Rounded rear caliper bracket bolt - best way to remove?

[Ytee]

So these bolts are a complete nightmare to undo on the driveway! I would almost suggest it's not a DIY job, unless you have a lot of experience. Still, I managed to remove the top bolt after much cursing and trapped fingers, but the bottom one is harder... there's even less space to access it, and in the process I've rounded the teeth inside the bolt. Hands up... my bad :)

So, I now need to remove it... somehow. What's the best way?

I did try using a rubber mallet to move the bracket back and forth a bit, it did move but the bolt didn't seem to loosen.

Will one of those nut/bolt extractor tools actually work on these bolts? They're round and I'm not sure it would bite.

Or, am I reduced to removing the whole assembly and cutting it off? That would be beyond my skill and tool set, so I'd have to call in the pros, which I would really hate to do in order to change a brake disc!

Thanks in advance.

[titchy]

If its the splied one try finding a very slightly  larger one and hammer it in heat will help or soak in wd40 good luck

[Ytee]

If its the splied one try finding a very slightly  larger one and hammer it in heat will help or soak in wd40 good luck

It is yep. I'll give that a try, thanks.

[LC5F]

Sounds like you didn’t seat the spline fully into the bolt head - easily done.

Personally I would go straight to angle grinder, take the bolt head off - you need to replace it anyway -this will allow better access to remove the remaining thread from the carrier off the car.

Don’t bother with WD40 -it’s principle design is to Water Displacement, they had 40 goes at perfecting this (thus the name) any penetration is a fluke
Properly engineered penetration fluid such as Plus Gas or Super Crack -they contain refrigerant that shrinks the bolt and carries graphite into the thread, are more likely to do the job.

I am guessing this is the first side? You are at a tipping point, currently you can admit defeat and put the removed bolt back in and be mobile and still drive to somewhere or struggle with the last bolt and then the other side, then ending up at the mercy of mobile mechanics.

Unless there is some time crunch to get the discs changed -such as MOT- I would keep your Golf mobile, till you find someone to sort this - so consider swallowing your pride.
 

[Ytee]

Thanks for the reply. Not to worry, there's no pride left to swallow :)

Yeh im not silly enough to attempt jobs for the first time on a car that I rely on daily. It's still mobile and yes this is the first side, but even if it wasn't mobile I could live with that for a while. I'm trying to learn, that's the reason for trying to get through this myself. And also for the sense of achievement.



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[LC5F]

Good stuff fella! -I ended up teaching myself after so much poor work done by garages.

If you still want a go at doing this yourself, you need to invest in:
dead shot hammer - cheap Chinese is fine
gas powered blow torch - self igniting is pricey, I just use a lighter
the biggest vice grips you can find - genuine Irwin ones, plain metal handle not plastic -do not cheap out on these

Heat the bolt up, let cool and then apply proper penetration fluid -too hot and the spray will ignite - do this in cycles at least 3 times.
Take the grips, and really clamp them down as tight as you can onto the head of the bolt -you need the teeth to dig into the head.
Hit the body of the grips to turn the bolt with the dead shot hammer, hopefully the grips do their thing and hold on.

If that fails, grind the head off, angle grinder is best, to avoid damaging the hub keep checking how much you have taken off.

[muff1991]

Another way around it and something to bare in mind for those who have trouble removing the caliper carrier or fancy attempting it but don’t want to come unstuck.. here’s a way...
you can loosen off the centre wheel bearing bolt, then at the same time wiggling the bearing and disc around a bit you’ll get the disc off off with the bearing. Put back on in reverse order how it comes off (wiggling together) believe it or not, it works and can save all the hag people get with the carrier bolts. I’d rather take the carrier off but when needs must.. this way works. Just make sure you put a new hub bolt back in with loctite :-)


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[Ytee]

Thanks folks. Appreciate the tips.

I'm going to try them in turn, starting with the slightly larger bolt and then the vice grips technique. I need to get myself a blowie (torch) :D

If they both fail, I'll probably give up and send it into the garage. I'm not sure I'm up to the angle grinder. It would be my first time doing it and I'm bound to f it up.

The good news is that the car is still mobile and the discs aren't dead yet so there's no rush. I did change the pads as well so that's done, I'll just need to do those again when I eventually get the disc off!

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[muff1991]

At least you’re not totally stranded mate. You could always try removing the bearing and disc to get to the inside of the bolt and maybe drill it out? Hope you get it sorted either way mate. And yes.. a good blowie always comes in handy :-)


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[pudding]

Irwin bolt grip will probably remove it.

[pudding]

Another way around it and something to bare in mind for those who have trouble removing the caliper carrier or fancy attempting it but don’t want to come unstuck.. here’s a way...
you can loosen off the centre wheel bearing bolt, then at the same time wiggling the bearing and disc around a bit you’ll get the disc off off with the bearing. Put back on in reverse order how it comes off (wiggling together) believe it or not, it works and can save all the hag people get with the carrier bolts. I’d rather take the carrier off but when needs must.. this way works. Just make sure you put a new hub bolt back in with loctite :-)

Yeah that's another way, but will require a new bolt and a frickin long breaker bar, plus the spline tool.  It's cheaper to just buy a stubby spline set and remove the carrier bolts     I'm not sure why people struggle with that method so much.  Mine came off well easy    Just the right tools I guess.

[Ytee]

Yeh, the right tools and then just general experience I think. Once I've solved this problem I bet the other side will be easy, since I'll have done it all before.

The access is the killer in this case. There's no room to move a wrench!

I did just order a flex-head wrench which I'm hoping will help a lot with the other side. I'll also raise the car up more I think, so that I can come at both bolts from directly underneath. I've got a feeling that's the safest way.

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[titchy]

Lot easier if you have accses to a ramp or a pit

[LC5F]

Irwin bolt grip will probably remove it.

Probably would, but may take a lot of work to get it to bite into the bolt.
With the bolt inward facing, your not able to put weight on it, just by pulling on it the gripper is likely to skate around the head
-Plus the way they Irwin sell them in half sets, jumping sizes between each set, unless you get both sets it’s 50/50 getting the correct size.

The secret for removal of any spline is making sure the bit is fully seated in the bolt head - take time with a small wire brush to clean out the splines, brake cleaner and lightly hammer the spline in.

[muff1991]

Irwin bolt grip will probably remove it.

Probably would, but may take a lot of work to get it to bite into the bolt.
With the bolt inward facing, your not able to put weight on it, just by pulling on it the gripper is likely to skate around the head
-Plus the way they Irwin sell them in half sets, jumping sizes between each set, unless you get both sets it’s 50/50 getting the correct size.

The secret for removal of any spline is making sure the bit is fully seated in the bolt head - take time with a small wire brush to clean out the splines, brake cleaner and lightly hammer the spline in.

Last paragraph is spot on advice. They are nightmare bolts to get out, but plenty of ways around it when you’ve come unstuck. The access is very tight but with the right combination of the correct tools you’ll get them.


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