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Message: Re: Need some advice on my front brake caliper. 2000 S.....
Changed By: Paul S.
Change Date: January 15, 2011 01:31PM
Re: Need some advice on my front brake caliper. 2000 S.....
Change Date: January 15, 2011 01:31PM
Re: Need some advice on my front brake caliper. 2000 S.....
[quote="JFP in PA"]
Yes, you should be concerned as loss of threaded area in the caliper. Suggest looking at installing a Helicoil thread insert into the damaged openings... You will end up with steel threads for the bolts to grab onto. You will need to drill out and re-tap the damaged holes, but they sell complete kits to make this an easy fix.
[img]http://www.emhart.com/sites/www.emhart.com/files/images/HeliCoil-header.jpg[/img]
[img]http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/sjdiscounttools_2142_123535541[/img][/quote]
I'm going to suggest, just saying no to Helicoil inserts on brake calipers--I have a 67 Corvette where some prior owner stripped out the carrier bracket (the caliper holes are not threaded on the 67 Corvette's disk brake calipers), and helicoil inserts have been used. I knew that when I bought the car--a "new" insert was put in about a year before I bought the car.
I had brake issues, and pulled one of the calipers. As luck would have it, I picked the driver side rear and that's where the Helicoil was, on one of the two caliper bolts. Well I could tell when backing it out that the bolt in the helicoil wasn't tight at all. The next 6 hours was a hassle of biblical portions first trying to re-install the bolt as is; didn't work. Went to NAPA and bought a helicoil kit, and figured, "How hard could this be to do right". Well it was a pain in the butt.
Had to remove the old insert--that was tough and on my Corvette, I had access to both ends of the hole and dealing with harder metal than you have on the Brembo aluminum calipers the Porsche has. If the initial insert doesn't work, just be warned getting one out, is difficult. Classic Murphy's law--if you wanted it to stay in forever, it would fall right out. If you want something out, it doesn't cooperate.
The insert was too long for the hole--the excess stuck out and was touching the rotor. Trimmed a new insert, and could not get a good fit so the bolt would start in the insert. Yanked off the rotor (which on a 67 Corvette is riveted and had to drill out), so I could get a better angle on the carrier bolt hole; wrinsed, repeated and did this down to my last of the six included inserts. By now, the parts store is closed, so I convinced myself to "re-tap" the bolt hole. Initially I figured that step is not needed bcause it would have been done, when the helicoil was used the first time (note: on Helicoil, you re-tap the hole and the insert in theory threads into the new threads; and it's an odd size tap size too). Threading a hole isn't rocket science, but you have to be careful that you do it squarely because a botched set of threads and you now have bigger problems.
Well that worked, sort of. The plastic tool twisted off just as I got the last insert seated--that plastic tool works well on the first insert, and progressively gets worse, and by the 6th insert, the tool would twist about 3/4's of a turn before it would actually turn the insert in the hole, eventually snapping off.
And the bolt went in, thank goodness. At some point I will replace the carrier bracket--trouble is on the 67 Corvette you have to tear out the half shaft, spindle and other parts of the rear suspension that exceed my personal skill level. I don't trust the darn insert, plus I never want to go through an all day ordeal like I went through, if the insert that's in there now spins loose. And no, one good bolt won't keep the caliper from shifting under a braking load.
Calipers have a good deal of stress and forces applied to them, so they need to be solidly bolted down. I would look for someone who can repair the carrier you have. Or buy a replacement through a dismantler/junk yard. I suspect you can have the calipcarrier repaired for a reasonable price. BTW, Helicoil kits are abusurdly expensive ($40-$50 for a plastic insert tool that may be a one-time use; my saga, it was). And if the Helicoil doesn't work, you get to have the fun I had.
(edited, now that we have decided the carrier is threaded and the caliper is not).
Yes, you should be concerned as loss of threaded area in the caliper. Suggest looking at installing a Helicoil thread insert into the damaged openings... You will end up with steel threads for the bolts to grab onto. You will need to drill out and re-tap the damaged holes, but they sell complete kits to make this an easy fix.
