The caliper is not secure with a broken bolt. It has just not come out yet....

Got through replacing 3 of the 4 of the rotors...the bolts on the fourth caliper just would not move.
After trying for a while, finally got it to move a bit at a time...then a loud snap.

The head of the bolt broke clean off. Didn't think I could do that with muscle alone!!!

Good thing my neighborhood mechanic is just a few blocks away (the benefit of living in a city :-))
Thought it was time to not make things from bad to worst.

Anyway, put the tire on, drove it over....they will drill it out and put on the last rotor.
WOULD have been a good DIY...but at least the weather is nice and the rest of the day is free!

Anybody have a similar experience? Did you extract the bolt yourself?

... but I've had plenty of broken header bolts which I've had to extract.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

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They are saying that there isn't much room to work and is hinting that they may have to replace the entire wheel bearing housing.
Seems kind of extreme to me.

Will probably try other solutions before it comes to that.

Why can't they just drill it out?...others have..
[forums.rennlist.com]

I know. That is what I was reading as well. It was stated by the tech that looked at it.
I'm going back today to chat with the garage owner to see why they didn't think they could do it.

Will also check with the dealer. Pretty sure they must have seen this in the past.
There is no way I'm going to replace the whole structure (quote was $1700) for this :-)

The upside is the caliper is still secure as the head broke off with the bolt basically entirely still in place (1mm or so out).

Any auto shop worthy of the name can or should be able to drill out/remove the bolt from the caliper. There is a slight risk that bolt snapped because the the threads in the mating part are corroded and once the bolt is out and with no collateral damage the assembly into which the bolt threads is not usuable.

Anyhow, the techs at the local Porsche dealer have small right-angled drill motors to use in tight places. The techs have to sometimes remove broken bolts/studs from tighter/harder to get at places than where that the caliper bolt is located.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Yeah...going to ping the dealer today.

Looks like the monthly trip to NYC is going to have to wait :-)
Would have been a nice drive this weekend!

None of the independent shops I went to today was willing to drill it out due to the fact that the knuckle (wheel bearing assembly) is aluminum.
The dealer offer to put a new knuckle on for $1000...which was actually a lot cheaper than another quote I got from an independent.

Guess there was not much of a savings on this rotor DIY :-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2012 05:12PM by RainyDayGarage. (view changes)

My recolllection is that both ends of the bolt are accessible, which potentially makes the job easier.

I drilled out one when I stripped it and used a timesert (or nutsert, can't recall). It came out perfect. If you're thinking of replacing the whole thing, might as well try drilling the old one.

If I actually HAD a garage to work in, I would probably give it a try.
However, if I mess it up, getting the car to the dealer would then be a real PITA.

It is very unlikely that you would screw it up in such a way that you couldn't just put the caliper back on with one bolt. The brakes will function fine with just one caliper bolt.

From your description of the problem it sounds like you should be able to take off the caliper and if there is enough of the bolt sticking up you can use a healthy amount of penetrant, heat, and vice grips to work it back and forth and then off. This is uncomplicated enough to be done in a parking lot or driveway.

Almost all of the bolt is still in (perhaps 2-3mm out?) when the head broke off.
However, I am tempted to try extracting the rest.

What size heli-coil/ timesert did you use?
Can't seem to find the actual spec for the caliper bolt...12mm, but not sure of the thread count.

I would get the bolt from the dealer or AutoHausAz.com or other factory parts supplier.

I looked it up and here's what I used:

1 EGLE2650 Helicoil 5544-12 Fine Thread Metric Repair Kit - M12 X 1.5 X 18MM $44.45

But if you are able to get the bolt out cleanly you won't need it. I would definitely plan on soaking it in penetrant overnight and using a torch. If you work it back and forth it will probably come out.

Thanks for the info!

I did pick up a bolt at the dealer...just $5.
Picked up the PB Blaster at Home Depot.

Will check around for the Helicoil.