Rear Brake Caliper Removal---Frozen Bolt

[Ragnar]

I never see too many technical questions posted here, but I thought I'd swallow my pride and ask one anyway. The time came to replace the rear tire on my Valk. At 50,000 plus miles, it's usually no big deal, and I've done it many times. This time, however, I found that the bolt that runs through the swingarm into the caliper is frozen tighter than...well, it's really tight. And as is often the case with Honda bolts, the amount of force required to remove it is greater than the amount of force required to nicely round the head. I have drenched the thing with WD and applied all manner of vise grips with no luck. I was able to drill fairly deeply into the bolt and insert an EZ out extractor---which promptly snapped off. So now I have a stuck bolt with a snapped off extractor sticking out (not long enough to get ahold of). I'm going to remove the drive shaft and get the tire off that way; this will also give greater access to the caliper. But I'm still at a loss as to what my next step might be. I'm thinking of heating the calper to possibly get enough expansion to loosen the bolt, but I'm not optimistic about this method either. I'm thinking a small explosive charge might be in order. Anyway, I'm open to all advice i can get. If the welds on the Goldwing were as strong as this bolt is frozen, there never would have been a recallA :wink: .

Ragnar

[Smilin Jack]

Boy you got your hands full,

I you heat up the aluminum it will expand pretty quickly

Is there still room to take a wire drill and drill around the easy out? or a small dremel tool and make a ditch around the broken off easy out. You might be able to knock the easy out with a small chisel and get it out.
Then go in with a large one. If I am not mistaken the bolt that your talking about has a shoulder on it all the way down except the last little bit where the threads are.

Unfortunately the easy out is harden and most drill bits will not drill it, except the titatium bits. Not the sugar coated titatium bits but real titatium bits. or a diamond bit nose grinder. but they are hard to find.

I'd try the top option first. Then the heat with a super fine tip on the flame.

Believe it or not. We have had almost as much fun on a friends bike with the filler plug on the rear axel. Rounded it self right off. did not even budge. had to go in and spend an hour filing the edges and drive a 16mm
socket on it. If finally gave way.

Good luck..

Jack

[Hal @ Honda Direct Line]

Sounds like its time for the weld a new bolt head onto it procedure.

[LaMonster]

As a welder I ran into this stuff all the time and it's a pretty easy fix if you have a welder. the best thing to do is find a nut that will slip over the bolt head and plug weld the nut to the bolt. As soon as the nut turns from red hot to it's normal color put an impact on the nut and it will spin right off. Call me if you want and I can walk you through it.

[Ragnar]

Thanks Jack, Hal, and Lamont. You're right, Jack. It is a flanged bolt, and it's recessed as well. I got the final drive separated from the drive shaft, and the wheel came off pretty easily. I actually blame all this on the
Avon tire. If I'd gotten a Dunlop instead, it would've lasted only half as long, and the bolt wouldn't have had a chance to seize up :wink: .

I've been heating the caliper with propane, but I think I'll switch to MAP gas and see if that doesn't produce better results. If I still can't get the bolt out, I think I'll just install the new tire, and then, when it's convenient, have a welder friend do the nut weld trick. I really appreciate that idea. In fact, to express my gratitude, I'm now going over to HDL and making a small purchase.

I'll report results.

Ragnar

[Smilin Jack]

That is a great idea Lamont, have to file that one away..... could have used it at least a dozen times in the past.... well live and learn... I usually got the bolt out but it would make a good fellow have to go to confession :)

Smilin' Jack

[Hawk]

Ya know, all you have to do is call and I could have fixed that for you. (even when it cost me a ticket HAHA) :cop2: As for replacement parts you might need, we could probably do some "swapping". :a13: By the way where have you been? DaisyMae said she is going to have to fix another angel food cake if you don't hurry, and the plums will be PRUNES by the time you make it over. :D

[Ragnar]

Let's make some plans, Hawkamundo. I'm a hankerin' to meet Ada Sue anyway. Give me a day to git the Valk back together, and I'll plum skeedaddle down to yer holler.

Billy-bob Ragnar

[Daniel Meyer]

You do know that bolt doesn't actually thread into the caliper bracket? It only bolts into the swing arm qnd sticks through. The caliper bracket just floats on it. With the wheel off you should be able to slide the caliper off the thing, then you have some more to work with (it can be grabbed from the back side of the swing arm.

If the caliper is still stuck on there, you've got some serious corrosion going on to jam all that together. Some pryiing and lots of penetrating lube should eventually get it loose.

I've also had really good luck using a dremel or such on the rounded head...just to give it some flats...then use one of those craftman sockets with all the pins inside to remove rounded off bolts...they really do work! I used vice grips on the other side (the floater that sticks through at the same time. It also helps to get some lube in from the back too.

This seems to be a fairly common problem on the Valk...I've helped to remove several. Be sure and use anti-seize on the threads and some grease on the floater when you re-assemble!

Good luck!

[R J]

Ditto the anti seize and good lube on the slider when you reinstall.........

Saves a lot of headaches later on.......

Lamonts suggestion on the welded nut works also real good, usually the heat from welding the nut will also help to break loose the bolt.


Get some good penetrating oil in the BACK side of that bolt. spraying from the bolt head side takes too long to get there....... Kind of like salmon swimming upstream to spawn.

[Ragnar]

Thanks again to everyone for their ideas. I think for now that bolt is going to stay in there; maybe down the road I'll give the weld nut trick a shot, but I have doubts as to whether even that will work.

As Daniel said, the caliper does slide off the un-threaded portion of the bolt, and it reveals about an inch which you can grab onto. After the usual prelims (heat, WD, etc.), I began with large vise grips and got them on as tight as I could. Using a heavy brick hammer, I proceeded to take big, two-handed swings at the grips---nothing, nada, nichts. Having concluded that effort in failure mode, I moved onto to trying a pipe wrench and taking the same big swings at it. Again, nothing. At that point I figured that the bolt isn't going to budge, but there is a good chance I could break it off; then I'd really be screwed. So...exercising some self-restraint, I decided just to leave it in; when I get the wheel back from the dealer, I'll install it the same way I got it off.

In a way, it's difficult to walk away from something like this. It's kind of like finding a rock in your back yard and stopping digging before you find out exactly how big it is.

Ragnar