Well this weekend, I had two projects in mind, 1) Swap old brakes for new S4 units. 2) Some interior work.

Anway, I get the car up on the jack stands, and the calipers off, and then I look at the scrws holding my rotors on, guess what....they are stripped, 2 of the 4 there is no way I can get them off the other two come up, but are also badly damaged.

What the hell am I going to do? I am thinking I am going to have to drill and tap them, but I am fairly worried about working with brakes and doing anything that may cause them to fail.

Any help, or advice will be apreacated.

O then I try to get to task two, thinking I can still get stuff done, well the new carpet doesn't fit.... I love frustration....

 

Ian, it's been a few years since I was last into the brakes that far, so this is from memory... and I'm sure someone may post a more elegant solution...

A) To get the rotor off... use an electric drill with a bit close to the diameter of the head of the screw. Drill in a litle ways, then use a small cold chisel to finish breaking the head off. Leave as much of the screw shank intact as possible for step B.

B) To get the remnant of the screw out... you can try vise grips, penetrating oil, and heat. If it's really bad, you'll need to drill it & use an EZ-out.

Before trying step A, use some penetrating oil, and whack the head of the screw a few times with a hammer and blunt punch to wake up the threads.. won't help get the screw out before drilling, but may help when you try the vise-grips.

Don't worry too much about screwing things up.. these screws, AFAIK, are just there to keep the rotor in place when the wheel is off. The braking forces are transmitted by the lug studs & friction between rotor hat, hub, and wheel.

Jim, "This space intentionally left blank."

 

wow, jim.

Sounds like you might have stripped a screw before. That deserves a bump. Good advice. <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" />

 

You can also use an impact driver that you whack with a hammer. Works pretty well in most situations with stubborn phillips screws.

 

Thanks guys,

Any idea on the part number for those screws?

 

Jonathan, thanks. I've been working with recalcitrant machinery of various types for ~35 years... not full time (except long ago in the USN, before there was light or dirt... ), but on a regular basis. Yep, I've stripped a screw or two...

Danno's right about the inpact driver... or "un-driver" .. they work great, as long as there's a decent amount of slot left.

My grand dad sold Mack trucks back when the had solid rubber tires & chain drive (no s*&t). One of his frequent sayings is well illustrated by these screws...
"The inate perversity of inanimate objects...."


Jim, "Defective component detected; replace operator & strike any key when ready."

 

Impact driver gets my vote..
I race a 1/10th scale nitro RS4 RC Sedan, Porsche Gt1 body of course , and the screws come in constant contact with the asphalt, great for removing screw heads, but hell if your looking to remove the engine. i use a medium phillips in the impact driver fashion.
Even with locktite, works like a charm....

 

My guess is that they are not seized, but someone tried to remove them with a screwdriver and stripped them out. As has been suggested, first try the impact driver, then drill the head off as suggested by Jim. At this point, the rotor should pull right off and if your lucky, the screw will thread right off with you fingers. If not, before attacking the screw remnant with vise grips or ez-outs, try to slot the remnant with a die grinder or hack saw and thread out with a flat head.

good luck!

 

heck yeah! i love my electric RS4 Sport2... i sport the 993 Turbo body, 996 Turbo and GT3 body, and r.i.p. to my boxster.. hee hee... the greatest way to learn all about screwdriving is those darned little remotes... gotta love it when my car's in tip-top shape so i can throw money at that little demon

 

Hi Ian

As suggested above: Impact driver first.
If the philips bit is a nogo, try the (smaller) standard flat bit. This will "chop" some grip in the head.
If everything fails, get the drill.

Screws are standard M6 - full treaded, steel quality 8.8.
I think 12 mm long but am not sure here.
You can get them at any hardwere store that has metric sized fasteners.
Replace / re-install all four, if you miss one, the un-balance will cause vibrations.
TaceCare