[img]http://www.emhart.com/sites/www.emhart.com/files/images/HeliCoil-header.jpg[/img]
[img]http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/sjdiscounttools_2142_123535541[/img][/quote]
I'm going to suggest, just saying no to Helicoil inserts on brake calipers--I have a 67 Corvette where some prior owner stripped out the carrier bracket (the caliper holes are not threaded on the 67 Corvette's disk brake calipers), and helicoil inserts have been used. I knew that when I bought the car--a "new" insert was put in about a year before I bought the car.
I had brake issues, and pulled one of the calipers. As luck would have it, I picked the driver side rear and that's where the Helicoil was, on one of the two caliper bolts. Well I could tell when backing it out that the bolt in the helicoil wasn't tight at all. The next 6 hours was a hassle of biblical portions first trying to re-install the bolt as is; didn't work. Went to NAPA and bought a helicoil kit, and figured, "How hard could this be to do right". Well it was a pain in the butt.
Had to remove the old insert--that was tough and on my Corvette, I had access to both ends of the hole and dealing with harder metal than you have on the Brembo aluminum calipers the Porsche has. If the initial insert doesn't work, just be warned getting one out, is difficult. Classic Murphy's law--if you wanted it to stay in forever, it would fall right out. If you want something out, it doesn't cooperate.
The insert was too long for the hole--the excess stuck out and was touching the rotor. Trimmed a new insert, and could not get a good fit so the bolt would start in the insert. Yanked off the rotor (which on a 67 Corvette is riveted and had to drill out), so I could get a better angle on the carrier bolt hole; wrinsed, repeated and did this down to my last of the six included inserts. By now, the parts store is closed, so I convinced myself to "re-tap" the bolt hole. Initially I figured that step is not needed bcause it would have been done, when the helicoil was used the first time (note: on Helicoil, you re-tap the hole and the insert in theory threads into the new threads; and it's an odd size tap size too). Threading a hole isn't rocket science, but you have to be careful that you do it squarely because a botched set of threads and you now have bigger problems.
Well that worked, sort of. The plastic tool twisted off just as I got the last insert seated--that plastic tool works well on the first insert, and progressively gets worse, and by the 6th insert, the tool would twist about 3/4's of a turn before it would actually turn the insert in the hole, eventually snapping off.
And the bolt went in, thank goodness. At some point I will replace the carrier bracket--trouble is on the 67 Corvette you have to tear out the half shaft, spindle and other parts of the rear suspension that exceed my personal skill level. I don't trust the darn insert, plus I never want to go through an all day ordeal like I went through, if the insert that's in there now spins loose. And no, one good bolt won't keep the caliper from shifting under a braking load.
Calipers have a good deal of stress and forces applied to them, so they need to be solidly bolted down. I would look for someone who can repair the carrier you have. Or buy a replacement through a dismantler/junk yard. I suspect you can have the calipcarrier repaired for a reasonable price. BTW, Helicoil kits are abusurdly expensive ($40-$50 for a plastic insert tool that may be a one-time use; my saga, it was). And if the Helicoil doesn't work, you get to have the fun I had.
(edited, now that we have decided the carrier is threaded and the caliper is not).
Changed By: Paul S.
Change Date: January 15, 2011 01:20PM
Re: Need some advice on my front brake caliper. 2000 S.....
Change Date: January 15, 2011 01:20PM
Re: Need some advice on my front brake caliper. 2000 S.....
[quote="JFP in PA"]
Yes, you should be concerned as loss of threaded area in the caliper. Suggest looking at installing a Helicoil thread insert into the damaged openings... You will end up with steel threads for the bolts to grab onto. You will need to drill out and re-tap the damaged holes, but they sell complete kits to make this an easy fix.
[img]http://www.emhart.com/sites/www.emhart.com/files/images/HeliCoil-header.jpg[/img]
[img]http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/sjdiscounttools_2142_123535541[/img][/quote]
I'm going to suggest, just saying no to Helicoil inserts on brake calipers--I have a 67 Corvette where some prior owner stripped out the carrier bracket (the caliper holes are not threaded on the 67 Corvette's disk brake calipers), and helicoil inserts have been used. I knew that when I bought the car--a "new" insert was put in about a year before I bought the car.
I had brake issues, and pulled one of the calipers. As luck would have it, I picked the driver side rear and that's where the Helicoil was, on one of the two caliper bolts. Well I could tell when backing it out that the bolt in the helicoil wasn't tight at all. The next 6 hours was a hassle of biblical portions first trying to re-install the bolt as is; didn't work. Went to NAPA and bought a helicoil kit, and figured, "How hard could this be to do right". Well it was a pain in the butt.
