How you know it's time to take it to the Indy...

[e34.535i.sport]

I'm surprised the bolt didn't break first!

[artguy]

DISCLAIMER: (No Bimmers were harmed during the process of this carnage.) :D

So the other night I went out to put new front brake pads on my daughter's '93 Infiniti J30.
Get out the breaker bar and sockets and start to loosen the caliper bolts.
The car is old...I expect a little resistance. But after nearly giving myself a hernia...

http://www.captive1.com/mrk/long_extension.png

OK. It must have been a cheap extension.
No sweat, I'll "break" out the Craftsman (pun intended).
I pull, I tug...I even heat the bolt with a torch and...

http://www.captive1.com/mrk/craftsman_ext.png

THAT'S when it's time to take it to the Indy.

MY KINGDOM FOR SOME AIR TOOLS!!!!

So $75 later the brakes work great and I'm off to Sears for a new extension.

[artguy]

That bolt was forged directly from the fires of H E L L ! ! !

:D

[Ross]

I don't know why Japanese car fasteners get stuck like that. Must be the alloys or lousy plating.
Anyone else notice this?

[artguy]

...must not have paid my bill. LOL

My name in front of my posts appears as "Guest" rather than "Artguy".

Anybody else see that?

[e34.535i.sport]

...must not have paid my bill. LOL

My name in front of my posts appears as "Guest" rather than "Artguy".

Anybody else see that?

LOL - Its coming up Artguy for me!

[Dave M]

...must not have paid my bill. LOL

My name in front of my posts appears as "Guest" rather than "Artguy".

Anybody else see that?

Nope, artguy on my end.

On the brightside, at least you didn't end up breaking a caliper bolt, thereby disabling the vehicle and being left with nastier choices (tow bill vs. drilling etc).

Dave

[artguy]

On the "old home computer" my name is back...no more "Guest".

(I guess I'm family again) :)

Either that, or maybe my work computer was just telling me to go home.

[artguy]

On the brightside, at least you didn't end up breaking a caliper bolt, thereby disabling the vehicle and being left with nastier choices (tow bill vs. drilling etc). Dave

Yep. That's why after the second one I decided I had better count my blessings and make a phone call.

[Paul in NZ]

impact driver....if you cant get that first turn break out the impact driver,twist it tight with your free hand,and give it a good sharp crack with a hammer...the instantaneous torque is huge....and the vibration reduces the friction.

[whiskychaser]

I don't know why Japanese car fasteners get stuck like that. Must be the alloys or lousy plating.
Anyone else notice this?
I think you might have a point. I reckon the alloys oxidize and sort of fuse together. I'm a past master at shearing bolts:(

[bsell]

[QUOTE=artguy][I]DISCLAIMER:
http://www.captive1.com/mrk/long_extension.png

http://www.captive1.com/mrk/craftsman_ext.png
QUOTE]

It's hard to tell if those are 3/8" or 1/2" tools. I'm guessing 3/8" as it would take a rather long pipe on a breaker bar to pop a Craftsman 1/2" extension.

I got busted by the Snap-On man one day using a five foot pipe on a 1/2" Snap-On breaker bar while trying to break loose an Audi 5000 (five cylinder, 198~ model) crank pulley bolt. They go on with something like 350 ft/lbs, using Audi's one foot extender/special tool. So I figure the actual torque is upwards of 700 ft/lbs! Anyway, he fussed and said I should be using 3/4" tools for that kind of foolishness. I wonder if he was just trying to sell me more tools...;)

Back on topic, most things on cars can be broken free with 1/2" tools, either manual or impact. 3/8" stuff is nice and light for normal work yet is too weak for serious tugging, but I guess you already figured that one out.

Brian

[DanDombrowski]

Man, I been there, but not just on the japanese. Doing brakes on a Jeep Grand Cherokee, I split an 18mm socket in half trying to bust the caliper carrier bolt free.

After that, I got the impact gun out (and impact sockets I should have been using in the first place) and wailed on the bolt with the 600ftlbs of torque impact gun. STILL didnt move.

Only thing that got it off was a 2' breaker bar, an 18mm impact grade socket, lots of PB blaster, and some massive amounts of grunting. VERY happy I didnt tear the bolt head off the caliper.

People say brakes are DIY with simple tools, but I tend to disagree with that. Theyre not hard if you know what you're doing, but sometimes.....

[Dave M]

I wonder if he was just trying to sell me more tools...;)


But of course