rusted rotor change problem

while doing the rotor change, cant get the bolts behind the calipers losen, i mean the 17mm ones, not the 14mm ones for checking the pads. the bolts are tight and very rust and i have destroyed one by my wrench:( , any suddestions about how to deal with this?

THX~

I had the same problem not too long ago with my 92. What year is the car you're dealing with? To remove the caliper from the bracket there is only one 14MM bolt, the other side is just a blank non-threaded stud that the caliper slides onto. Just an FYI.

Anyway, I just did my car a little while ago. I used an impact wrench and broke the head of the bolt off. I had to bring the caliper to work and have one of the welders weld an allen wrench onto the bolt and spin it out with a 4' pole.

To make things easier for you, spray the bolt with PB Blaster liberally, then lit it sit overight. Spray again before you start working, and drive the car a few miles to get the brakes warmed up. Use a bolt-out or a 16MM socket, and bang the socket onto the damaged bolt with a hammer. Use a breaker bar to spin the bolt. Make sure the socket you're using is a 6 point, NOT a 12 point. This will prevent stripping the rest of the bolts when you go to do the rest of the brakes. Replace the damaged bolt afterward. A 12MM fine thread grade 6 bolt from a hardware store will work, but the head of the bolt will probably be 19MM. Get the one that most closely matches the length of the original bolt. If they don't have an exact match, get a longer bolt and use washers and lock washers to make the bolt fit flush with the bracket. DO NOT CUT the bolt, you will waste a hacksaw blade in no time and probably wind up messing up the threads on the bolt.

The rear caliper bracket uses 14MM bolts. Don't forget to use a 6 point socket so you don't strip them out.

If you do break a bolt, make sure you can remove the other one and then rotate the entire caliper off the rotor as much as possible. Spray liberally with PB Blaster and keep rotating the caliper back and forth until it loosens up. After a while you should be able to work the caliper off the car. It may be easier to remove the caliper from the bracket to do this. From there, you can try cutting a slot in the broken bolt and using a hefty screw driver, or you can use progressive drill bits to drill the bolt out. They do not sell the caliper brackets at auto parts stores, so you will need to find one at a junkyard or a Subaru dealership if you can't get the bolt out. If it's really giving you trouble I'd call a welding company and tell the guy you have a really easy job for him. Clean up the bolt as much as you can before you take it to him. Make sure there is no rust or grease. Make sure the bolt is dry, then take it to the welder, have him weld an allen wrench to it, then spin it off with some leverage. Throw the guy $20 or $30 bucks and thank him. Before installing the caliper again with the NEW bolt, make sure the new bolt will fit in the hole with the damaged bolt. Take the old bolt and a hammer and bang the bolt through the hole in the knuckle to remove rust. Do this until the new bolt will slide in and out of the knuckle with ease.

Any more questions feel free to ask, but please include the year, model, trim level, wheel size (As the brakes are different with different wheel sizes usually), and if the vehicle is 2WD or 4WD.

Thx for ur reply, mine is the 97 awd wagon- 2.2L with 14' original, I did tried to spray wd-40 on that but it seems no better...

should i continue try that chemical for another couple of days and to see if it can be losen?

hands on tools are limited... no impact guys...

I will try the method you said.

WD-40 is a water displacing light oil made to lubricate things like sqeaky door hinges or small bearings under very light loads (Desk drawers, toolbox drawers, ect..). PB Blaster is a penetrating oil made to seep past rusted objects and lubricate stuck washers, bolts, or nuts that are seized. It can break down lightly rusted objects, and break away the rust that seizes two objects together, making removal easier.

If you don't have access to an impact wrench, try a breaker bar with a bolt out socket. Like I posted earlier, a 6 point socket one size smaller than the stripped bolt could be used if you bang it on the damaged bolt with a hammer. You might crack the socket if the bolt is very seized once you put the breaker bar on it though, so make sure you're wearing gloves. You don't want to peel off any skin if the socket slides off while you're pushing on it with all your weight.

Good luck and I hope things work out in your favor.

My mechanic/friend who did my front rotors had to liberally apply a torch to the front 17mm bolts. Eventually, they came loose. Definitely some skill required here. Too much heat and things start melting!

He also applied anti-seize to the bolts and face of the rotors when re-assembling...

I know this is late, so I hope your project went OK!

Lance

WD-40 is a water displacing light oil made to lubricate things like sqeaky door hinges or small bearings under very light loads (Desk drawers, toolbox drawers, ect..). PB Blaster is a penetrating oil made to seep past rusted objects and lubricate stuck washers, bolts, or nuts that are seized. It can break down lightly rusted objects, and break away the rust that seizes two objects together, making removal easier.

 

If you don't have access to an impact wrench, try a breaker bar with a bolt out socket. Like I posted earlier, a 6 point socket one size smaller than the stripped bolt could be used if you bang it on the damaged bolt with a hammer. You might crack the socket if the bolt is very seized once you put the breaker bar on it though, so make sure you're wearing gloves. You don't want to peel off any skin if the socket slides off while you're pushing on it with all your weight.

 

Good luck and I hope things work out in your favor.

Just had to add it

Water Displacement 40th try

I had this issue too but I used my ratchet and tapped on it with a hammer after I soaked it in PB Blaster.

Screw that!

When you got to reassemble ANYTHING use anti-seize!