Weazer

So, when last we saw our hero he was enthused about installing the newly arrived drilled and slotted brake rotors on his 1999 Boxster Base manual with 88k miles. Other than some stubborn brake rotor set screws, the first three went rather smoothly. He used a grinder with a cut off wheel to grind slots into the screws and rotor hat, then a large flathead screw driver with an adjustable wrench on the flats and turned all the screws out. He used the rotor jacking holes to extract the rotors and, as the saying goes, installation is the reverse of removal. The last brake rotor, however, was to test or hero's patience. Initially, one of the large M12 x 1.5 allen head screws that secure the brake caliper to the wheel hub galled its threads and would not come out, to the point that the allen head snapped off. With the caliper out of the way, he noticed that there was quite a bit of play in the lower control arm pivot point and that the ball joint was loose and the boot destroyed. He had replaced the original control arms at 60K miles with a URO part in pursuit of a front end clunk which turned out to be torsion bar links. Next time he'll know to avoid that brand. Now he has to break that ball joint loose AND deal with that broken screw in the wheel hub, so he decides to remove the entire hub and take it down to the basement and put it in the brand new bench vise. Only problem is he first has to remove the old broken bench vise and install the new bench vise. So, he puts the wheel hub in the new vise, smacks the ball joint stud a couple of times and, voila, ball joint with attached junk control arm pops out. Now for that broken screw which is protruding about two inches from the wheel hub. While it was still on the car, he tried the double nut method, no dice, he tried a pipe wrench with an extension and had some turns but he was working in cramped quarters, so no dice again. Now he had plenty of room, but the screw was all chewed up from his previous attempts and the pipe wrench had no purchase. He pondered weak and weary in his basement dark and dreary until, huzzah, he used the grinder and cut off wheel trick again to grind longitudinal slots in the screw remains, and now the pipe wrench would bite and he was able to turn the broken screw out. He was dismayed at the condition of the internal thread, the galled screw had totally wiped them out. He did recall having to buy a rather pricey metric heli-coil set at NAPA years ago when he had a pulled head stud on his 1978 Alfa Romeo Spider 2000, could it be the same size and pitch? Yes, gentle readers, it was the same and there was much rejoicing, and cake. Our hero quick high tailed it to Home Depot for a replacement screw but, alas, they only had M12 x 1.75, no joy. The moral of the story is that even the best of intentions sometimes go SIDEWAYS! And so, our hero put it to rest for the day, but be sure to tune back in tomorrow when our hero continues his search for the elusive M12 x 1.5 screw, and if any of you kids knows where he might find one over the counter, don't be shy and pipe up! Hasta la vista baby.

DOUGLAP1

They have them available at McMaser-Carr. You probably have to buy a pack of 10. Depending on where you are, McMaster can deliver overnight.

Good luck.

Starter986

I hear ya. You think something will be a quick "in and out"... and them Mr. Wrench has to invite himself to the party.

You'll get it ironed out. At least you maintained a sense of humor. However...

If you invented any new profanities... please share them. I believe my neighbors are getting tired of the same old profanities I employ.

Weazer

So, gentle readers, our hero continued his quest for the Holy Grail, I mean M12 x 1.5 x 70mm allen head cap screw which secures brake caliper to wheel hub. He tried Home Depot, not, he tried Fastenal (Specialty industrial fastener chain store), not, he tried McMaster Carr on-line, not, he tried Amazon on-line, one supplier with packages of two each for $13.80 but delivery in late May/early June, not. Hero dude was getting seriously pissed. On his way to lunch today at his Mom's, on a whim, he popped into this little Mom and Pop hardware store, Schwering's in Mt. Laurel NJ, and voila (I like voila!), they had M12 x 1.5 x 70mm hex head bolts at $7 each.! That will definitely work! As a wise old Chinese seer once said, "Gotta watch those little Mom and Pop hardware stores, you never know what they might have." And so, as the sun sets over the mountains, our Hero rests secure in the knowledge that this particular Porsche debacle is back on track. On your way out of the attraction, please be sure to stop in at our gift shop and purchase a Santa Sack or two which contain an authentic imitation Flyers hockey puck, an autographed picture of Eugene the Magical Jeep, and a Porsche tooth brush. Ciao.

Starter986

Awesome narrative! Thank you for the laugh.