MX-3.com

I'm swapping my discs out for some powerstop cross drilled rotors and I've already done the rears with no major problems. The front discs are giving me a real headache though, I've got the entire caliper assembly off and the old discs will not come off. The online manual doesn't say there is anything holding them in place, but I didn't think plain old rust would stand up the the beating I've given them.
Any suggestions?

It could very well be rust. My MX3 was sitting idle for a year and last weekend when I was taking of my back tire I had to pry it off with a crow bar because of the rust.

There is such a thing as a brake disc puller. I didn't think there was before I tried to change rotors on my old Tercel. After literally days of soaking the rotor/hub with liquid wrench and using hammers and blow torches and the like to get it off, I truly felt if I used and more force I was going to seriously damage some part of the suspension. I finally took the car to my mechanic. He said matter-of-factly "You need to use a brake disc puller." and had no problems getting the discs off.<p>Maybe you can rent or borrow one from a local shop or auto parts store.

I found a tutorial for a big brake install on a celica that mentioned that you can screw a bolt into the disc to pry it off. Sure enough I found a threaded hole on the disc, I'm going to hit up canadian tire after work tommorow and give that method a shot.

The front rotors are held on by the pressure of the lug nuts on the rims. Once you get the calipers off...you should be able to just pull off the rotor with no problem. It should just slide out. If it doesnt move, get out a crow bar. There are no screws. Or bolts. Good luck..Try some sort of spray to eat thought the rust.

Pressure and rust. I beat the hell outa them yesterday but they wouldn't budge. Stopped by the dealership during work today and talked to them. They gave me a couple of 8mm bolts. Turned them into the threaded hole in the discs and bang, they came free.

How important are the inner, outer and anti-squeek shims? Mine didn't have the anti-squeek shims when I pulled the caliper apart, and the inner shims were rusted to almost nothing.

The shims aren't that important, but I would replace them if possible. They will do what they're supposed to do, and if your brakes start squeaking later, you'll wish you had replaced them.<p>Before putting the new rotors on put a thin layer of "Never Seize" or "Anti Seize" on the hub where it contacts the rotor. That will keep the rotors from rusting to the hubs. Use a small amount, you don't want it flinging off onto your braking surfaces.

Yup, got a bit of never sieze on there. stuff's great. the rotors are cadmium plated though, so I would hope they won't stick on like the old ones. I got piles of rust on my garage floor from the stock rotors.