Had to remove the old insert--that was tough and on my Corvette, I had access to both ends of the hole and dealing with harder metal than you have on the Brembo aluminum calipers the Porsche has. If the initial insert doesn't work, just be warned getting one out, is difficult. Classic Murphy's law--if you wanted it to stay in forever, it would fall right out. If you want something out, it doesn't cooperate.
The insert was too long for the hole--the excess stuck out and was touching the rotor. Trimmed a new insert, and could not get a good fit so the bolt would start in the insert. Yanked off the rotor (which on a 67 Corvette is riveted and had to drill out), so I could get a better angle on the carrier bolt hole; wrinsed, repeated and did this down to my last of the six included inserts. By now, the parts store is closed, so I convinced myself to "re-tap" the bolt hole. Initially I figured that step is not needed bcause it would have been done, when the helicoil was used the first time (note: on Helicoil, you re-tap the hole and the insert in theory threads into the new threads; and it's an odd size tap size too). Threading a hole isn't rocket science, but you have to be careful that you do it squarely because a botched set of threads and you now have bigger problems.
Well that worked, sort of. The plastic tool twisted off just as I got the last insert seated--that plastic tool works well on the first insert, and progressively gets worse, and by the 6th insert, the tool would twist about 3/4's of a turn before it would actually turn the insert in the hole, eventually snapping off.
And the bolt went in, thank goodness. At some point I will replace the carrier bracket--trouble is on the 67 Corvette you have to tear out the half shaft, spindle and other parts of the rear suspension that exceed my personal skill level. I don't trust the darn insert, plus I never want to go through an all day ordeal like I went through, if the insert that's in there now spins loose. And no, one good bolt won't keep the caliper from shifting under a braking load.
Calipers have a good deal of stress and forces applied to them, so they need to be solidly bolted down. I would look for someone who can repair the calipcarrier you have, which is basically aluminum welding. . Or buy a replacement through a dismantler/junk yard. I suspect you can have the caliper repaired for a reasonable price. BTW, Helicoil kits are abusurdly expensive ($40-$50 for a plastic insert tool that may be a one-time use; my saga, it was). And if the Helicoil doesn't work, you get to have the fun I had.
(edited, now your that we have decided the carrier is threaded and the caliper has an odd sized re-threaded hole and is junk.not).
Yes, you should be concerned as loss of threaded area in the caliper. Suggest looking at installing a Helicoil thread insert into the damaged openings... You will end up with steel threads for the bolts to grab onto. You will need to drill out and re-tap the damaged holes, but they sell complete kits to make this an easy fix.
[img]http://www.emhart.com/sites/www.emhart.com/files/images/HeliCoil-header.jpg[/img]
[img]http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/sjdiscounttools_2142_123535541[/img][/quote]
I'm going to suggest, just saying no to Helicoil inserts on brake calipers--I have a 67 Corvette where some prior owner stripped out the carrier bracket (the caliper holes are not threaded on the 67 Corvette's disk brake calipers), and helicoil inserts have been used. I knew that when I bought the car--a "new" insert was put in about a year before I bought the car.
I had brake issues, and pulled one of the calipers. As luck would have it, I picked the driver side rear and that's where the Helicoil was, on one of the two caliper bolts. Well I could tell when backing it out that the bolt in the helicoil wasn't tight at all. The next 6 hours was a hassle of biblical portions first trying to re-install the bolt as is; didn't work. Went to NAPA and bought a helicoil kit, and figured, "How hard could this be to do right". Well it was a pain in the butt.
Had to remove the old insert--that was tough and on my Corvette, I had access to both ends of the hole and dealing with harder metal than you have on the Brembo aluminum calipers the Porsche has. If the initial insert doesn't work, just be warned getting one out, is difficult. Classic Murphy's law--if you wanted it to stay in forever, it would fall right out. If you want something out, it doesn't cooperate.
