Hello All,

First off, I'm not a very experience DIY mechanic, so feel free to instruct as necessary.

My goal here is to save a few bucks and perform this service myself. I'm not looking to upgrade, just replace what's there with something reasonable.

I have the rotors and pads, and I started work this afternoon, hoping to be done in a few hours. I got the first wheel off, pulled the caliper, and removed the pads without too much trouble. Next, I went to get the caliper mounting bracket off, but neither bolt would budge. I blasted them both with some Deep Creep, but that didn't help. There isn't a ton of room under there for a huge breaker bar, but I had about 2.5 feet of lever to work with. The damn thing wouldn't move.

Any advice before I give up and take it in the shorts when I take it to the shop?

Thanks,

Rob

 

Blast it overnight with the penetrant and try again tomorrow. Those bolts are torqued to hell BUT they will budge.

 

Got the bolts out! Now I'm trying to get the rotor off. I see the hole to screw a bolt into and break the rotor loose, but I'm wondering if anyone knows what size bolt it is?

I tried whacking the old rotor with a hammer, but it didn't break it loose. I'll keep trying that and find a bolt the right size.

Rob

 

Thought I had the right bolt for getting the rotor off (7mm with 1mm pitch), but I think the rust inside the hole has sufficiently buggered it up.

I don't have a tap/die set, so maybe that's next.

Rob

 

OK... I just found this, and it looks very promising (after you get through the first part of it).


I'll let you know how it works out. I won't get back to it until tomorrow night or so.

Rob

 

Success! Too bad I will be preoccupied for the next couple of days... I want to get this done!

Rob

 

I just did this about 3 weeks ago by following 2 YouTube videos. Nothing was frozen so getting everything off wasn't too bad. I lacked the strength to do the bolts that hold the brackets, tho, so my brother did that, and I couldn't torque them back on easily (I weigh about 114lbs).

All this to say that when putting it all back together, I suggest using a small amount of hi-temp, anti-seize compound on every bolt and even on the ones that hold the wheel in. This should make the next go-round much easier. Just use a very small, THIN coat and cover the entire bolt/nut. I didn't put it on the one bolt that goes in at the bottom of the caliper, for that I used the same compound used on the edge of the pads (a small amount, again).

Good luck and I hope this helps.

 

Huge no-no. Torque spec for wheel lug nuts are for clean and dry threads. A thin coat of compound on any bolt/nut will lead to an incorrectly torqued piece if you are following the factory recommendations.

 

I under-torqued the lugnuts (by5-7lbs) when replacing the wheels since people tend to over-torque them with anti-seize on them.

How much of a difference would using Permatex make, with a super thin coat, on torque weight, especially since torque wrenches aren't always accurately calibrated (just take your car to 3 different garages to find out-- the difference can >5lbs)? My main concern is that the nut would become undone because of the slight lubricating effects of the anti-seize. What I do do, tho, is torque it down a notch and not to the max on the book.

The jury is out on the "it's a huge mistake to use anti-seize" on lug nuts (even tho Permatex doesn't recommend it b/c people tend to over-torque the lugnuts), with some techs saying it's a poor idea while others say it's not a bad idea if you're very careful. I've known several track and cross guys who swear by it.

From another perspective... try removing your lug nuts in the rain after the shop put your wheels 3 months ago with an air wrench. With the permatex, even a girl can do it with 80lbs torque pounds of pressure as opposes to what seems to be 150lbs from some shops.

I'm asking b/c it was a simple creative (and maybe not smart move on my part), and not to be sarcastic or argumentative. Can you explain your reasoning so that I can better understand.

 

Do not put antisieze on your lugs. It will not give you a correct torque measurement.

I do recommend putting antisized on the face of the hub and the backside of the hat of the rotor.

 

Passenger side is back together and functioning properly! I just got back from a quick test drive. It feels really good to be able to get this work done myself.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!

Rob

 

Congrats.