Brake rotor hold down bolt allen size

[CraigBurton]

Hi All,

Just running to lordco to pick up an allen head socket for my brake rotor hold down bolt. Any idea what size it is? 7mm? or 8mm? And.....I don't have replacement bolts so can I re-use the old ones for a bit (until the rest of my bav auto order comes in?)

Craig,

[Initial D.oug]

dunno about the size but if you're going to reuse the bolts again. Make sure you use some anti-seize on them. It's a pain to have to drill or tap them out if you wear out the head.

[CraigBurton]

Hi,

The bolts are not moving (i'm using a nice quality 5mm hex socket, not an allen wrench) when the bolts come in I'll heat up the rotor and pb blast them to see if I can at least remove the old ones.

I'm soooooooooooooooo sick of warped brakes.
Craig,

[woods]

Originally Posted by CraigBurton Hi, The bolts are not moving (i'm using a nice quality 5mm hex socket, not an allen wrench) when the bolts come in I'll heat up the rotor and pb blast them to see if I can at least remove the old ones. I'm soooooooooooooooo sick of warped brakes. Craig,

Save yourself the trouble and just drill them out. Their purpose is simply to hold the rotor in position while you install the caliper and wheel. I've had them where the bolt is so badly rusted to the hub that I just had drill them out and leave them off.

A lug bolt will work just as well to keep the rotor in place while you re-install the calipers.

When you re-install your wheels, clean up the mating surfaces, anti-sieze the hub rings and torque the bolts to spec in the proper pattern. This should help keep the rotors from warping again.

Cheers.

[E30M3]

Just smash the rotor it will shatter leaving the bold exposed then use vice grips to remove the bolt.. no drilling/tapping required.. easier/faster/less headache

[CraigBurton]

Hi,

Really? Smash the rotor? Like with a hammer? Won't that wreck my hub? I love the idea of smashing it off, but tell me more, where to hit, what to hit it with, will my rotor really shatter (worth trying, just to see). I've ordered replacement bolts so I can try smashing tomorrow.

Can I get a confirmation that the hold down bolt is unnessesary except during instalation? And I can run without them?

Thanks in advance,

Craig,

[Shocka]

Yes, you can forsure run without them. Either smash it off, or drill it out and leave the stud out for alignment. But smashing it does sound like fun, especially if its been pissin u off.

[E30M3]

Just take a sledge or somthing and smash the rotor as hard as possible. It will break the rotor all around the hold down bolt. Leaving just a small fragment enough to grab the bolt with some vice grips.

**I've read this on other sites.. and it worked for me.. no guarantees**

I Just made sure the bolt was on the side I smashed, and it should work out just fine.

call me lazy or scared I just dont want to deal with drilling and/or retapping

[CraigBurton]

Hi All,

I guess my hammer wasn't big enough. I drilled the head off the hold down bolt, then gave it a whack with the hammer to get them off.

The new factory/zimmerman rotors and CoolCarbon pads are great, no more bad vibes from the front end.

I'll wait until I get new rear rotors to install the rear pads. And I'm still waiting for my stainless lines to come from BavAuto.

The Bav auto brake bleader kit is great. A must have and a fairly well made tool as well.

Thanks for all the help/replies. I'll tackel the next project when my smashed thumb heals (darn caliper bolts)