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A captive rotor gets its name from where the rotor is located in relationship to the hub. Captive rotor vehicles have the rotor mounted inboard of the hub assembly. A typical example fo this design rotor is shown in Figure 1. Also known as a "trapped" rotor, this type of setup bolts the rotor to the inside of the hub. This combined assembly is then pressed into the bearing/knuckle assembly. The bearing/knuckle assembly consists of the steering knuckle, inner and outer wheel bearings, grease seals and usually some type of retaining device (See Figure 2). The design has been around many years and is used on more than a dozen different vehicles. The list of vehicles equipped with captive rotors is shhown in Table 1.
Vehicles equipped with this design rotor present certain service challenges to the brake technician. Unlike typical hubless rotors, these rotors cannot be easily removed to perform machining or replacement. Over the years, the industry has allowed a non-accepted procedure to be used on these vehicles. This procedure involves using a slide hammer to "pull" the rotor and hub out of the steering knuckle. Figure 3 shows the typical result of such a procedure. What we see is that part of the outer wheel bearing was removed at the same time. If we take a closer look, we will see that the outer grease seal was also removed (See Figure 4). This is where the problem is. When the rotor is reinstalled, it is impossible to make sure the outer grease seal presses back into the steering knuckle. If the seal doesn/t press back into the knuckle, it will result in bearing failure.
Some of those vehicles use a sealed bearing assembly. Using a slide hammer to remove the hub and rotor in these vehicles can result in damaging the bearing assembly. What usually happens with these vehicles is the inner race of the outer wheel bearing is being pulled off with the hub and rotor. The removal of the inner race from the sealed bearing assembly can damage the seal, which can result in bearing failure.
None of the manufacturers of these vehicles condone the use of this method to service their vehicles. The correct method of service will...