How do you remove the front disk brake rotor on a 2003 Nissan Frontier?

Answer 1

jack, jacks stands, tire iron or 1/2 in breaker bar and 19mm socket, maybe a 2 inch socket wrench ext. 14 mm wrench. channel locks, good pliers, 4 to 6 inch carded ( flat blade ) screwdriver. another sturdy thin bladed carded screw driver. small hammer. a thin blade chisel ( may substitute screw driver ). large box or 3 feet of strong wire ( coat hanger ), paper towels or clean rags.

set parking brake. chock ( block ) rear tires. use 19 mm socket and breaker bar or factory tire iron to break the lug nuts loose on front wheel ( just break em loose do not turn em more than 1/2 turn ).

using factory jack or floor jack raise same side of truck that you broke lugs loose on. raise wheel off ground. just enough to clear earth ( can spin wheel without rubbing the ground/pavement ).

put jack stand under frame. slowly let jack down until frame rests on stand.

remove the lug nuts. remove the wheel. put wheel inside of wheel touching the earth under the frame next to the jack. should truck fall will fall on the wheel and possibly save your neck.

find the caliper. on rear of caliper are two 14 mm bolts. DO NOT remove the 12 mm bolts. the 14 mm bolts hold the calipers to the spindle bracket. i think the 14 mm are torqued to 28 ft lbs. CHECK MANUAL.

remove the top and bottom 14 mm. top is longer than the bottom. have a heavy gauge wire ready to hang the caliper from or a strong box to rest the caliper on. DO NOT let caliper hang by the brake hose. once bolts are removed, you may have to wedge a screwdriver or gently tap the caliper with block of wood ( or ??? ) to slide it towards the rear of the truck.

once the caliper is free, tie it off or rest on box, block of wood, ect.

you will see the rotor and lugs sticking out.

in center of the rotor is the hub. there is a hub or grease cap. grease cap must be removed.

have a clean paper towel or clean rag at ready.

slowly spin the rotor as if truck was moving down the road. gently tap the side of the grease cap as rotor spins. do not dent it. be gentle.

take thin blade screw driver and place blade between the hub and cap. gently tap the handle of the screw driver. attempt to wedge in between the hub and cap. tap, spin the rotor, tap in new spot. go all way around the cap 2 times.

using the channel locks, jaws facing the hub ( head on ), adjust for a square bite, grab the hub cap with the channel locks and attempt to wiggle the cap loose. you are not trying to pull the cap off, just loosen it.

the cap should now be moved out a bit from the hub. a screw driver can now be used in that space to move the cap and remove it from the hub.

put the cap on a clean rag or p towel.

under the cap, you will find grease. carefully wipe some of the grease away so that you can see the cotter pin and nut lock ( brass cover over the nut ).

use pliers to straighten the cotter pin. it may be bent in such a way that you may have to cut it. do the best you can to get it straight and true as you need to remove it by sliding it out towards the looped end of the cotter pin.

remove the cotter pin.

you should always replace cotter pins with new. the factory cotter pins are made of cheap material and tend to break. please do not reuse em. take with you to parts store to get proper size.

once cotter pin is removed, remove the cap over the nut. place next to the cap. use the channel locks to remove the nut holding the bearings in place. place next to cap. after removing nut ... use screw driver to gently remove the large washer behind the nut. use fingers to remove the timken bearing or gently pull the rotor towards you. move maybe 3/4 inch. this will move the bearing away from the spindle. then push the rotor back towards the backing plate. have clean rag or paper towel in free hand to catch the bearing as it may fall out of the hub. put bearing next to the cap.

once the outside hub bearing is removed, pull the hub towards you. it may hang on the spindle. be firm but gentle. do not force it.

once the rotor and hub are removed from the spindle, place it outside down on top of a clean rag or 3 or 4 clean paper towels.

on rear of the rotor are i think 6 14 mm bolts. these hold the rotor to the hub.

if you are strong enough, you can wedge the whole thing against the rear tire and your foot ( KEEP the whole thing CLEAN. do not let dirt get in the hub ) and remove the bolts.

me, i turn the hub on its side as if was on the spindle. ( remember KEEP things in that hub CLEAN ) rest the edge of rotor on cushion of rags or thick card board. use short 14 mm and breaker bar. get a good grip on the rotor. use the breaker bar and socket to break the bolts loose. i think they are torqued 18 lbs ( CHECK manual ). break all loose before removing any of em. once broken, remove all the bolts.

watch your fingers. sometimes the hub will fall free of the rotor or be stuck as if glued together.

if stuck, gently tap the hub around the area where the rotor and hub meet. you may need to use some penetrating oil and such. unless you are REPLACING the rotor, DO NOT tap on the rotor.

you may need to use a chisel or screwdriver to separate hub from rotor.

once separated, place the hub near the cap.

take rotors to be turned or replace em.

remember SAFETY first. always use proper safety devices and precautions.

hope this post helps and i did not leave any thing out. i wrote this from memory.

Wayne