Did the front brakes and rotors. No major problems. The rear? Well, the 12mm top bolts are on there so tight! Although I have a breaking bar, I lost that socket somehow and, in my laziness, tried to use a wrench. Let's just say the bolt is now round.

Any solutions on now getting that bolt out?

By the way, I used tons of Liquid Wrench and waited 10 minutes. No go.

 

are you talking about the banjo bolt or the caliper hold down bolts, i guess it doesnt matter as you will have replace it any way. Find the next smaller size 6 point socket and hammer it on there and use a breaker bar; if it is the hold down bolt they are on there ***** tight.

 

Or go to some place like Sears where they sell specialty tolls able to remove those bolts.

 

it's the banjo bolts. the housing bolts are 12-point and with my breaker bar weren't that tough to remove.

I'll check Sears as I've already tried hammering a smaller socket on there with no luck.

Thanks!

 

You could heat the bolt up to where its soft and really beat a socket back on it wait for it to cool and give it a twist but when you feel its cooled wait another hour.

 

just use a pair of visegrips and buy new banjo bolts, try not to heat the caliper too much if at all. there are 2 rubber seals inside the will get screwed up and then you will need to rebuild the caliper

 

It was the vice grips that rounded the bolt. i picked up a bolt remover set at Sears that looks like it should do the trick.

The new pads came with four new banjo bolts per set, so no worries there. I'll update tomorrow after tackling this in the AM.

I've been taken pics so hopefully I'll be able to put together a write-up on this very common job and help save some people some money. The trick is to make sure you have the right tools to begin with, otherwise that's when you run into trouble.

-Anthony

 

Success! This little Sears bolt remover kit did the trick:
Craftsman 10 pc. Impact Grade Bolt-Out™ Damaged Bolt/Nut Remover - Tools - Hand Tools - Tap & Dies & Sets (not an affiliate link, just for reference)

Hammered the appropriate piece on there and, even with its 3/8" drive, it came right out.

The problems all started, because of my laziness; Let me explain:

Because I was missing my Craftsmen 12mm socket, I decided to use the cheap, little home ratchet kit's 12mm socket in its place. Not a good idea! Upon later inspection, the socket seemed to have "flowered" (for lack of a better term). That is, it spread a little and consequently lost grip/contact and therefore torque. The problem was exacerbated by using the vice grips.

Lesson learned: Start with good quality tools and you can avoid many headaches.

One other thing:

Don't underestimate your stupidity. After the third wheel, you start to go into zombie mode/autopilot and can begin to not pay attention to details. Like... uh... er... hammering away at the rotor while never having removed the locator screw. Doh.

Anyway, I'll post pics and a little write up tonight or tomorrow from the pics I have.

-Anthony