13 replies to this topic

[jakepeg]

Did Vauxhall/Lotus have a laugh to themselves when they put in the hex key retaining screw into the brake discs? They must have known that within a few wet months it will have welded itself in and no amount of leverage will turn the little fecker, before the key nicely rounds off the edges!! I have now pretty much lost all hearing after some hours drilling at the offending screw. The hex key can mush the edges within a few turns, but I have blunted almost all my drill bits trying to drill it out. Now it seems to be made of the material aeroplanes have their black boxes made out of. I have given up and will take the beast to a garage and hope they have more skill/less hearing/more drill bits. Is there some trick that would spare me this next time?

[mandarinvx]

I had exactly the same on my last car, and blunted all my drills Gave up and took it to a local tyre fitters, who ended up fitting all discs and pads for ~£40, wish I'd just taken it to them in the first place Did you use a socket mounted allen bit (that's where I went wrong, I didn't)

[jakepeg]

no not socket mounted. Just hand held 5mm allun key. Seemed plenty able to destroy screw top!

[Zoobeef]

If you round it off you could try hammering a torx bit into the hole and try and undo it, or a little chisel to nock it round. Or an impact driver, but use straight away if you feel that its going to round

[slindborg]

If you like you can borrow my snapon reverse thread removal tools (just right for this job... I use them on mine lol)

[jakepeg]

Whats one of those? Sounds like something from an Ann Summers brochure.

[mandarinvx]

If you round it off you could try hammering a torx bit into the hole and try and undo it, or a little chisel to nock it round. Or an impact driver, but use straight away if you feel that its going to round

I tried all of those, even applying heat, wasn't going anywhere

They came out fine with a socket mounted allen bit and large driver

[dan4182uk]

I changed my Discs recently and the retaining bolts didn't want to play. I got them out without rounding by these 2 steps: 1) Soaked them in WD40 2) Hit them with a drift - I used a bar about 6 inches long and the same diameter as the bolt. I gave them a few sharp cracks with the drift and a hammer. This loosened the rust in the threads and enabled them to be undone with a good quality allen key with a bit of extra leverage (a pipe slipped over the handle).

[SteveA]

I used a grinder, cut a slot in the screw and got a big flat head on the case. Worked like a charm.

[Coral flash]

Impact screwdriver + lump hammer + 5mm hex bit Cf

[slindborg]

Whats one of those?
Sounds like something from an Ann Summers brochure.

lol

this
http://buy1.snapon.c...amp;dir=catalog Comes in very handy for lots of VX related work

although mine is the 10 piece version

Edited by slindborg, 16 April 2009 - 05:06 AM.

[Mike (Cliffie)]

I use a Allen bit with a ratchet. WD40 and a tap if they are stubbon.

[Winstar]

Impact screwdriver + lump hammer + 5mm hex bit


Cf

but only works if you start off this way.

to drill it off properly you need to buy an 11mm drill bit

[oblomov]

Is there some trick that would spare me this next time?

I've just removed both mine - came out quite easily (hand tight) despite having not been moved for 5+ years .

If/when you replace them just make sure the thread is well greased and don't do them up more than hand tight. They won't fall out because the wheel butts against the head. Also you can 'crack' them once a year or so when you take the wheel off by just making them move and then retightening to free the thread. I 'crack' my brake bleed screws once a year on this and especially on my 'shed'.

Those of you who are blunting their drill bits should have a set of carbide bits to use on hard metal parts like this. They cost but they're worth it when you get stuck with something like this.

There's a certain amount of experience required. Hit the head with a large flat end drift as described (big whacks heavy hammer) and try. Then heat (a lot, blowtorch not heatgun) and hit and try again. Then heat again and impact driver. Failing those then drill out with a carbide bit and use a reverse thread removal tool - as slindborg says very handy, I also use mine a lot. Hammering torx bits in may work but you stand to spoil the bit and buggering up your tools is not what it's about. It's worthwhile having the correct tools for the job because it makes things that much easier.

WD40? fairly useless stuff IMHO, other than for cleaning the plastic on double glazed windows. If you need a good penetrating oil nothing beats ordinary bog standard diesel fuel at a fraction of the price. Penetrating oil is not instantaneous, it often needs to be re applied and left to penetrate over time but usuall we're in a hurry and want to get on with the job there and then and not wait in three hours or overnight for the stuff to work.