Are the rear rotors removable?

[liveandletdie]

are the rear rotors in a 98 ranger 2wd removable?
(not sure on gears..likely weakest)

one of the studs on the rotor is bent...so am looking to either replace the rotor or the stud.....if it is possible.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

yes the DRUM comes off. if the stud if bent severely you'll have to cut most of it off and knock the rest out with a punch and a hammer.

if its only bent a little bit you can probably get away with punching it out right away.

if the drum is still stuck, give the flange in between 2 studs a good smack with a big hammer and it should pop off unless its hung up on brake shoes

 

[scotts90ranger]

if the stud is bent, the drum probably won't come off without a fight, either bend the stud to the point of breaking off or pound it in.

 

[liveandletdie]

Some pictures...

The stud ended up breaking when I was taking the lug nut off, was kind of surprised. Not sure where to go from here, looks like a good idea to replace the drum brakes? How do I remove the studs and/or drum? Is it supposed to just pull off after a bit of hammering or something similar?

Also the cover (don't know name) had the holes bent up as seen in the picture. Do I need a new one of those? It seems to be whats making the noise, so I am not so sure the drum brakes need replaced.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

That 'cover' is the DRUM. You are looking at the end of the axle shaft and the brake shoes/springs/ wheel cylinders and adjusters. You already have the drum off. The stud simply can be pounded through with a hammer. Install the new one from the back side of the axle shaft, put some big washers onto the stud, put the lug nu back on and tighten down until the stud is fully installed into the axle shaft.

Looks like you have lots of friction material left on the shoes, and the wheel cylinders don't look to be leaking. And there are no broken springs. I see no need to replace those shoes. The drum looks like its fubar. I'd get new ones. The holes being ob-longed like that seems kinda suspicious....like a wheel had been loose for a while or something.

 

[Mac]

Think I'd replace all the studs while you're at it. Check the wheel also to see how the holes look in it.
Dave

 

[shane96ranger]

Think I'd replace all the studs while you're at it. Check the wheel also to see how the holes look in it.
Dave

Me too. Those have lost some integrity from the drum rubbing like that.

Out of curiosity, do you do a lot of power braking?

 

[liveandletdie]

replaced the studs/drum

still having the same noise =/

I tighten the lug nuts down all the way but then it seems like the drum is still moving around so it can't be all the way down....could my wheel be bent?

Thinking I am going to have someone look at the weels.

 

[scotts90ranger]

did you look at the lug holes in the wheels? if the drum is shot like that there's a reason and the wheel should be shot too, there's no other way for that to happen.

Do you by chance have steel wheels? do the lug nuts have caps on the end? if so, the nuts might be bottomed out making the drum and wheel loose...

there is definitely something wrong

 

[liveandletdie]

did you look at the lug holes in the wheels? if the drum is shot like that there's a reason and the wheel should be shot too, there's no other way for that to happen.

Do you by chance have steel wheels? do the lug nuts have caps on the end? if so, the nuts might be bottomed out making the drum and wheel loose...

there is definitely something wrong

My plan is to put the old wheels back on, I was out of town so had to buy some tires out there to replace the bald ones. But now that I am back home I can put on the studded tires that weren't in season when I left.

Yes they are steel wheels, I will post pictures tomorrow. I would just feel a lot more comfortable with the old ones which hopefully will fix the problem as they bolt down without the lug nuts almost going through the wheels. The old lug nuts did not have a cap however just to be safe i bought new lug nuts, but these do have caps on them.

Also for the other response, the holes on the spindle (my brother, and you guys have got my terms straightened out) appear to be fine.....no wear.
My brother says it matters what holes I put the studs through the spindle, I don't think it does though but he told me it after I put them into different holes. What do you guys guys say?

 

[feellnfroggy]

When you put your brakes back together did you tighten the self adjuster? It has to have tension on it a little in order to work properly, what kinda noise are you having?

 

[liveandletdie]

When you put your brakes back together did you tighten the self adjuster? It has to have tension on it a little in order to work properly, what kinda noise are you having?

squeeling at near stop, clanking at all other speeds.

the wheel has visible wear on the inside on one side but not the other...so I am thinking it is the wheel.

 

[basketranger]

Check wheel for "true". see if axle has any excessive movement up, down side to side. sounds like to me either wheel is bent or axle bearings may be "toast".

 

[colby450xc]

Looks like the easiest thing to do would to be removing the shaft from the axle tube, otherwise all of the braking components will need to be taken off.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Looks like the easiest thing to do would to be removing the shaft from the axle tube, otherwise all of the braking components will need to be taken off.

Say what?