The insert was too long for the hole--the excess stuck out and was touching the rotor. Trimmed a new insert, and could not get a good fit so the bolt would start in the insert. Yanked off the rotor (which on a 67 Corvette is riveted and had to drill out), so I could get a better angle on the carrier bolt hole; wrinsed, repeated and did this down to my last of the six included inserts. By now, the parts store is closed, so I convinced myself to "re-tap" the bolt hole. Initially I figured that step is not needed bcause it would have been done, when the helicoil was used the first time (note: on Helicoil, you re-tap the hole and the insert in theory threads into the new threads; and it's an odd size tap size too). Threading a hole isn't rocket science, but you have to be careful that you do it squarely because a botched set of threads and you now have bigger problems.
Well that worked, sort of. The plastic tool twisted off just as I got the last insert seated--that plastic tool works well on the first insert, and progressively gets worse, and by the 6th insert, the tool would twist about 3/4's of a turn before it would actually turn the insert in the hole, eventually snapping off.
And the bolt went in, thank goodness. At some point I will replace the carrier bracket--trouble is on the 67 Corvette you have to tear out the half shaft, spindle and other parts of the rear suspension that exceed my personal skill level. I don't trust the darn insert, plus I never want to go through an all day ordeal like I went through, if the insert that's in there now spins loose. And no, one good bolt won't keep the caliper from shifting under a braking load.
Calipers have a good deal of stress and forces applied to them, so they need to be solidly bolted down. I would look for someone who can repair the calipcarrier you have, which is basically aluminum welding. . Or buy a replacement through a dismantler/junk yard. I suspect you can have the caliper repaired for a reasonable price. BTW, Helicoil kits are abusurdly expensive ($40-$50 for a plastic insert tool that may be a one-time use; my saga, it was). And if the Helicoil doesn't work, you get to have the fun I had.
(edited, now your that we have decided the carrier is threaded and the caliper has an odd sized re-threaded hole and is junk.not).
Original Message
Author: Paul S.Date: January 15, 2011 01:14PM
Re: Need some advice on my front brake caliper. 2000 S.....
[quote="JFP in PA"]
Yes, you should be concerned as loss of threaded area in the caliper. Suggest looking at installing a Helicoil thread insert into the damaged openings... You will end up with steel threads for the bolts to grab onto. You will need to drill out and re-tap the damaged holes, but they sell complete kits to make this an easy fix.
[img]http://www.emhart.com/sites/www.emhart.com/files/images/HeliCoil-header.jpg[/img]
[img]http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/sjdiscounttools_2142_123535541[/img][/quote]
I'm going to suggest, just saying no to Helicoil inserts on brake calipers--I have a 67 Corvette where some prior owner stripped out the carrier bracket (the caliper holes are not threaded on the 67 Corvette's disk brake calipers), and helicoil inserts have been used. I knew that when I bought the car--a "new" insert was put in about a year before I bought the car.
I had brake issues, and pulled one of the calipers. As luck would have it, I picked the driver side rear and that's where the Helicoil was, on one of the two caliper bolts. Well I could tell when backing it out that the bolt in the helicoil wasn't tight at all. The next 6 hours was a hassle of biblical portions first trying to re-install the bolt as is; didn't work. Went to NAPA and bought a helicoil kit, and figured, "How hard could this be to do right". Well it was a pain in the butt.
Had to remove the old insert--that was tough and on my Corvette, I had access to both ends of the hole and dealing with harder metal than you have on the Brembo aluminum calipers the Porsche has. If the initial insert doesn't work, just be warned getting one out, is difficult. Classic Murphy's law--if you wanted it to stay in forever, it would fall right out. If you want something out, it doesn't cooperate.
The insert was too long for the hole--the excess stuck out and was touching the rotor. Trimmed a new insert, and could not get a good fit so the bolt would start in the insert. Yanked off the rotor (which on a 67 Corvette is riveted and had to drill out), so I could get a better angle on the carrier bolt hole; wrinsed, repeated and did this down to my last of the six included inserts. By now, the parts store is closed, so I convinced myself to "re-tap" the bolt hole. Initially I figured that step is not needed bcause it would have been done, when the helicoil was used the first time (note: on Helicoil, you re-tap the hole and the insert in theory threads into the new threads; and it's an odd size tap size too). Threading a hole isn't rocket science, but you have to be careful that you do it squarely because a botched set of threads and you now have bigger problems.
Well that worked, sort of. The plastic tool twisted off just as I got the last insert seated--that plastic tool works well on the first insert, and progressively gets worse, and by the 6th insert, the tool would twist about 3/4's of a turn before it would actually turn the insert in the hole, eventually snapping off.
