darned brake caliper bolts

[kanoa]

one of my darn brake caliper bolts is stripped. second weekend in a row, last weekend i stripped one of those silly cap bolts that hides the head nut. what is with these soft fasteners? anyways i am currently on a beer break from the caliper project and was wondering a) do you think the old dremmel a slot and apply a screwdriver approach will work or b ) uh... easy-out? and c) home depot didnt have any replacements, are these damned 8.05mm socket cap bolts a guzzi part? i called mph but being the holiday weekend, no dice.

 

well for your viewing pleasure is a cell-phone snapshot of it after i stripped it to heck stomping on a breaker bar with an 8mm socket.

[Ballacraine]

Hhmmm

 

Well looking at that, I'm guessing you have rounded the hex flats of the allen head rather than actually stripped any thread?

 

If this is the case I would CAREFULLY try and drift it out. (sic)

Never use an extractor (easy out? )

They are the work of Satan.

( They are very hard and brittle...If they do not work, which happens quite often they will shear off, and you have a much worse situation).

 

If you have not done this before, you need a punch and hammer.

Make a fairly deep indentation on the periphery of the remaining head.

Using this as a location drift it anti-clockwise. It should free off quite quickly.

If this fails I would drill the head off and attack the remainder of the bolt when you can get at it better.

Then you are probably looking at penetrating oil and molegrips.

 

HTH

 

Nige

[Paul Minnaert]

this is the first time I see these ones going wrong.

[Guest ratchethack]

Don't ya hate it when that happens.

 

If you happen to be using Craftsman allen wrenches, do y'erself a great big favor f'er the rest o' y'er wrench-twiddling life and pitch them out with the trash. They're notoriously undersized and will wreak havoc on all stubborn socket head bolts!!!

 

Dremel the slot head followed with an impact driver with a straight blade bit is one option. You can also use an extraction bit in an impact driver. Sometimes an E-Z Out can be hammered in place for a quick removal. I've occasionally used a cold chisel on a tangent angle, alternating sides with some success, but of course, if this fails, you're left with an (ahem) bigger problem.... I've also successfully drilled socket heads off, removed the fastened part, and vice-gripped them out.

 

Good luck.

[kanoa]

okay thanks for the advice. rounded out hex flats is exactly the problem here. all four of my caliper bolts were tighter 'n heck and this one just doesnt want to budge. i suppose i'll keep calling around for a replacement bolt. and hey, good guess as to my brand of allen wrenches

 

cheers,

daniel

[g.forrest]

allways best to give a good impact with copper head hammer before resorting to extra leverage.or use impact driver with bit.

[richard100t]

I would cut a slot in it with a dremel & try to back it out with a screwdriver. This probably wont work either if the bolt is really tight. If not I'd cut the rest of the bolt head off. Once the caliper is off the rest of the bolt will come off pretty easily with vice grips.

[Mr. Bean]

I second what Ratchet said about Craftsman hex wrenches...I like Craftsman tools but I don't trust the hex wrenches anymore. Picked up very good set from Snap-On...pricey but they fit bolts on the Guzzi perfectly. As for the bolts, you may want to check out McMaster-Carr.

 

Randy

[big J]

If you can get hold of a 6 point torx spline type socket,they can sometimes be knocked in and will grip a worn allen hex.

[Guest ratchethack]

. . . home depot didnt have any replacements, are these damned 8.05mm socket cap bolts a guzzi part? i called mph but being the holiday weekend, no dice.

OMG, please forgive for not mentioning! Wot you need WILL NOT be found at Home Depot!!

 

These 4 caliper bolts may be THE most critically important bolts on your Guzzi!

 

Please DO NOT replace these with anything less than Metric Class 10.9 Steel!

 

You're not after tensile strength here. You're after yield strength.

 

Metric Class 10.9 (steel) = yield strength 940 N/mm^2

Metric Class 12.9 (alloy steel) =yield strength 1100 N/mm^2

 

Typical low carbon steel = yield strength 393 N/mm^2

 

Please DO NOT replace these with stainless steel! (I've seen this done more times than I can remember)

 

for comparison:

 

Metric Class A2-70 (302 stainless) = yield strength 450 N/mm^2

Metric Class A4-80 (316 stainless) = yield strength 600 N/mm^2

 

SOURCE: http://www.geocities.com/dtmcbride/home_garden/bolts.html (scroll down to last chart at bottom of page)

 

Fasten y'er brake calipers safely, and ride with confidence, my friend.

[mark.gilmore]

When you have the new bolts,be sure to smear some Grease on the thread,It does wonders next time you want to remove them.

[dlaing]

Don't forget you can lube the bolts from behind the brake caliper, although the nasty half of the stiction is at the head.

EZ-Outs are made by pawns of the devil, as Bellacraine hinted, but at the diameter that will fit the hex socket, you can put a little torque into it, but don't put too much, and don't hammer an easy out. But a torx of the right size could be a better idea, as Big J suggested.

If you have extra hands, have someone gently torque the EZ out while you use a punch on the perimeter of the head. A little heat on the caliper might help, but not too much because of the metal's temper, finish, and rubber bits that could be damaged.

 

Or remove the wheel and carefully drill the head off, probably a 3/8" bit, and remove the caliper. Then removing the bolt should be easy.

[jrt]

The torx does sound like a good idea- good call Big J.

 

And I'll third or fourth or whatever Ratchet's statement about Craftsman allen keys. Junk.

And the warning about using stainless. Don't.

 

Put some PB Blaster or PJ Blaster or whatever that stuff is on the bolts and let it soak in over the holidays. If you can't fix it and won't be riding, then you might as well put some solvent in it now and let it set a day or two. Good luck.

[Murray]

Get a small set of stillsons or locking pliers and grab the head. Drill the head off remove caliper and remove the rest of the bolt. Dremmel a screwdriver slot in it and try and impact driver or drift it out.

[badmotogoozer]

Granted, Craftsman bits are crap, but am I the only one who sees there was a bigger problem than crappy soft bolts or crappy tools - ie "stomping on breaker bar". I think the result just might have been the same with Snap-On!

 

You're in a bad place Daniel! May the force be with you! Hope the good suggestions of others gets you out of it... Been there myself. Too many times.

 

Can you weld? Anyone you know with an arc welder? If so, tack weld the shitty socket to the bolt. Then use a dead blow or similar heavy hammer to strike sharply whatever leverage you are using. Best way out I've found. If it doesn't come loose with a few shots, DON"T GET MAD!! (ask me how I know ) get out the penetrating oil and let it soak while having a beer, then hit it again. Repeat as necessary.

 

cheers,

 

Rj