I'm tryin' to change my brake pads & rotors on the rear of my car, but I can't get two of the bolts off of the caliper bracket.

Both these pics are of the front assembly, but its the same issue on both.

Circled are where the bolts are behind the rotor.


Here's a shot of the back side.


I've thrown every tool I have at it and I can't get it loose. I sprayed WD40 on it and let it sit for 30 minutes and still no use. I can't get anything in the wheel well with enough leverage to break it free.

Is there some secret to this? I wish I had some air tools, but I don't even think I would be able to get it back there if I had it.

Anyone own a brake shop that can share some insight?

Thanks,
Vince (VK)

 

Turn the wheel and use a breaker bar

 

if you have a bottle jack, put a ratchet or wrench parallel with the ground, use the bottle jack under the handle, pump till it breaks the bolt free.

 

This will work for the front wheels, however, the rear doesn't have enough space to get a breaker bar in there.

 

Hmm, thats a great idea. I'll try that for the driver side, but unfortunately the bolt needs downward force on the passenger side. And I can't swing the wrench to the other side because too much stuff is in the way.

Thanks for this tip though.

 

When I did mine, I used a small breaker bar and a hammer to loosen. Be careful though, you don't wont to miss and hit other components. You don't have to nail it. Just use a good straight on hit, basically breaking it loose with several hits. Work great for me. Again, be careful. Make sure to keep a great hold on the breaker bar.

 

Doh, I was thinking the front

 

Ok so what I ended up doing was adding a small length of pipe (cheater bar) to my socket wrench to get a little more leverage. Then I had a friend of my use his brute strength to break it loose. He's much stronger than I am.

So I got my pads and rotors changed, and I am going to head back to the gym to strength train, .

 

How bout some more wd40 and a impact wrench..maybe you have a friend with air tools that help you out.

 

PB blaster penatrating oil and spray it on teh bolts and let it sit for a few minutes. Then use either a breaker bar but i know there is hardly room back there so use a strong wrech with a hammer and tap teh wrench to break loose.

 

22mm wrench and i hit it with my 5 pound sledge.

 

Try using the wrench like a man.

 

I am able to fit my craftsman breaker for the rear caliper bolts on jack stands...you just need to play with the angle, and like Triple8Sol says...need to use PB and some serious elbow grease!

 

impact has always worked for me...or a large breakover.

 

I just use a 19mm spanner/wrench and a hammer and with a decent amount of force behind small swings it loosens them right up. No need to buy expensive tools for this unless you are a mechanic and do this thing often.

 

Do not use a socket wrench to break bolts loose.

Use 6 point spanner wrenches and a cheater bar/hammer. Speaking from personal experience.

 

...A 6-pt socket on a breaker will work just fine.

 

I use my teeth

 

air tools ftw

 

The front is 22mm and the rear is 19. Brembo equiped cars may be different, but the OP doesnt have Brembo's.