Rear Caliper Carriage Bolts

[rubdub]

Hey guys,

Was changing my rear pads, discs and a binding caliper today. However got stopped in my tracks due to a couple of bitch tight carriage bolts. Dripping in WD40 and hanging out of them with a small breaker bar, but nothing. Hoping to get an impact gun to them tomorrow to get them off.

My question is, should these bolts be replaced? I read on Pelican Parts that they need to be replaced, but read in a couple of posts here of people re-using them.

Would be great to get a general consensus on what people think? and if they need to be replaced, does anyone have the part number for them?

Cheers!

[rich83]

I have reused my original bolts and they have been off 3/4 times.... no issues......... yet.....

[titchy]

I always used the old ones with a dab of thread lock

[rubdub]

Thanks lads! Biggest struggle is getting them off!

It's a bank holiday over here in Ireland - so still a bit early to properly bust out the impact gun! But the things seem to be welded on! 

[terrier]

There a real pain to remove unless you get more movement with a breaker bar from underneath.
  iirc M14  I changed all front and rear for  stainless allen head bolts which I borrowed from work 

[LC5F]

I would be happy to re-use existing bolts if they are in good condition.
Remember Pelican are an American site, they have to cover their arse to avoid litigation - so they just say replace

I changed all front and rear for  stainless allen head bolts

um, fella are you sure that's a good idea?
Caliper bolts are 10.9 tensile strength, the best stainless A4-80 is 20% lower tensile strength and their yield is a third lower:


Swapping for stainless would be fine on less mission critical items, but not brakes.

[terrier]

  Rethink required.  Sound info. Thank you

[rubdub]

Just to make sure I'm doing it right... looking at the back of the carrier.. it's lefty loosey.. right?? 

[titchy]

anti clockwise slackens

[omeydz]

There a real pain to remove unless you get more movement with a breaker bar from underneath.
  iirc M14.  I changed all front and rear for  stainless allen head bolts which I borrowed from work 

Good idea! Rear carrier bolts are a pig if they not been off in ages. think i even used a flexi joint to crack it and get the purchase - try not to round off the spline head!

[agmac]

Just done this job myself with car on axle stands. Get a good M14 x 12 spline socket and a 3ft bar on the socket and they loosen with a crack. Check the dust plates / splashers when you are at it as dead easy to change when carrier is off. One side had gone on my Ed30 and the other was about to so changed them both.

[rubdub]

If i change one of the rear calipers, do I have to bleed all 4 brakes or just the new one?

[titchy]

If you clamp the flexi you just bleed the side or sides your working on but if you haven't changed the fluid nows the time

[rubdub]

Yeah didn't clamp the caliper at the time... so may as well change the fluid.

As long as I don't let the reservoir empty I won't need to do a VCDS reset right?

[carsten]

As long as I don't let the reservoir empty I won't need to do a VCDS reset right?

Correct.