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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 How do you break stuck caliper mounting bolts? |
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08-23-2020, 10:14 AM | #1 |
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How do you break stuck caliper mounting bolts?
I had hardest time getting in and braking off caliper mounting bolts to be able to remove the rotors. Breaker bar does't fit into wheel well (except under the car for lower bolts in some cases, my car was on 4 jack stands on lowest height), impact wrenches also don't fit well behind the wheel (so many things are in the way).
My rear caliper bolts were especially difficult because they were original rotors and brake pads (83K miles). Everything was stuck, bolts, rotors... I managed to get everything out but I wasted hours to get stuck bolts off and bang out stuck rotors. Brake pads and rotor replacement for each wheel is 10-15 min job maybe another 5-10 min for brake sensors but it took me most of Saturday to get all 4 rotors and brake pads replaced with a trip to Home Depot to get high torque impact wrench (which helped). Any pointers you can give me on how to make this process easier in the future and tools to use would be highly appreciated. |
08-23-2020, 03:01 PM | #2 | |
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08-23-2020, 10:54 PM | #4 |
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you couldn't use a swivel adaptor with an extension? i believe that's what i used along with an impact gun. also use some anti seize when you put the bolts back on
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08-24-2020, 12:17 AM | #5 |
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I did that and it helped little bit. I have a feeling that dealership that replaced front rotors/pads once before has maybe over-torqued the bolts. From what I understand these bolts should be torqued to 81 lb ft of torque, but it felt like they were torqued to at least double of that.
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08-24-2020, 12:20 AM | #6 |
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08-24-2020, 12:40 AM | #7 | |
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08-25-2020, 07:05 PM | #9 | |
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I would strongly advise against using any form of adapter with an impact wrench, especially swivel.
When I can't use my beast of a Milwaukee impact wrench, I immediacy turn to this. Hasn't failed me yet on stubborn bolts/nuts. https://www.gearwrench.com/ratchets-...atchet-24.html Quote:
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08-27-2020, 09:08 AM | #10 | ||
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08-29-2020, 08:25 AM | #11 |
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If you can get a ratchet, or better yet a break bar, on the bolt, and you can get enough room around it, then you can always try to slide a thick walled pipe on the end of the breaker bar to get more leverage to help break it loose.
And I also believe strongly in using a product called "Kroil" for breaking free stubborn bolts. Make sure to soak it and let it sit a few times before trying to get the bolt loose. It's in a league of its own compared to WD-40 and PB blaster. It's all we use at work when tearing apart gas and steam turbines in power plants that are temperatures at or above 1000 degrees. |
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08-29-2020, 09:04 AM | #12 | |
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08-29-2020, 04:30 PM | #13 |
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I just did my front rotors yesterday. You need to fully turn the wheel to one side in order to fit the breaker bar in the wheel well.
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08-29-2020, 05:47 PM | #14 |
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08-30-2020, 08:28 AM | #15 | |||
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It's always better to use a socket with the same amount of sides as the head of the bolt. With a 12 point socket on a bolt head with 6 sides, it's more likely to round the head of the bolt. |
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08-30-2020, 09:25 AM | #16 |
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Righty tighty, lefty loosey. Just in case :-D
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08-30-2020, 10:48 AM | #17 |
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10-04-2020, 10:14 PM | #18 |
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I had a similar issue when replacing rotors and pads. I used some penetrating oil, but at the end of the day I used a bit of heat to help loosen up the old rotors. Worked great, but be very careful and specific about what you're torching. 🔥 🔥
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