a puller but didn't have the right size there so Googled "rotor seized to hub" and found your video. Brought home a couple bolts, washers, and nuts and popped the rotors off. Good job. Thanks.

[yonseth]

My car had done 300xxxks on factory rotors, god they were rusted, your trick is life saving

[wuinny]

Thank you much !

Tried to change the disc of my 2012 car and it wasn't moving at all ! I tried HEAT, i tried HAMMER ! Didn't move at all. Never had this before.

I tried your trick and it was free in two minutes !

BTW, if your car is older wear ear protection ! I was surprised by the LOUD crack the rust made when breaking. It was like shooting a .22 pistol with HV ammo.

[sarrayoung]

I can't thank you enough for posting this video. After beating on a rusted, stubborn rotor for 10 minutes and pulling out a few hairs in frustration....we looked to YouTube for some pointers and your tips saved the day. I'll be sharing it with every motorhead I know. AWESOME!

[bbjazzmanjazzman]

8lb maul hammer..intense heat...PB blaster.. loosened Park brake spur.. and 2 frustrating days later I decided fun time was over so I sought to look for solutions on Y.T....saw several vids doing basically what I had figured was a fairly common shade tree mechs approach..then, I came across your channel thumbnail and saw it was a very short vid..watched it and gave it my last exhausted hope... just simply amazing what a tool of simple principle can achieve..I used to be creative at solving mechanics but I think I've been away too many years from the Brake's and rotors end of it.. YES, worked..my jaw literally slapped the concrete.. Thanks to you and your dad for making a heart breaking chore into a very doable shade tree task.. have a blessed day..

[daveoccy]

Hammered away for an hour with no luck! After a quick trip to Lowes for the 1/4” nuts and bolts I had the stubborn rotor off within a minute. Oh the euphoria of hearing that initial “crack”! Thank you!

[evinrudetwin]

I spent 45 minutes banging on a rotor trying to get it off. No dice. Then I found this little gem. Had it off in jiffy. You rule, Ben!

[georgee]

Many thanks. I've been able to hammer/shock them loose in past, but the rusted OEM rotors on my 150K Yukon were having none of that. This worked like a charm, and turned a stressful job into a "how 'bout a beer before the other side?" job!!

[zdelp]

Thanks for the great tip!! I told my brother-in-law the break job should only take a couple hours and that was until we couldn’t get the front rotors off. I didn’t know what to do until I saw your tip. It worked just as good as your video. Thank you again.

[robloveridge]

Thank you so much for this video! I had a brake disc stuck on, I honestly thought there was no hope for it, I'd be hitting it all day with no joy. Went out and bought some 10mm bolts, nuts and washers, it popped off in 10 seconds. This is a technique I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Cheers

[ramaabbadi]

Hi Ben, thank you for this video. It was a great help for me as a first time DIY guy. I spent 2 hours to figure out what is wrong with my stuck rotor. $1 Bolt and Nut did the job. Appreciate your help. Keep doing some good videos. I owe you a bottle of wine brother :)