thook44 Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 (edited) "94 legacy wagon AWDi was removing the caliper the other day to get to the parking brake assembly for an R/R when the bolt securing the caliper to the bracket snapped off. it's flush with bracket surface. so far, my friend and i have drilled and tried an easy out without success. tomorrow, i'm going to another friend's shop and try again with his torch to heat it up a bit. my concern is if it doesn't come out OR if the threads are damaged in the process. if the threads are damaged, i might be successful at straightening them out with a tap. but, if the damage is too great for that and i have to go ahead completely drill out the bolt remains, i wondered about tapping and going to a size up on the bolt my first friend has advised against going to a larger bolt. it seems to me, though, it would make it even stronger. ??? but, he does know a great many things...from experience and technical education...i don't. what do you guys think i should do if the torch and easy out is not a success? finding a replacement bracket around here will be very difficult. and, i really don't need another caliper = money i don't want/need to spend. (i've been spending enough, lately, as it is) thanks so much! ps. subaru dealer wants $15 for a bolt replacement.....lol! eff that! i'm going to fastenal Edited September 11, 2017 by thook44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike104 Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 helicoil or get a new bracket. They are available from Subaru or pull and pay yards. I usually drill it out using progressively larger drill bits then run a tap through the remnants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 11, 2017 Author Share Posted September 11, 2017 i really do not want to go to subaru. not if a mere bolt is gonna be $15. and, the P and P options are nill last i looked. it's getting very hard to find older car parts around here. you really think a helicoil would hold up to braking forces? i'll try the progressive driling route first, i suppose. all my taps are standard, so i'll have to get a metric to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike104 Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Helicoil would work since that bolt is loaded in shear. I've had good luck drilling out and using a tap. Helicoil kit is probably $30-50. Tap is probably less than $10. Caliper Bracket is $25 from rockauto.com http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/subaru,1994,legacy,2.2l+h4,1430385,brake+&+wheel+hub,caliper+bracket,1714 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Just get a reman caliper. It comes with the bracket. Let the rebuilders deal with it. Reman caliper should be no more than $50. GD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 i looked for a tap tonight when i went into town. no luck, but that was at lowe's. hell, they didn't even have the tap and die set on shelf the computer said was supposed to be there. they had stepped drill taps..individual...but, i don't want to use a drill tap and none were the right size, anyway thread pitch 1.25? tried using their bolt chart and seemed to fit right, but the bolt i used (from the other brake) had some corrosion and so wouldn't thread in very far. didn't plan that very well...haha. should've clean it up before leaving home at any rate, i'll be going to fastenal tomorrow and should be able to get all i need sorted. if the drill and tap alone doesn't work out, then i will helicoil it (great!). i have a tool/handle...just need the tap and coil pack. they usually sell those individual and pretty cheap at o'reilly....which is conveniently right next to fastenal i realize trying to repair this will probably wind up somewhat close to what i'd pay for that bracket with less headache, but i'm also wanting to have the vehicle on the road again by the weekend. i'll report what happens. thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 (edited) Wow. Some people just don't listen. Two ways to do this. Take it to a machine shop with an EDM and it's done in about a minute. Or you get a reman caliper - THEY COME WITH THE BRACKET ya dolt! Facepalm. You don't mess with fubar brake calipers or brackets. By the time you run all over creation, break half a dozen tools, and buy a bunch of expensive taps and drills, it could have been done already. GD Edited September 12, 2017 by GeneralDisorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike104 Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 (edited) When I broke the caliper mount when I did a brake job I just got a rebuilt caliper and was done. I bit the bullet and bought new bracket bolts from the Subaru dealer. I have found my local Ace Hardware to be a good source for Metric Class 10.9 bolts Edited September 12, 2017 by Mike104 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 (edited) Wow. Some people just don't listen. Two ways to do this. Take it to a machine shop with an EDM and it's done in about a minute. Or you get a reman caliper - THEY COME WITH THE BRACKET ya dolt! Facepalm. You don't mess with fubar brake calipers or brackets. By the time you run all over creation, break half a dozen tools, and buy a bunch of expensive taps and drills, it could have been done already. GD hmm...nevermind Edited September 12, 2017 by thook44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 (edited) When I broke the caliper mount when I did a brake job I just got a rebuilt caliper and was done. I bit the bullet and bought new bracket bolts from the Subaru dealer. I have found my local Ace Hardware