Front rotor removal help

ghnat · ghnat's Garage

I am trying to remove the front rotors. There is a snag with removing the allen bolt. The bold head is by the red arrow and the access to the allen bolt is at the green arrow. How do I get the wheel bearing lock out?

Thanks for any help.

ghnat · ghnat's Garage

Never mind... I am such an idiot!

SpeedracerIndy · 09-18-2004, 02:42 PM

I did the exact same thing when I adjusted my wheel bearings a while ago. I stared at the damn thing forever, then I put my hand on the rotor and it turned. That's when it clicked, and I felt so stupid!

bell · bell's Garage

LOL
i have nothing to say

ghnat · ghnat's Garage

I am glad I am not the only one who briefly got stumped...
I felt so embarressed when I went back to the garage and turned the rotor.

bell · bell's Garage

that allen key locking bolt is the one of the most ingenious things on our 911's......for years with other cars i'd fight with getting the cotter pin to line up without being too tight or too loose.
when i first saw this on my carrera i smiled and rubbed her with a diaper

Vipergrün · 09-19-2004, 10:02 AM

Too funny, but I sure as heck ain't gonna cast the first stone

Just got done putting my new calipers on. It's easy to see how this could be confusing, especially for a first-timer.

-B

Gunter · Gunter's Garage

Greg: That grease looks funny to me. Is that really EP wheel bearing grease? If you replace your bearings, follow the specs for torqueing.

ghnat · ghnat's Garage

Gunter,
Not sure what grease that is. This is my first time with a LOT of my car apart. I cleaned the outside front bearing and it loked great. Still reading on if/how the inside bearing comes out. I will re-pack them with what ever is the proper grease.

jason2guy · 09-19-2004, 12:36 PM

that was seriously funny. one thing to remember, when working on your car.........go slow, do it right.

djmcmath · 09-19-2004, 12:46 PM

Alright, alright, you guys are pretty funny ... but I'm about to do this job, and have no idea what the joke is. Is this one of those rites of passage, like overfilling your oil, that I just have to screw up and laugh at myself, or can someone explain this to me? TIA,

Dan

Zeke · 09-19-2004, 01:36 PM

Dan, look at the machined cutout on the hub and look at where the allen wrench needs to be to loosen the lock nut. All you have to do is line them up. Otherwise, you can't get the allen in.

I like to spin the hub with the allen in the lock nut a few turns to take the nut off. You can't go too far until it binds, but it saves a few turns by hand which are hard on the fingers.

It is in this way that I find the tightness I want as well. (Not too tight, now, it's only a bit past where your fingers take it to.)

SpeedracerIndy · 09-19-2004, 01:43 PM

No joke. Most other cars have a cotter pin that would secure the nut. When you first take off the dust cap and see what you would see in the picture above, it looks as if the nut turns with the hub and there would be no way to loosen the allen key. When all you really have to do is turn the rotor until the groove lines up with the allen key. It's a simple, yet brillant design.

Gunter · Gunter's Garage

Greg: After the lock nut is off, you can pull the whole hub off. Remove the outer races and clean the whole hub which still has the inner races attached. I then heat the hubs in an oven to about 300 deg for 10 minutes and use a small drift to knock the races out (Use gloves!) Installing the new races is the reverse, again with heat. Inspect all parts and use a new grease seal and proper grease. Get a Bentley manual.

ghnat · ghnat's Garage

Gunter,
Thanks, I do have the bently manual. I am not going to remove the races. They appear to be fine. What I am attempting to seperate is the rotor and the piece that contains the lug bolts. Bently calls it the bearing hub. I have been using a hammer and wood (to not damage anything) to no avail.

Gunter · Gunter's Garage

Greg: After the bearing hub bolts are out, put the rotor/hub assembly on the floor standing on the rotor edge and tap the hub on the outside with a hammer. Give it a good tap on the outside of the rotor in a few different spots; it will come apart. If you don't know how long the bearings have been in there, now is the time: they are cheep. Check the minimum thickness on the rotor in different places; they can wear unevenly.