Hey all!

I was replacing the brakes on the Monte the other day and all of them were super easy.
When I got to the front right caliper, the top bolt came off as easy as the rest but the bottom one....



I have tried the 3/8, the 1/2", then a long wrench, impact/hammer and now a impact gun and man - nothin.

What's happening now is that the bolt has started to round and I really don't want it to go because that will significantly complicate things.

I've hosed it down half a dozen times or so with triflow and WD40...no dice.

I did a thread search with no luck...

Is there some kind of trick with these?!

 

Heat might do it, try the butane torch and get her hot and then try it You may need to use a vise grip on it and after it is out get a new one replacement. do a Youtube search for stuck bolt there is most likely a video showing how someone has done this. I have seen it done with success.

 

A torch is about the only thing that I dont have. That or a English wheel...or a grinder, or vice... ok there are a bunch of things I dont have but I need to hunt down a torch

ill need a new one for SURE

 

Those one can be very tough. Since the bolts head is getting jacked up use an 1/2 drive extractor socket, cheater bar and heat.... 1st heat the royal **** out of the extractor and bolt head. Get the correct extractor, fit it on get the cheeter bar on the breaker bar handle and lift my friend lIIIft, lift, keep the extractor hot and it will come off or break on place....

 

I also agree with a little torch. Don't need a cutting torch just something to get it hot. Be careful not to melt the brake hose etc when doing so. Also use like PB blaster or a similar penetrating lubricant.

 

Something to try if you don't have access to a torch is a little hammer work. Hit the bolt head, like you would if you were driving the bolt in like a nail. If you can get to where the threads are, beat on that with the hammer. What I mean by that is the housing around the threads to the bolt. When I used to work on wells, if 2 sections of pipe would not unscrew we would tap around the threaded collar with a hammer.
When you get a socket or wrench on the bolt, tap on the end of your ratchet. I have better luck hammering on my ratchet than I do using a cheater bar for stuck bolts. The steady hard pull of a cheater bar works good for tight bolts, but the shock of the hammer works great for stuck bolts. It is the same principle as the impact wrench, but it will deliver a little more torque with each blow.
Finally, make sure your trying to get the penetrating oil into where the threads are. I see people all of the time spray a bolt head with oil trying to get it broke loose. This will do no good if the oil doesn't get to the threads. I have found PB blaster or another catalyst will work better than WD40 for breaking bolts loose. But you have to get the oil to the threads. Think of a 3 inch bolt for example. You can spray the bolt head all day long, but the threads are 3 inches away from where you are spraying. I see people all of the time doing this.
If you can get heat to it that is great. Heat the housing outside of the threads. The heat will expand the metal around the threads, it also helps loosen the holt the corrosion has on the bolt. Just warming up the bolt head wont always do the trick, the heat needs to get to the male threads the bolt goes into.
As a last ditch effort, if I round off a bolt head..... and have enough room to do it, I will weld a nut on the head of the bolt. The welded nut gives you something to put the wrench onto, and it will heat the bolt up expanding the bolt in the hole. When it cools back down it sometimes breaks it free. This should only be done when there is no way to get any wrench or vice grips on the bolt head. Once you do this there is no turning back!

 

thanks for the advice, guys.

I need to get my hands on a torch to get the caliper heated up - I have a feeling that will be the ticket.

I also need to order a new bolt as the one that's in there is just trash. Even if I sell the car, I can't in good conscience leave it in there.

I've never encountered such a stubborn bolt...and I have an old Jeep

 

Sometimes to if they are binding they are a pain to move, but in this case unless there is some weight on it it should move with that persuasion.
I have seen this done and it does work. Just be cautious that you don't melt something.

 

x2 on try PB Blaster first

 

great stuff stinky tho