I'm trying to remove front rotors and got down to the axle bolt holding it on. Hayne manual says the rotor just comes off and nothing about removing the axle bolt is mentioned. Am I missing something? What size is the nut? somewhere between 1 1/8 and 1 1/4. working on my 2002 Prizm w/ 1.8 L

 

Don't Remove That Nut!

That holds the axle into the hub. The brake disc just slides onto the hub. Usually it won't slide right back off as easy, just due to rust buildup. On the prism, you should see 2 small holes in the rotor, between the wheel lugs. Screwing a bolt into these holes and tightening it down will press the rotor off the hub (8mm thread bolt, I believe).

Also, you can try breaking it loose with a hammer. Don't try to hammer it off though, just give it a few pounds right between the wheel lugs, so the vibration loosens the rust. Then try pulling the rotor off again. (May want to do this with one lug nut installed a few threads, so the rotor won't jump off and land on your toe).

If you plan on keeping this car, and doing brakes the next time, I'd recommend a LIGHT coat of anti-seize on the hub where the rotor sits. Should make it slide right off next time around.

 

Hi Mr Kleene,

Welcome to the Chevy Forums.

I ran into a similar problem with my daughter's car. Does the rotor have a "high-hat" appearance in the middle? The giveaway is the emergency brake cable should go to the inside of the hub in the front wheels.

If it does, (rather than a simple brake rotor layout) you probably have an integral emergency drum brake on the inside of your rotor.

Try carefully jacking, chocking, and blocking your car so it won't roll when the emergency brake is released. Release the emergency brake, loosen the emergency brake cable adjustment, then the rotor should slide off with a couple taps of the hammer.