Gelignite

Does anyone have any tips for undoing siezed caliper bolts? I am trying to swap my old rear 2 pot calipers for 4 pots but the bolts are siezed solid. This was supposed to be a nice easy weekend project I think I am going to try a kettle of boiling water after leaving overnight for the penetrating fluid to soak in.
Steve

MisterRisky

Here's what I typically try (in order):

24" cheater bar
Penetrating oil over night
tap it with a hammer all up and down the sides
apply heat with a hand held torch
36" cheater bar
drill and tap out the bolt with head broken off by 36" cheater bar

Good luck.

elbeee964

yeah, but JD, the poor guy's dealing with that damned rear brake's 'buried' bolt. (surrounded by alum banana swing arm.) He can't go blithely torching that stuff, right?

But me likey, your classic cheater bar choices: long, and Longer. Pen. oil and tappity-tap can't hurt, either.

On this, fellow Brother of the Cheater Bar Fraternity, we heartily agree.

Indycam

The treads that the bolts grabs into are in the caliper , iirc .
The calipers are being replaced , so nuking the calipers with high heat is no big deal .

elbeee964

Yeah, perhaps... I just hate to go tactical nuke when an sdb will 'do'.

That rear caliper was the first (of now, about 4) places that just about had me throwing in the towel. The loads were just that outrageous. And with just a single point jack & stands, the angles you could get to them -- never seemed right to apply real muscle.

Gelignite

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I will just keep feeding it penetrating fluid and hope that if I can just get the top bolt undone then maybe I can twist the caliper a little to help free up the hidden one.
Steve

jimq

those bolts are a real killer. I used a 3' heavy pipe cheater bar on my socket handle and sort of bounced it up and down for some shock factor on the bolts. I had mine on my lift so had a little bit more room to work with but I still thought they never would come lose.

boxsey911

Apart from what everyone else says about getting as long a lever on your socket as possibe, get yourself a can of 'shock and unlock' from Halfords. This is so much better than the normal penetrating srays like WD40.

Also I presume you have made yourself something like this from a 10mm Allen key so that you can undo them?

elbeee964

Steve-

Good examples to show.
Would much, much more recommend the one on the left .
(Along with the ample section of pipe extension that fits over its handle, of course! )

Reason: though they both may be able to take the break-away torque, that fellow on the right will be more flexible under load. And it's damned demoralizing to have what little, prime, Grade-A grunt-space he'll have taken up by flexibility -- and still not hitting break-away. (I Hate those instances!) Mondo-beef, stiff tool is preferable.

boxsey911

I agree Lonnie, the one on the left is the better for braking and I've found that my handle off my trolley jack conveniently works over it as an extension bar. The one on the right is useful for the initial tightening of the bolts and nice to work with in the confined space - it's made from the other half of the hex key that I cut. I never throw anything out

elbeee964

[chuckle] It's a common malady, brother.

Gelignite

Two down two to go! I got the top two more accessible bolts off and the encouraging thing is that there was copper grease on the threads. I worked at cleaning the washer end and freeing that up and having got one apart it was clear that this was where it was siezed.
Steve

elbeee964

[crowd chants] Go! Go! Go!

Gelignite

New calipers and discs now on I was going to post a pic of the weapon I finally constructed but my wife has lost the camera, will post when it turns up. I just need to swap the regulator valve now and bleed the system. This is my first serious DIY on the p-car (for about 15 year on any car actually) so I am feeling quite satisfied now. Thanks again for all the encouragement- I would probably have given up but for that.

boxsey911

Well done