Help with brakes!

[Pyro81]

I'm trying to change my pads and rotors on my truck. And there are 2 torx head bolts that hold the caliper in the caliper bracket. I need to get at least one of them out in order to swing the caliper out and get the old brake pads out. And i can't get the stupid things to budge! I've soaked them in pb blaster and even taken an impact gun to them and all i'm doing is breaking the teeth off my torx bit. Any suggestions other than drilling them out? Or if anybody has any creative ways to get the old pads out and the new pads in without having to remove them bolts i'm all ears!

[Pyro81]

Nevermind! I figured out a way. I'm taking pics and when i'm finished i might try to write up a how-to for future use.

[vncj96]

They could be reverse threaded.

[Pyro81]

No, they're not. I tried going both ways with the impact gun. A few times the bolt would move a little bit both ways but then completely locked up all together. It doesn't matter now, anyways. I figured out a way to get past removing those pins. It's a bit of a pain in the ass but it's doable. I'm finally finished with the front drivers side corner. I just finished removing the old rotor on the other side and just taking a quick break to get something to drink and rest my knees. They don't like the hard floors...even with kneepads...

My mother always told me when i was young that whenever i get frustrated about something to stop and calm down. Then look at it calmly and think about it. I should learn to head my mothers words more often...

[Jimmiee]

No, they're not. I tried going both ways with the impact gun. A few times the bolt would move a little bit both ways but then completely locked up all together. It doesn't matter now, anyways. I figured out a way to get past removing those pins. It's a bit of a pain in the ass but it's doable. I'm finally finished with the front drivers side corner. I just finished removing the old rotor on the other side and just taking a quick break to get something to drink and rest my knees. They don't like the hard floors...even with kneepads...

My mother always told me when i was young that whenever i get frustrated about something to stop and calm down. Then look at it calmly and think about it. I should learn to head my mothers words more often...

Your Mom gave you some good advice! :)

The caliper bolts can be tough to break loose. A breaker bar usually gets the job done where an impact can break Torx bits, especially the cheap ones. I've found the Snap On bits are much stronger than the cheepo Harbor Freight bits.

[starsilverado]

Yep breaker bar is the way to go!

[Pyro81]

I was using a breaker bar...or something similar at least. The biggest problem was keeping the torx bit in the bolt head. The depth of the torx head is so shallow that when you try to put pressure on the breaker bar it just wants to pop out. That's how i chipped the torx bit the first time. I'm not sure what brand my bits are. I think they are a step above harbor frieght but not by much. Snap On tools are good, but massively expensive...i should know, i have several sets of allen sockets and extensions. At the moment i can't afford good tools like that so i'm stuck with the cheapys for a while.

[TRPLXL2]

I know you already got them broke loose, so I won't waste my time on that part. But I just finished a brake job on my Silverado (05'), and instead of putting the old crappy torx but bolts back in I went to Auto Zone and found these. They are a hex head caliper bolt, this is what the replacement bolts are no matter where you go. Even the Chevy dealer uses these, because I checked with them before I bought them. They were $7.00 for a set of 2, I replaced all of mine for a better piece of mind. Hope this helps!

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww167/trplxl2/100_2281.jpg

[IThurstSObad]

They could be reverse threaded.

ahahahahhhaa..just put new rotors and pads on my truck last week no problem:party:

[tbplus10]

A shot of anti-sieze on the bolts goes a long way towards making the next brake job a much easier chore.

[Z07]

A shot of anti-sieze on the bolts goes a long way towards making the next brake job a much easier chore.

I like the idea of easy removal too. But on caliper bolts, isn't the spec for some sort of thread locker not anti-sieze?

I use the blue loctite to keep vibrations from letting them work loose. I only use red on things that I never want to come apart again lol.

[Pyro81]

I know you already got them broke loose, so I won't waste my time on that part. But I just finished a brake job on my Silverado (05'), and instead of putting the old crappy torx but bolts back in I went to Auto Zone and found these. They are a hex head caliper bolt, this is what the replacement bolts are no matter where you go. Even the Chevy dealer uses these, because I checked with them before I bought them. They were $7.00 for a set of 2, I replaced all of mine for a better piece of mind. Hope this helps!

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww167/trplxl2/100_2281.jpg

If i could have gotten the old bolts out i definitely would have replaced them with those bolts. Suppose i could go back and use a pipe wrench on the pin part of the bolt and try to get them out. But no point in that now.

[Pyro81]

ahahahahhhaa..just put new rotors and pads on my truck last week no problem:party:

Are you laughing because they are right or because they made the suggestion?

I don't see why they should be reverse threaded. There's usually a reason when they do use a reverse thread bolt. Those bolts are nothing more than guide pins, they should back out regardless of the direction of the thread.

[tbplus10]

I like the idea of easy removal too. But on caliper bolts, isn't the spec for some sort of thread locker not anti-sieze?

I use the blue loctite to keep vibrations from letting them work loose. I only use red on things that I never want to come apart again lol.

Most manuals will recommend anti sieze because the bolt is used to hold the position of the caliper not torq it down. Anti-sieze wont cause the bolts to loosen, it creates a layer of protection between dissimilar metals to prevent gauling and corrosion endemic to metals constantly in a hot and cold cycle.