Caliper Self-Rebuild vs Reman?

#21

[quote=“ctbimmer” post=61329][quote=“Gilles” post=61322]
Problem now is I have a stripped out rotor hold on bolt that I stupidly tried to drill, and now it’s just a mess :sick: (I gave up for the day and the rotor is still on). [/quote]
Wes, so the rotor is still on the hub, and the little allen head bolt is stripped, right? This is one of the most satisfying quick-fix jobs on the planet.

Of course you have removed the caliper. Rotate the rotor so that the stripped bolt is pointing forward (away from where the caliper would be) – This gives you max leverage.

Take a BFH (5-lb sledge is about right) and smack the crap out of the inside of the rear edge of the rotor. Basically you are driving the rotor outwards away from the car.

May take 2 or 3 whacks, but the rotor WILL come off, and the remains of the bolt will still be threaded into hub, but now there will be a nub you can grab with vice grips to remove what is left over.

Enjoy!

PS this pretty much is guaranteed to damage or destroy rotor, but you are planning to replace it anyway, correct?

On reassembly, if you use a new bolt (I do) liberally coat with anti-seize, and in the future, i.e. the next time you plan to remove the rotor, before you attempt to loosen the allen bolt, you might want to put an Allen socket (not a wrench) on the bolt and give it a few light taps with a regular hammer to shock it a little loose before attempting to turn. Be careful when you do this; it’s easy to snap off the business end of the Allen socket if you hit crooked or too hard.[/quote]

This trick works great, done it many time and seen it done many times. The rotor will be toast after the first whack!

#22

Chuck, I did try the BFH method last nite, but I hsd the hold down bolt on the same side that I wacked the rotor; after about 3 wacks, I was despondent and afraid I may have been doing damage to bearings or hub or something… obviously, I didn’t have the rotor turned around correctly for max breakaway leverage.

After some tossing and turning through the night, I got the bolt out pretty easily this morning. Last night, I had used a very small bit and drilled out the edge on one side of the stripped bolt. This morning I used a punch and hammer in that side-edge hole and I was able to punch it sideways at a tangent and spin the bolt counter clockwise and OUT!!
New rotors, reman calipers, and fresh pads will go on this afternoon after watching Brazilian GP practice.

Thanks for all the info/advice.

#23

Don’t get despondent over the likes of this. Depths of despair too wrenching and awful to describe await. That is to say, much better opportunities. For despair.

Pinpricks of irritation like this form the training field upon which you will be forged into a rock of Gibraltor. Next, you’re car will get banged up little and you’ll be saddened. Then your engine will start hiccuping when ever your fuel tank drops below 12gal, then someone will whack the shit of your car and you’ll be bummin. Then you’ll do something dumb and whack into or a tirewall, and you’ll be aghast. Then your brakes will start misbehaving for no good reason and a it will frustrate the piss out of you. Just as the brakes seem to gloriously fix themselves, your car will start running hotter than it used to. As you haplessly chase the temp problem and hope for the best a mystery “tick tick tick” will start coming from the engine at warm idle.

Then the say will come when you pull out of a race because the temp gauge is in the red. And as you pull into the paddock thinking “please baby please baby” there will be a sudden BANG and the #6 rod will never be found.

This is the time to build endless reserves of good natured cheer and tenacity.

You’ll need it.

Author’s note. The “big grin” is meant to imply that we are here to support you. It should not be construed as implying that the tale of woe is exaggerated.