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Need help taking the calipers off.

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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 02:17 PM
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St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07-'08
Default Need help taking the calipers off.

want to replace my rotors, but for the life of me i cannot take out the two 20mm bolts holding the calipers to the steering knuckle. i was able to take the bottom bolt out since i was able to slip a piece of electrical conduit over the wrench. even if i do ake the bolts out, there's no way i will be able to fit my torque wrench in there to torque the bolts up to spec... any tips or ideas????
thanks
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 02:36 PM
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Get some liquid wrench and hose 'em down.

Last edited by Cajundude; Feb 28, 2005 at 02:39 PM.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 02:38 PM
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I had no problems getting them off or back on and torque them down. Just turned the wheel to the inside so the back side of the hub was facing out.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Cajundude
Get some liquid wrench and hose 'em down. What year is your car? Mine come off pretty easily. They should only be torqued at 22-23 ft./lbs.
are we talkng about the same bolts???? the manual says to torqe them at 125 lbs?
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by DanielW
are we talkng about the same bolts???? the manual says to torqe them at 125 lbs?
Nope, I just edited my above comment. I was thinking about the caliper bolts themselves, you must be talking about the caliper bracket bolts. In any event, try some liquid wrench.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 02:46 PM
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You can try heating the area that the bolts thread into to expand the metal. Just be careful doing this.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 03:06 PM
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Originally Posted by 400hp
You can try heating the area that the bolts thread into to expand the metal. Just be careful doing this.
This will work, but its more due to the heat melting the thread locker on the bolts. Heat the bolt for about 10-15 seconds with a propane torch, then use a nice long breaker bar. They'll come out.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 04:19 PM
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Turn the wheels and use a breaker bar that swivels a little to get the handle of the bar outside of the fenders, so you can really press down on one side and lift up on the other.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 04:48 PM
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thanks for the tip about the breaker bar. if it doesn't let go I'll try the torch. any ideas of how to torque them back to specs??? or just put loctite on em and tighten back as hard as humanly possible.
thanks
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by DanielW
thanks for the tip about the breaker bar. if it doesn't let go I'll try the torch. any ideas of how to torque them back to specs??? or just put loctite on em and tighten back as hard as humanly possible.
thanks
Get yourself a torque wrench, seriously. Brakes aren't an area to be guessing with. GM says to replace the bolts, but I clean all the old thread locker off of them with a wire brush and use red locktite on them. They get torqued to 125 ft/lbs.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 05:05 PM
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Originally Posted by dmtnt
Get yourself a torque wrench, seriously. Brakes aren't an area to be guessing with. GM says to replace the bolts, but I clean all the old thread locker off of them with a wire brush and use red locktite on them. They get torqued to 125 ft/lbs.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 06:08 PM
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You shouldn't neet to heat them. Use a breaker bar. If you are using a ratchet or other wrench you won't get them out. With a breaker bar, they will come right out. They should be tightened to the specified torque value at reassembly with either new bolts, or after cleaning the bolts and the threads in the knuckle, with Loctite 271 (red).
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 10:11 PM
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Originally Posted by DanielW
want to replace my rotors, but for the life of me i cannot take out the two 20mm bolts holding the calipers to the steering knuckle. i was able to take the bottom bolt out since i was able to slip a piece of electrical conduit over the wrench. even if i do ake the bolts out, there's no way i will be able to fit my torque wrench in there to torque the bolts up to spec... any tips or ideas????
thanks
You need quite a bit of leverage to get them off for the first time. And by the way the wrench size is 21mm not 20 mm. The torque wrench should fit up there. Mine is standard size and has no problems.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 10:15 PM
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Originally Posted by 2kbluestreak
Turn the wheels and use a breaker bar that swivels a little to get the handle of the bar outside of the fenders, so you can really press down on one side and lift up on the other.
This is how I do it. I find the fronts easier because you can turn the wheel and essentially use as big a wrench as you can buy. The rears are harder in my opinion. Trick for the rear is to raise it a little higher on the jack stands. This gives you a little bit more clearance and more room to pivot the wrench. Good luck.
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 10:37 PM
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If youv'e tried the other "nut busters" and they didn't work JB-80 always comes through , but if all else fails you might want to try a couple light drops brake fluid it's an anti-corrosive it's worked mircles for me in the past .
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by dmtnt
Get yourself a torque wrench, seriously. Brakes aren't an area to be guessing with. GM says to replace the bolts, but I clean all the old thread locker off of them with a wire brush and use red locktite on them. They get torqued to 125 ft/lbs.
i do have a torque wrench but it's about 15 in. long and won't be able to clear the wheel well
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Old Mar 1, 2005 | 08:25 AM
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Originally Posted by DanielW
i do have a torque wrench but it's about 15 in. long and won't be able to clear the wheel well
If your car is up high enough, you should have enough room. Fronts are easy, just turn the wheels as Subdriver said.
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Old Mar 1, 2005 | 05:46 PM
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Did you get it off yet?? If not try this

You could always try the backyard cheater bar gives you a bit more room to move around.


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Old Mar 1, 2005 | 08:07 PM
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Originally Posted by DanielW
i do have a torque wrench but it's about 15 in. long and won't be able to clear the wheel well
My torque wrench is a 1/2" drive that is over 20" long. As mentioned, fronts are easier once you turn the wheel, rears can be done with the wrench angled under the car. I torque mine about monthly as I change my rotors frequently.
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Old Mar 3, 2005 | 10:20 PM
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If you have a good, snug fitting box end wrench on the bolt head, give the wrench a good sharp wrap with a decent hammer. Might have to belt it a few times to get a good solid whack on it. The shock will often "break" the bolt free for you.

Ron ...
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