i did the fronts just fine, but the bottom rear caliper bolt is a pita to get out. i tried with an extended torch wrench and it wouldnt fit in the little crevice due to that suspension brace taking up so much space. The top bolt came out fine but the bottom one seems stuck. And with the small wrench it seems impossible to even budge it! so i sprayed wd-40 and hopefully this helps for tmrw. is this bolt usually a pita, since the fronts came off very easily? how have you guys dealt with this?

 

These are non-Brembos, right? You don't need to take off two bolts, just one then flip the caliper down to access to pads. Take a picture and I'll show you.

 

you could also slip a metal tube over the small wrench for more leverage, but be careful of stripping/breaking the bolt. Try some PB Blaster, in my experience it works better than WD40 in that regard Make sure to really soak the bolt in it and tap it as per the instructions.

 

Wouldn't recommend using a torque wrench as a breaker bar, likely to throw off its calibration and/or destroy it. Besides PB Blaster and the like, you can torch the surrounding area being very careful of brake lines, seals, and other melty, flamable stuff. I've seen some people use a hydraulic jack under a breaker bar but at risk of breaking the bolt. Worse case take it to a garage and have them hit it with a good impact wrench. Stuck bolts suck, my least favorite thing about wrenching.

 

Hate to ask, but are you turning it the right direction? Lefty-loosy can be confusing when the bolt head isn't facing you.

 

subscribing.

 

+1. Don't take off the second bolt. Just rotate the caliper and remove the pads.

 

The two sets of bolts (the two that go through the rubber grommet and the two that actually hold the caliper on) are different sizes. I think the caliper ones are 17mm and the bolt ones through the grommet are 12 or 14mm? Maybe you or someone else can clarify, but like we've said, if you remove just one of the ones that go through the rubber grommet, you can flip the caliper down and remove the pads versus removing the entire caliper, having to support it while you change the pads, etc., is a much easier route.

 

yes non brembo. the grommet ones are 14, the caliper ones are 21 or 22, u definitely need a torque wrench for the calipers. i finally got the rear left rotors and calipers replaced, u really need to bang the crap out of the rotor since its practically rusted on the axle. scotts300 is dead on with the changing of the pads, but to get to the rotor, both bolts need to be gone. Also its so much harder to get to the lower grommet bolt since the suspension link is in the way, use an extension to your torque wrench and you should be able to reach it.

the right side im f'd. the lower 14mm caliper bolt is completely stripped. I should have hammered it with a flathead to loosen up the dirt. i sprayed wd-40 the night before but it still wouldnt budge. should have impacted the nut beforehand damn it. now im stuck with a stripped bolt and a set of new pads using an old rotor. The old rotor is still good tho.

now to get this stripped bolt out, cant even drill into it due to the limited space, any ideas?

 

pic of old rotors compared to new

 

Ah, I missed the part where you were doing pads AND rotors (I see the title now). I use a long hex on that bolt, get it on there snugly, then wack the far end of it with a hammer to maximize the torque. Before this "technique" I was doing everything else to strip the bolt, and I had to bring it to the folks at Z Car Garage to get it right. Thankfully, you are in NorCal also, so maybe they can help you. They're in San Jose.

 

^ Oops. Me too. Guess my reading comprehension ain't what it used to be.

 

I've never encountered brake caliper bolts I could not remove with a wrench and a heavy mallet to "impact" it. Keep that in mind for your next brake job!

 

With the right combination of socket extensions, you should be able to get a wrench or breaker bar on it. IIRC, I use a 6" and 3" extension, a 1/2" to 3/8" adapter, with a shallow 22mm socket and slip it between the suspension arms. I had to try a bunch of different combinations of extensions and adapters until I found one that fit.