It s a 1985 300 SD. The upper/fwd bolt securing the LH front brake caliper to the wheel broke when pads were being replaced. It was frozen and I forced it too much. Big mistake! I think that part that the shank of the bolt is lodged inside (that the caliper bolts to) is part of the strut/hub assembly. Not sure of the exact name of this assembly. My Haynes manual doesn't show a complete breakdown of the front wheel/suspension. This is very bad, as no matter how much I tighten the other remaining bolt, the first time you hit the brakes in reverse, the top of the caliperl moves backward, and then it rubs against the inner surface of the wheel. Anyway, I bought a Sears screw extractor and matching Ti-Ni drill bit. Had a reverse-spiral and square end. Drilled out the center of broken bolt stud, all the way to the tip. Hammered extractor in. Put a lot of rust-dissolving lube on it. Waited for lube to do its thing a long time. With a pipe wrench on it, the broken stud still wouldn't turn out. So I applied blowtorch to the area next to the bolt hole while turning. The extractor broke! It broke flush, so there is nothing to grip on to, in order to back it out. So now I have an even worse problem. Need some advice on what to do next. Have never removed rotor from a car before, can I get access to the broken bolt stud from the outer side by removing the rotor? I could try just drilling it out the full diameter of the bolt and then re-thread both strut/hub for a little bit larger bolt. But trying to drill it out now is going to be next to impossible, as the hardened steel broken extractor is in there. Thanks for the help.
- posted
18 years ago