Will wheels rotate with only front or rear of car on stands?

[S4Flyer]

Anyone know if it's possible to rotate the front wheels if both front tires are off the ground, but the rears aren't?

Do all the wheels need to be off the ground? (not quite sure how quattro works with car in neutral)

Gonna be changing rotors and want to be able to rotate the wheels when hammering them off.

[dls11b8]

Why do you need to rotate the wheels to hammer the rotors off? rotate the hammer around the stationary rotor..?

Honestly, it should take one, MAYBE two good whacks, and they're off. At least it did for me when I did mine a few weeks ago.


To answer your question though.. To the best of my knowledge, putting the trans in N will only de-couple the driveline from the engine. The differentials are still engaged, therefore you can't rotate the fronts independently if the rears are on the ground.

[S4Flyer]

Why do you need to rotate the wheels to hammer the rotors off? rotate the hammer around the stationary rotor..?

I'd like to hammer them from them off from the inside, not just beat on the outside. The debris shield covers about 75% of the rotor on the inside.

Mine are stuck on good. I soaked them in PB Blaster and hammered on the one section for quite a while. Going to try again tonight.

[superswiss]

Yes, the wheels rotate on the front or rear differential if you only rotate one wheel at a time, the opposite wheel will rotate in the opposite direction. Just don't force them to rotate in the same direction unless all four wheels are off the ground and then only for a limited distance. Quattro is a mechanical permanent AWD system, so the front axle is always connected via the center differential to the rear axle, hence no towing with one axle on the ground and one off the ground unless you wanna shred the center differential.

[chaos2984]

I'd like to hammer them from them off from the inside, not just beat on the outside. The debris shield covers about 75% of the rotor on the inside.

Mine are stuck on good. I soaked them in PB Blaster and hammered on the one section for quite a while. Going to try again tonight.

Quit being a P and hit the rotor hat with a real hammer. They will come off you just have to hit them hard enough. You won't damage the rotor hat, Promise. Ive done it 100's of times and GM vehicles are the worst. They rust from day 1.

[audioclip]

One approach that worked for me is to loosen to bolts enough to allow for slight play, and lower the car. Sometimes the pressure of the tire pressing against the ground and bearing some weight is sufficient to un-bind the stuck hub; other times lowering it all the way and driving forward and back a few feet does the trick.

Edit: Never mind, just re-read and realized the reference was to the brake rotors, not rotor (-style) wheels lol :P

[Loe]

not sure if it would work on a B8.5 DSG crown-gear set-up as the purpose was to rid of the TBR that the Torsen needs in order to mechanically divvy up torque. May work on those equipped with a Torsen center diff.

[timzcat]

Doesn't matter if you hit it from front or back. You are not driving them off just jarring loose, in fact I've always found hitting from front around outside works better.

[S4Flyer]

Thanks for the suggestions. Didn't realize there were ways of removing them other than knocking them off from the back.

I'll give it another shot tonight, with a rubber mallet.

I also only had a metal hammer the first time, not a rubber mallet, so I didn't want to beat the shit out of them for two reasons:

- If I couldn't get them off, I'd be stuck with mangled rotors and no way to work
- I heard too much hammering isn't good for the bearings

[tsuter]

Silly question, but you did remove the screw already correct? Assuming so. Also, do you have an air hammer? Those can work wonders for stuck on parts. Just concentrate around the hub/hat area and beat it like it owes you money.

[S4Flyer]

Silly question, but you did remove the screw already correct? Assuming so. Also, do you have an air hammer? Those can work wonders for stuck on parts. Just concentrate around the hub/hat area and beat it like it owes you money.

Haha... nicely put.

Yes, I had removed the screw. I'm gonna hit it with more pb blaster tonight, let it sit, then go to town on it.

Had a first date a couple nights ago and got two comments:

- "Nice ride!"

...then as we stopped at a light on our way to dinner...SQUEEEEAAAAK!!

- "Is that US??"

[cspcrx]

When I did my brakes I had to hit it with the PB and let it sit, then it hit again. Then I had to hit it a bunch with my rubber mallet. Got a good workout. But the PB did help.

[hotleadsingergu]

How many miles do you have on your car? If you're driving a 2015 you probably only have to change out the pads...not necessarily the rotors. For cars like this it's recommended to change out the rotors for every other pad change.

The squeal and dust problem will be completely alleviated with new pads.

[S4Flyer]

How many miles do you have on your car? If you're driving a 2015 you probably only have to change out the pads...not necessarily the rotors. For cars like this it's recommended to change out the rotors for every other pad change.

The squeal and dust problem will be completely alleviated with new pads.

I'm at 20k miles. No issues with the rotors other than a slight lip around the very edges, where the pads don't contact them.

I had planned to replace the front with ECS slotted, and leave the rears stock.

My pads are actually fine, too, but i'm tired of the noise and dust. Going with Akebono ceramics.

[hotleadsingergu]

Definitely recommend Akebonos. I changed out my pads at ~8,500 miles because of the squeal and dust, and I couldn't be happier.

As for replacing only the front rotors...I'd recommend either replacing none or all. It's a good idea to replace all at the same time, so unless you really have a need (you shouldn't) you should be able to just replace the pads and be done with it.

[S4Flyer]

Definitely recommend Akebonos. I changed out my pads at ~8,500 miles because of the squeal and dust, and I couldn't be happier.

As for replacing only the front rotors...I'd recommend either replacing none or all. It's a good idea to replace all at the same time, so unless you really have a need (you shouldn't) you should be able to just replace the pads and be done with it.

Good suggestion. I may go that route. And just hold onto the ECS rotors for when I actually need them.

[Evan2]

Haha... nicely put.

Yes, I had removed the screw. I'm gonna hit it with more pb blaster tonight, let it sit, then go to town on it.

Had a first date a couple nights ago and got two comments:

- "Nice ride!"

...then as we stopped at a light on our way to dinner...SQUEEEEAAAAK!!

- "Is that US??"

Changing the brakes for a lady? Better put a ring on it!

[Vogz]

OP, stop being a puss and whack the rotors with a sledge hammer on the friction surface. They will come right off. Especially at only 20K miles. Don't be afraid to knock the shit out of them. Rubber mallet won't do it.

[timzcat]

Sounds like he doesn't even need to remove them now. I thought he was replacing them which means beat the shit out of it, if not then don't bother at all.

[SwankP3RF3ct10n]

You can do this, but jack up a single side and when you rotate, not front up with back down. Left up with right down and vice versa. While you're at it, you can even do your tire rotation front to back if you want at the same time since you'll do one side of the car and then the other.

[S4Flyer]

You can do this, but jack up a single side and when you rotate, not front up with back down. Left up with right down and vice versa. While you're at it, you can even do your tire rotation front to back if you want at the same time since you'll do one side of the car and then the other.

Good tip!