Cobra4B

I'm 6'4" 242 and can throw around a fair amount of weight... yet I still bust my *** off breaking caliper bolts loose when working on the car. I'm tired and drenched in sweat.

I have it at pretty much max height on jack stands and use a 1.5 foot breaker bar... anything longer won't really fit in around the wheel well.

I have a heck of a time getting leverage to break the bolts loose... I mean it's a dang workout. Feels like lifting... I gotta breathe just right and focus to do this.

Am I working too hard... any tips short of a lift and air tools to do this? I have a compressor... maybe I should look into using my air toold.

gonzalezfj

Obviously you need to get to the gym more often...

No, seriously, my air gun does not fit inside the wheelwell to attack those pesky caliper bolts. Yyou have two choices:

a) Get better leverage on your 18" breaker bar.
b) Lay the end of the breaker bar on a jack and let the hydraulics do the heavy lifting.

Good luck,
Frank Gonzalez

JimBacus

My electric cordless impact wrench fits inside the wheel well. I don't even break a sweat.

freefall

For the front driver's side caliper bolts, turn the wheel to the right and you'll have plenty of room for the impact wrench - vice versa for the right.

For the rears, get one of these and an extension:



Your life will be so much more relaxing...

LeMansBlue04

You can reach the front caliper bolts with an impact wrench due to the fact that you can turn the wheel. The rear can't be done this way. Perhaps a universal impact joint on the impact wrench would work. Don't even think about using a standard universal joint on the impact wrench.

I do the rears by hand with no serious problems. I'm 5' 11" weigh 248 and i'm in my 50's. I guess my workouts with weights at the gym are doing more for me than I thought.

I have a MAC ratchet that is as long as a breaker bar. I bought it 30 years ago when I worked on heavy equipment. This helps me get the handle in just the right position when working in a confined space. The right tool is worth it's weight in gold.

Falcon

On the rears I do what Frank does and it works like a top. I put my jack under the end of the breaker bar and let the jack do the heavy lifting.

I'll buy one of those wobble things John mentioned to see how that works because I can also use that on the lower control arm spindle nut.

The fronts are easy since I turn the wheels either left or right to get to the bolts.

CHJ In Virginia

I use a heavy duty ratchet 1/2" and place a 18" long piece of electrical conduit over the end to give a working length of about 24". Plenty of leverage to break them loose and re tighten. The ratchet allows the fine movement you need to get started on the rears.

Sidney004

Sounds like somebody has been using Loctite #270! I personally don't use any Loctite on my caliper bolts. My rotors crack with such frequency, that I inspect those bolts often. I have never seen one come loose, perhaps for an exclusively street driven car where you never inspect the bolts, I can see using Loctite.

Cobra4B

True... I am using red loctite... thanks for the tips everyone =)

Oyishdog

wus

Cobra4B

Yeah Yeah I know.

Jason

Ditch the Loctite.

John Shiels

yep ditch the locktite or get some Wilwoods then you have an allen head with a 10 mm nut on it. The pads drop in like penny in a piggy bank.

yellow01

I have an airgun with a swivel extender that works fine on the bolts.

I change them often enough I don't use super loctite on them either.

ghoffman

and see how much they loosen up without it. Answer: not!

Timz06

Are you talking about the small bolts on the calipers? I take them off with an open end wrench? They shouldn't be that tight. If you are using a breaker bar to get those bolts off you are going to break something.

ghoffman

No, he is talking about the big ones that hold the steel bracket to the spidle. You have to take those off to change rotors.

Cobra4B

^ Exactly... I've found that by using rotors/pads together I'm not cracking rotors like I used to just wapping in the pads.

Timz06

Oh the caliper bracket bolts. I use a normal 1/2 drive socket and wrench to get them. The key is getting your body into a position where you can get leverage.

Also, if you don't tighten them down, you don't even have to take them off, the will fall off themselves!

Cobra4B

It must be the loctite... there's really no way I could get them off w/ a normal 1/2" drive, maybe if the car was on a lift.