Please help. Cant remove rear rotors. Stuck e-brake perhaps?

[Wally1552]

Hi all,

I'll make this short and sweet. Attempting to replace my rear rotors on my '11 E90 M3. Got all the way to the point where I should be able to pull off the rotors but no go. I disengaged the ebrake but noticed the wheels dont freely turn. When I pull them they come off only about 5mm and get stuck. Tried taking a rubber mallet to them but still stuck. Yes, the rotor set screws are off.

I believe my e-brake even though disengaged, is some how still interfering. As I wiggle the rotors I can hear them making contact with something.

Is there a way to manually release the e-brake fully so I can pull the rotors off?

Many thanks

[roastbeef]

You have to get a dead blow rubber mallet and tap them a bit.

[pbonsalb]

I have had to whack them with a mini sledge before. But if you can do it with a mallet, great. I think the rotor corrodes to the hub.

[Wally1552]

The rotors are loose. I used a mallet. But no matter what I try they wont come off. if my ebrake is off shouldn't the rotors spin freely? Is ebrake definitely not a possible cause here?

[drrust]

You could try to loosen the e-brake adjuster. One can see a 'Star' adjusters through the lug holes. One needs to use a flat head screw driver to adjust the tensions. Link below shows has some more info


E-Brake Cable (Tighten) https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=453084

[pbonsalb]

Let us know what you find.

[Wally1552]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Let us know what you find.

So I believe it's definitely the ebrake that is preventing me from getting the rotors off. They wiggle freely but just wont come off.

I'm in a weird position where since the rotors wont freely spin, I cant get to the star adjuster to loosen the ebrake discs.

Any ideas guys? Is there another way around this?

[drrust]

Do you have a DCT? You may need to pull the shifter boot and put it into 'tow' position/neutral. That may allow you to rotate the wheels.

[roastbeef]

Was the ebrake dragging before this? If not, I think you just need to muscle it.

[pbonsalb]

Put a wheel back on with 2-3 lugs and then turn until you can see the star adjuster and loosen. I forget which way is loose — it may depend which side of the car you are on.

[GotV8?]

I had a similar problem with mine, try putting a 2x4 on the back side of the rotor and hammering it from underneath the car going outward. It helps with the car on a lift, but still doable on jack stands. Just be very careful. good luck

[Wally1552]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Put a wheel back on with 2-3 lugs and then turn until you can see the star adjuster and loosen. I forget which way is loose — it may depend which side of the car you are on.

I will try this and report back.
I honestly think the ebrake may have been slight dragging but didn't realize before. As I pull on the rotor I can feel it catching on the ebrake discs. I would hammer the shit out if it but I'm worried i may damage the ebrake system.

If I can ensure the ebrake is out of the way I will go into hulk smash mode knowing it shouldn't damage anything. Also I have new rotors so no problem hitting the rotor edges as well.

[Wally1552]

Thank you pbonsalb!

Putting the wheel back on allowed me to rotate the hub until I could get to the star adjuster. After figuring out which way was to loosen the ebrake, the rotors came off easily!!

If anyone in the future is running into the same issue check your ebrake drum discs if they are still making contact with the bell housing of the rotors. Whew!

[rhyary]

Good information.
Thanks for sharing.
So step 1: loose the star before attempting to remove the rear rotor, while it is still rotating freely.

[pwrdbym]

I realize this has been solved, but wanted to mention you can also release the tension from the cables by pulling up the e-brake handle boot and loosening the two nuts holding the cables.

[rated_m3]

Originally Posted by pwrdbym

I realize this has been solved, but wanted to mention you can also release the tension from the cables by pulling up the e-brake handle boot and loosening the two nuts holding the cables.

So will that alone allow the rotor to spin freely? I have studs in place and they’re stuck in place with loctite so, it’s going to be a PITA to take them out to adjust the parking brake from the holes. I’d rather not do that.

[spammysammich]

There is a spring loaded catch under the hand brake cover that you can press in with a long screwdriver that relieves the tension on the brake. Push until the pawl grabs the catch. I used the standard adjustment procedure I used on my other cars and while I feel the brakes engage within 5 clicks, they don’t hold the car for shit on a slight grade. Two more clicks and it holds a little bit better but nothing like my other cars that can hold on a hill. Do the e-brakes just suck on these cars?

[Helmsman]

Originally Posted by spammysammich

Do the e-brakes just suck on these cars?

I know mine always did. Had it adjusted but still....suck.

[pbonsalb]

They hold fine when in good condition and adjusted properly. When damaged or glazed on old rotors that someone has dragged the ebrake on, they may suck but that is because they are not working properly.

[drwankel]

Originally Posted by spammysammich

There is a spring loaded catch under the hand brake cover that you can press in with a long screwdriver that relieves the tension on the brake. Push until the pawl grabs the catch. I used the standard adjustment procedure I used on my other cars and while I feel the brakes engage within 5 clicks, they don’t hold the car for shit on a slight grade. Two more clicks and it holds a little bit better but nothing like my other cars that can hold on a hill. Do the e-brakes just suck on these cars?

Mine holds fine on any hill. Usually, with rear discs, you have 3 ways of implementing an e-brake: Ebrake built into the rear caliper, a stand alone caliper style ebrake, or what our cars have, using the rotor hat as a drum brake.

When you compare disc brakes to drum brakes, one area that drums have the advantage is the e-brake. This is because the brake shoes have more contact area than the brake pads do. For the sole function of an emergency brake, this is better.

Putting a drum brake inside the disc brake and using the hat as a drum gives you the best of both worlds.

I'd suspect that you simply need to tighten yours more than they are now if they aren't holding the car on a hill. I've always adjusted an e-brake to the point where the lever should be at max reasonable pull before it gets to the top click. The number of clicks inbetween I've never really been concerned about. You really just want to ensure that things spin freely when the e-brake isnt applied, and you can engage the ebrake all the way.

One other thing to consider, but likely isn't applicable to you since you have a BBK. Last time I changed pads and rotors, I noticed immediately that my e-brake performance was absolutely awful, and I never touched the ebrake adjustment. I had a suspicion of what was happening. I had used zimmerman rotors, which have a coating on them, which will wear off the first time you hit the brakes. This coating is all over the rotor hat.

I gave the ebrake a few hard tugs with the button down while it was in motion and that cleared it right up. Pulling the ebrake while stationary will never remove that coating. It gives a little bit of material to bed into the drum/hat as well. In that sense, a BBK even with no coating on the rotor, bedding in a little bit of that brake shoe material can be helpful.

[nrubenstein]

I'm a little late to this, but it's worth noting that letting the suspension go to full droop can put some tension on the ebrake. Rather than messing with the adjuster, it may be possible to loosen up the ebrake enough to get the rotor off by simply jacking up the suspension to take some tension off the cables.

[rated_m3]

So I ended up getting the rotors off after I used an impact gun on my wheel studs with a stud extractor tool. The studs were rusted on the rotors so, after holding the impact there for like 20 seconds they finally broke free and the rotor fell off easily. Red loctite is a PITA to get loose too. Another thing I did was put the DCT into neutral manually which I missed the first time and it’s a very important step to do so, the rotors can spin freely.