# Warped brake rotors

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/warped-brake-rotors/53278>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** mazda3, mazda, brakes\
**Created:** [August 10, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/warped-brake-rotors/53278 "2010-08-10T01:29:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![head\_gasket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@head\_gasket](https://community.cartalk.com/u/head_gasket)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/warped-brake-rotors/53278/1 "2010-08-10T01:29:36Z")

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I am trying to replace the front brake rotors on my 05 Mazda3. I have not been able to get the rotors off. People at parts stores say that I should be able to tap it and it will come loose. I have tapped and even hit it pretty hard and it will not budge. Nobody has a rotor puller to rent either.

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**Author:** ![doubleclutch](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/doubleclutch/32/1281_2.png) [@doubleclutch](https://community.cartalk.com/u/doubleclutch)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/warped-brake-rotors/53278/2 "2010-08-10T01:52:57Z")

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First, make sure the rotors aren’t held on by screws. Hitting the rotor on the edge in a radial direction usually works. You don’t need a huge honkin’ hammer. A 16 oz. carpenter’s hammer will work. Sometimes a smallish hammer that swings fast will give more percussive force than a real big one that you can’t get moving. Swing the hammer like you are trying to drive a nail into the edge toward the center. Hitting the rotor from behind, which would seem to make sense, is futile in my experience.

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**Author:** ![rripstop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/65b543/32.png) [@rripstop](https://community.cartalk.com/u/rripstop)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/warped-brake-rotors/53278/3 "2010-08-10T03:19:44Z")

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A lot of rotors also have a threaded hole in the the hat, the part where the lugs are. It’s a metric thread. You just have to find a matching bolt to screw into the hole and that effectively acts as a puller to get the thing off.

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**Author:** ![Xebadaih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d07c76/32.png) [@Xebadaih](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Xebadaih)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/warped-brake-rotors/53278/4 "2010-08-10T03:49:31Z")

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I have a 50 ounce hammer that I use to get brake rotors off. Sometimes you have to wail on them pretty hard. As long as you hit the rotor, you aren’t going to break anything.