Changing Brake Discs - T40 Torx Bolts Stuck... Grrr....

Alias_Omega

Okay, lets start at the start.

2003 Car, which has T40 torx bolts holding the disc to the hub. Simple to remove you think, however on one side, one bolt came out and the other just was made of cheese and began to slip. No matter what I used on it (notched it to make a screwdriver slot, then a impact driver) and it still would not shift. So I drilled the head off...

So...new T40 bit (Lazer Brand)...on the other side... T40 bit shears off....put wheels back on...tools away and here i am.

So now... do i -

a) Buy another new T40 bit. If they don't come out, drill the heads off again. Then carry on...

or

b) Just take it to the garage, maybe £40 or so remove/fit the pads/discs...


Id prefer a) however were not guaranteed to get the discs off the hubs without a sledge hammer.. :rotfl:

colino

Working on areas like this, while releasing fluid can help, it really come down to heat or hammer. The bits have to be suitable for an impact driver, not just out of a general kit, or they will chew up and make a mess of the head. A good fitting impact bit with a well struck blow will always shock off the fixing.
Did you grind the head down enough to get the disc off? If so it should just need a good pair of mole grips to take off the remainder.
When you refit (with new bolts) don't over torque and don't use anti-seize.

AdrianC

Those screws don't do anything "important", anyway. They just hold the disc to the hub whilst the wheel's not on the car. Just drill the head off. You'll probably find a pair of molegrips or waterpump pliers'll allow you to wind the rest out once the disc's off, since there won't be any tension on the thread, as colino says. A grinder probably won't help, since they'll be countersunk below the surface of the disc, I presume?

I'd say definitely DO use copaslip on the new fasteners...

Does your car use studs and nuts, or bolts? If it's bolts, then there's the minor hassle factor of potentially having the disc rotate on the hub when you're trying to put the wheel back on. Minor league PITA, nothing serious.

forgotmyname

Was the T40 an impact one? Buy a decent set of impact Torq bits.

Heat it up as much as possible and quench the area in PluGas or similar.

Repeat a couple of times to help it break free of any corrosion holding onto it.

Alias_Omega

Hi guys,

I ended up just drilling the heads off, then putting it into gear with the brakes applied to break the hub corrosion. A bit of a problem though, the brake disks are the wrong size, so that's killed that earlier. Not long finished cleaning up....