[ramuk]

Folks,

I was working to replace the rotors on my car. There were 2 bolts that I had to remove to get to the rotors. The top one came off easy, but the bottom one just sheared away.

First of all, is it safe to drive? (with everything put back together)

And how do I properly fix it ? (I am think of taking it to a shop to have it "somehow" removed.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[toddlamp]

Are you talking about one of the bolts that holds the caliper on? Is this the front or rear of the car? How far would you have to drive to get to a shop?

It can be remove by using an extractor. A hole is drilled into the left over metal of the sheared bolt and an extractor, with reversed threads digs into the drilled hole and twists out the sheared bolt. That's gotta be a pain in the donkey to do though since there's not much room but it can't be the first time this has happened.

Call around to some local mechanics explaining the issue and hopefully you'll find one that has dealt with this issue before.

 

[bbottomley]

You might be able to get some recommendations regarding a good local shop by posting a request on the Mountain Forum. It's not too active, but there might still be members lurking there.

 

[mickey76]

it definatly not safe to drive for 2 reasons
1 the bolts that hold the pad bracket on are actually taking the total stoping force of that brake. so losing one is not a good thing
2 the caliper can bounce or jump into the rim as it can now pivot and cut into the rim

for brokin bolts i like welding down through the center of a nut to join it to the brokin bolt. this does 2 things it gives you a good spot to turn the bolt with and the heat from welding breaks it loose

 

[ramuk]

Thanks for info!

There are 2 size of bolts (14mm and the 17mm). I think the 14mm are the
caliper guide pins. It's the 17mm ones that one has to remove to get to the
rotors (after removing the 14mm ones to get the brakes out of the way)

The one I sheared off was the 17 mm.

I will call the local shops. To play it safe, I will not drive the car.

 

[toddlamp]

Thanks for info!

There are 2 size of bolts (14mm and the 17mm). I think the 14mm are the
caliper guide pins. It's the 17mm ones that one has to remove to get to the
rotors (after removing the 14mm ones to get the brakes out of the way)

The one I sheared off was the 17 mm.

I will call the local shops. To play it safe, I will not drive the car.

PM Smash81

He's a super nice guy and lives in Wheat Ridge. I know it's a bit north of CO Springs but he might be able to recommend some place. He will definitely help you out if he can.

 

[stoney98]

I had this happen a few years ago.

Go to you local parts shop and buy a can of liquid wrench and a 10mm Ez-Out. Spray the bolt liberally, making sure to protect the rotor and pads from over spray if you plan or reusing them.

Go to your local Subaru dealer and get the bolt. Once you get back, re-apply liquid wrench.

Go for a run/bike ride/research your next mod.

Liberally spray Liquid wrench again when you return, have dinner. Tell the wife/gf that you love her and tuck her into bed. Put on your gloves and jacket, because it's probably really f'in cold out. Get your drill out and run down the middle of the existing bolt (of you can get in there), then run the EZ-Out through the hole (that is smaller than the ez-out) and back that ***** out.

Make a point of spraying any semi-corroded bolts with liquid wrench prior to turning them.

 

[goshring]

I had this happen a few years ago.

Go to you local parts shop and buy a can of liquid wrench and a 10mm Ez-Out. Spray the bolt liberally, making sure to protect the rotor and pads from over spray if you plan or reusing them.

Go to your local Subaru dealer and get the bolt. Once you get back, re-apply liquid wrench.

Go for a run/bike ride/research your next mod.

Liberally spray Liquid wrench again when you return, have dinner. Tell the wife/gf that you love her and tuck her into bed. Put on your gloves and jacket, because it's probably really f'in cold out. Get your drill out and run down the middle of the existing bolt (of you can get in there), then run the EZ-Out through the hole (that is smaller than the ez-out) and back that ***** out.

Make a point of spraying any semi-corroded bolts with liquid wrench prior to turning them.

After you do all this, go to your favorite parts store and explain your problem and ask for a helicoil kit. With this you can now tap the fresh hole and run a helicoil into it to create new threads for the original size bolt. It is not to bad of a job and it works great. It be be darn near like new when your done. Google it up for a little more in depth look. Good luck.

 

[JE]

I had the same, there was a piece left coming out of the bracket, heat the bracket with a torch, but not to much.
Wiggle the the bolt leftover with locking pliers and try to get it loose, otherwise , drill it out.

 

[ramuk]

Update

I had a professional mechanic come over and get the sheared off bolt off.

I bought a pair of those bolts from the dealership ($5.50 each!)

I am good to go. Thanks for the information guys! Just the moral support is worth it's weight in gold.

 

[chev78]

Just out of curiousity, did you get this back together. I had the same thing happen to mine once and I ended up drilling and retapping it.... Kind of a pain..

 

[ramuk]

Yes. I did get it back together. (with the help of a mechanic)

The bolt that got sheared off was a 17mm that attached the knuckle to
the body (axle ?). I managed to get the upper bolt off. The lower bolt got
sheared away. (I did use a breaker bar on it, w/o apply WD-40 etc). So I deserved the results

The interesting thing is that there are no threads in the axle part. i.e. the bolt goes thru the axle part and then threads into the knuckle. With one bolt removed (the top one), the mechanic simply applied a bit of leverage and managed to get the knuckle out (quite easily I must add). From that point, it was quite easy to grip the sheared off bolt and he managed to get it off in 15 minutes. (I figure there's no need to drill it etc, if it's this particular bolt that has sheared away)

I just did the other side this weekend. I took my time applying Liquid Wrench etc (thanks for the suggestion!) and managed to get all of it out in one piece.

I enjoyed the adventure (I learned something new)