And the bolt went in, thank goodness. At some point I will replace the carrier bracket--trouble is on the 67 Corvette you have to tear out the half shaft, spindle and other parts of the rear suspension that exceed my personal skill level. I don't trust the darn insert, plus I never want to go through an all day ordeal like I went through, if the insert that's in there now spins loose. And no, one good bolt won't keep the caliper from shifting under a braking load.
Calipers have a good deal of stress and forces applied to them, so they need to be solidly bolted down. I would look for someone who can repair the caliper you have, which is basically aluminum welding. Or buy a replacement through a dismantler/junk yard. I suspect you can have the caliper repaired for a reasonable price. BTW, Helicoil kits are abusurdly expensive ($40-$50 for a plastic insert tool that may be a one-time use; my saga, it was). And if the Helicoil doesn't work, now your caliper has an odd sized re-threaded hole and is junk.
Yes, you should be concerned as loss of threaded area in the caliper. Suggest looking at installing a Helicoil thread insert into the damaged openings... You will end up with steel threads for the bolts to grab onto. You will need to drill out and re-tap the damaged holes, but they sell complete kits to make this an easy fix.
[img]http://www.emhart.com/sites/www.emhart.com/files/images/HeliCoil-header.jpg[/img]
[img]http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/sjdiscounttools_2142_123535541[/img][/quote]
I'm going to suggest, just saying no to Helicoil inserts on brake calipers--I have a 67 Corvette where some prior owner stripped out the carrier bracket (the caliper holes are not threaded on the 67 Corvette's disk brake calipers), and helicoil inserts have been used. I knew that when I bought the car--a "new" insert was put in about a year before I bought the car.
I had brake issues, and pulled one of the calipers. As luck would have it, I picked the driver side rear and that's where the Helicoil was, on one of the two caliper bolts. Well I could tell when backing it out that the bolt in the helicoil wasn't tight at all. The next 6 hours was a hassle of biblical portions first trying to re-install the bolt as is; didn't work. Went to NAPA and bought a helicoil kit, and figured, "How hard could this be to do right". Well it was a pain in the butt.
Had to remove the old insert--that was tough and on my Corvette, I had access to both ends of the hole and dealing with harder metal than you have on the Brembo aluminum calipers the Porsche has. If the initial insert doesn't work, just be warned getting one out, is difficult. Classic Murphy's law--if you wanted it to stay in forever, it would fall right out. If you want something out, it doesn't cooperate.
The insert was too long for the hole--the excess stuck out and was touching the rotor. Trimmed a new insert, and could not get a good fit so the bolt would start in the insert. Yanked off the rotor (which on a 67 Corvette is riveted and had to drill out), so I could get a better angle on the carrier bolt hole; wrinsed, repeated and did this down to my last of the six included inserts. By now, the parts store is closed, so I convinced myself to "re-tap" the bolt hole. Initially I figured that step is not needed bcause it would have been done, when the helicoil was used the first time (note: on Helicoil, you re-tap the hole and the insert in theory threads into the new threads; and it's an odd size tap size too). Threading a hole isn't rocket science, but you have to be careful that you do it squarely because a botched set of threads and you now have bigger problems.
Well that worked, sort of. The plastic tool twisted off just as I got the last insert seated--that plastic tool works well on the first insert, and progressively gets worse, and by the 6th insert, the tool would twist about 3/4's of a turn before it would actually turn the insert in the hole, eventually snapping off.
And the bolt went in, thank goodness. At some point I will replace the carrier bracket--trouble is on the 67 Corvette you have to tear out the half shaft, spindle and other parts of the rear suspension that exceed my personal skill level. I don't trust the darn insert, plus I never want to go through an all day ordeal like I went through, if the insert that's in there now spins loose. And no, one good bolt won't keep the caliper from shifting under a braking load.
Calipers have a good deal of stress and forces applied to them, so they need to be solidly bolted down. I would look for someone who can repair the caliper you have, which is basically aluminum welding. Or buy a replacement through a dismantler/junk yard. I suspect you can have the caliper repaired for a reasonable price. BTW, Helicoil kits are abusurdly expensive ($40-$50 for a plastic insert tool that may be a one-time use; my saga, it was). And if the Helicoil doesn't work, now your caliper has an odd sized re-threaded hole and is junk.