The Snowball Effect!!!

[lefty67]

decided to change front brake pads at weekend and found that I also need new calipers and new discs
any tips for getting calipers off, soaked the two bolts with wd but wont budge, blow torch?
anything else worth doing while im at it?

[jamesandtheopenroad]

You need something strongef than wd40. Plusgas or penetrating spray. And soak them a few times. They've probably got locktite on the thread too.

[pionte]

A bigger bar.... are you talking about the 19 mm bolts ? if so get a decent socket on there, give it a clout with a hefty hammer then pull with a decent 3/4 inch ratchet and they should come off . I sometimes use a t bar and start them with a hefty hammer hit if they are being stubborn. Ive never come across ones that needed heating.

[kevtherev]

yes.. don't fanny about.. man up to it.
this is a commercial van and needs big tools..


remember it's anticlock to undo

WD = water dispersant.. not penetrating fluid

[lloydy]

Yep, a breaker bar got mine off

[lefty67]

nuts now soaking in gt85, will have three, yes three, Weetabix in the morning and bring out the trusty lump hammer and probably end up in A&E.

[Daffy]

nuts now soaking in gt85, will have three, yes three, Weetabix in the morning and bring out the trusty lump hammer and probably end up in A&E.

Really? Are you going for a whole contribution appearing in "Taken out of context"? Going to let you off on this occasion but it it has taken every fibre of my being !!

[lefty67]

nuts now soaking in gt85, will have three, yes three, Weetabix in the morning and bring out the trusty lump hammer and probably end up in A&E.

Really? Are you going for a whole contribution appearing in "Taken out of context"? Going to let you off on this occasion but it it has taken every fibre of my being !!

cheers, youre a gent.

Well today didn't go to plan!! After having to purchasing a breaking bar due to knackering up two ratchets and snapping a ring spanner I managed to get o/s caliper off ok but snapped the head off one of the bolts on the n/s, got the other out ok. Now in the process of drilling out the bolt but have noticed it is threaded, this could get interesting!

[pionte]

crickey..... you are a tad unlucky there... Ive never hear of someone cross threading one of these before, probably wound in with a air gun there are some real cowboys about.

I hope you get it sorted with as minimal pain as possible.

[ghost123uk]

nuts now soaking in gt85.

Do your self a favour next time and get some proper releasing spray = PLUSGAS It really does make a big difference.

I too hope you get it sorted without too much in the way of further dramas

[blacky]

nuts now soaking in gt85, will have three, yes three, Weetabix in the morning and bring out the trusty lump hammer and probably end up in A&E.

Really? Are you going for a whole contribution appearing in "Taken out of context"? Going to let you off on this occasion but it it has taken every fibre of my being !!

Lefty, I think you're misreading the post. There is no full stop between three and Weetabix. I.e. Weetabix is not the start of a new sentence, if it were this would suggest he has an abundance of something that Hitler was alleged to be deficient of to the tune of one.

[lefty67]

can anyone confirm if these are early ATE calipers






and thanks for all the help so far

[lefty67]

successfully drilled out the seized bolt, and ordered 2 new calipers, 2 discs and 2 sets of bearings. Piontes's thread will come in handy when I do the bearings.
Don't know if anyone will find it useful but here is the procedure I used to drill out the offending bolt
1-cut off/file down the broken end to leave a nice flat surface
2-use a centre punch to mark the centre of the bolt, give it a good ole thwack, this will stop the drill bit from slipping and act as a guide for the bit
3-start the drilling with a small HSS drill bit, I usually start with a 3 or 3.5, slow but sure is the way to go. More torque is better than speed, I find that going too fast burns out the drill bits quicker. Make sure you have some lubrication to hand and spray the drill bit/bolt regularly, in this case I used gt85 because I had some to hand.
4-Once you have drilled through the centre of the bolt then gradually use a larger drill bit to enlarge the hole. each time a bigger bit is used start drilling lightly and slowly, too much pressure/force usually results in the drill bit jamming and can quickly bugger up your drill or worse still, wrist ligaments.
5-the final drill bit used should be one that would fit snuggly through the hole if the bolt wasn't there, again go slowly and check regularly that the bit is not going to damage the threads in the hole. If your lucky the remainder of the bolt might come out as you drill but if not a thin screwdriver is usually enough to ease it away from the thread and out of the hole.
If I knew anything about mechanics then I would write something more useful

[lefty67]

now all done, new calipers, new discs, new bearings, new pads and brakes bled with fresh fluid. Noticed the difference immediately, brakes must have been dragging for some time.
many thanks to all those that gave advice and to pionte for his helpful thread on bearing replacement
whats next I wander?

[kevtherev]

rears?