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Working on removing my front caliper on a parts car last night and I broke the head off the upper bolt.
The lower bolt came right off with some effort.
The shaft of the bolt is sticking through the mounting area (not sure what to call it) and can be wiggled so its not stuck on it.
It seems that its just stuck in what I believe is just the caliper portion that it threads into.
If I had more space I could pull off the caliper but there isn't enough space.
Has anyone had any experience with this happening to them?
I was wondering what options I have to getting the caliper off now?
Not sure how much this helps but here it is. The Bolt shaft is still visible and but I can't get the caliper out the normal way. The bracket the Bolt runs through is in the way. Any suggestion on an alternative way?
If your trying to save everything , put a lubed up bolt back in the other mounting hole ,then Centre punch and start to drill the centre of the broken bolt.
You might have to creatively use a clamp to hold things tight at the broken end ?
Drill down far enough so you can force the caliper off ,then continue drilling with the caliper in a vice
IF your going to disassemble the whole unit , those other bolts should already be soaking in a penetrating lubricant .
If you have to resort to brute force drilling (seems likely in this case) get yourself some LH cobalt bits from McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com) For penetrating lubricant, I've had good luck with Kroil (not 100%), and many swear by a 50/50 mix of Acetone and ATF.
Are you going to rebuild the entire hub assembly anyway (replace ball joints, then rebuild everything?)? You should certainly replace that brake hose if nothing else.
The caliper brackets are reproduced, and only about $30- each, so you can replace them easily if the drilling goes wrong. There is also a chance you can split the caliper in two to remove the hub/rotor that way, though I can't guarantee that will work.
Otherwise, penetrating oil is your friend. I use Kano Kroil, which smells MUCH better than PB Blaster. You may as well shoot some at the large caliper assembly bolts (there should be small holes on the outside of the caliper where these almost poke through), and the caliper bracket bolts. The spindle and the hub assembly are the hardest things to replace, so be careful not to damage those.
Pull rotor out with caliper and lift caliper.
If the rotor is still riveted to hub.
Loosen the wheel bearing hub nut.
Pull the rotor-hub out until the caliper bolt clears the bracket.
Pull caliper up.
Easy outs will not do it. Bolt is seized at the threads. Take off caliper, bracket, rotor and hub and throw them all out. This is a parts car. Very rusty parts car. These parts are 5 cents a pound. Best bet is don't even mess with them. If I recall, you are taking this car apart mainly for $hits and giggles. Practice. This is scrap metal.
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Cut the brake line, take the dust cover off the outside hub and take off the spindle nut. If the tie rod end isnt off, remove that first. With all that off you can remove the whole assembly and put it on the work bench and go from there. I would soak everything in PB Blaster and then pull the caliper barcket off the spindle assembly. You have an easier time of it after that
2 bolts to unbolt on this side, one on the shield side
Easy outs will not do it. Bolt is seized at the threads. Take off caliper, bracket, rotor and hub and throw them all out. This is a parts car. Very rusty parts car. These parts are 5 cents a pound. Best bet is don't even mess with them. If I recall, you are taking this car apart mainly for $hits and giggles. Practice. This is scrap metal.
Your time plus the cost of an easy out...maybe a broken easy will cost more than cutting and replacing the caliper bracket. If it’s for “practice” then go for it...Good Luck
Ahh there we go.. I didn't think it would be easy to get a drill in behind the assembly while it was on the car. If I can get the entire assembly off, I can work on it a lot easier.
First, soak all the bolts with PB Blaster or Kroil for a few days. Don't forget to soak the hole where the broken bolt resides.. Remove the brake line and remove the two bolts holding the caliper halfs together. Use six point sockets and a breaker bar for leverage. Once the calipers are apart, you should be able to remove the inside caliper. That should expose the broken bolt. Again, soak the broken bolt with Kroil or Blaster. Use a wire brush to remove rust to allow the oil to seep into the threads. Once the tension is off the bolt, you should be able to remove the broken bolt with a vice grip. Good luck. Jerry
All of the above with the penetrating oil , center punch. Now on the drilling use a left handed drill bit. Remember to set drill in reverse and gradually work your way up in drill bit size.
I got both front calipers off. Both had the same bolt snap off while removing. Going to have them soaking for a while and than try to place the remaining bolt in a vice and see if I can get it out.
Here is a picture of one of the bolts.
jim
broken front caliper bolt removal
Your time plus the cost of an easy out...maybe a broken easy will cost more than cutting and replacing the caliper bracket. If it’s for “practice” then go for it...Good Luck