to be a good source for Metric Class 10.9 bolts effit. nevermind again Edited September 12, 2017 by thook44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 (edited) Yes they're 1.25 thread pitch. All the 10, 12, 14, 17 mm head size bolts on Subaru's are 1.25 pitch. The 8mm headed bolts on Subaru's are M6x1.00 Drill it out with a left handed drill bit. But you're going to need better than cheap chinese bits for those hardened bolts. Then use a drill bit just barely the size of the bolt shank. Helicoil is exactly what i'd do - no way that's going to fail. No matter what you do - put some corrosion treatment on it to keep the next bolt from rusting up as well. www.car-part.com for most of the yards in the country, can sort by distance. Edited September 12, 2017 by idosubaru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 junk yard 10 bucks for the bracket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 (edited) Yes they're 1.25 thread pitch. All the 10, 12, 14, 17 mm head size bolts on Subaru's are 1.25 pitch. The 8mm headed bolts on Subaru's are M6x1.00 Drill it out with a left handed drill bit. But you're going to need better than cheap chinese bits for those hardened bolts. Then use a drill bit just barely the size of the bolt shank. Helicoil is exactly what i'd do - no way that's going to fail. No matter what you do - put some corrosion treatment on it to keep the next bolt from rusting up as well. www.car-part.com for most of the yards in the country, can sort by distance. thank you. very helpful info. i have hardened drill bits, and at some point i'd like to get a good set of LH's. my friend has a set. pretty sure he even tried that. but, i was under the car working on the other side while he was working on the bracket, so not positive but, again, gentlemen...i don't want to buy another part....used or new. the yards around here will not have a part for a car this old. particularly a subaru. i'd have to drive over an hour one way to go somewhere that might. and, for a new part...expense aside...i'd have to wait until next week for the part to arrive. as well, i live in the woods. ups nor fed ex will deliver to my door or my po box in town. so, i'd have to either have it shipped to where i work (about 30miles away) or my neighbor's....who is usually not home. upon mike's suggestions, i managed to get most of the old bolt out last night. auto zone rents tap and die sets. (i'd forgotten that). with a few light strokes of a punch and a tap, i should be able to get the rest out and fix the threads. however, i'm going to be prepared with self locking insert (less than $1 at fastenal) just in case. i read last night they are better to use than regular helicoils in the case of open end bolt holes and, this time, i will be sure to use anti seize. yes...i kicked myself when the bolt broke for not using it the last time i changed out the pads. but, i didn't have any on hand, was impatient, and blew it off. i did grease it, but obviously that doesn't work Edited September 12, 2017 by thook44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 13, 2017 Author Share Posted September 13, 2017 (edited) well, dern....turns out auto zone rents thread repair kits...not tap and die sets. as well, neither fastenal nor shamrock (even further away) had the correct bolt (or even close enough) in the correct grade on hand. they could order something, but it still wouldn't have been quite right. not sure what the guy at fastenal i talked to yesterday on the phone was smoking, but it wasn't helping me. plus, the inserts actually came on a role/in bulk with waaaay more than i needed....(that i wound up not needing, anyway.) glad i didn't drive anywhere just to find all this out...not that i would've. it just took the right person and right questions to ask onward... went to my friend's shop (the one with the torch) to use his vice. nicely enough he had a bolt to match mine (class 10.9..conveniently stamped on the head) in his scrap bolts bucket. it's a bit too long and has a 10mm head, but trim down the threads, space the bolt head, and i'm set. while using his vice, i got the remaining bits out of the bracket with nominal thread damage. went to town, picked up a $5 8x1.25 tap and took my wife thrift store hopping with all that money i saved. all told $6 and i'll be done tomorrow. sweet! even sweeter...i finally found an old USA made electric waffle iron with no freakin teflon. success thanks to all of you for the help. glad i didn't need the helicoil, but glad to know it was an option and, GD...special thanks to you. i will drink a beer in honor of your sunny disposition. Edited September 13, 2017 by thook44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Teflon is like the most inert substance known to man. Seriously it's harmless. Also super cheap to have recoated. It's effectively a powder coating process. I know a coatings shop that does all the restaurant chef cookware. Cheap too. Yeah I do this every day and I charge labor. While I could easily extract the bustamacated bolt shaft... it's an indication of the larger condition of the system. I can have a new caliper and bracket in an hour or less and spend all that time making real money on another job in the shop. I understand that you feel you saved $44 here, but in reality you spent $6 and wasted hours upon hours of time (yours and your friends) and fuel chasing a problem that you didn't need to chase. Now if this were the last caliper bracket on planet dirt farm, backwoods, appalaicha or wherever, then sure - got no choice. But I would rather enjoy a hike in the woods or fetch with my dog than sharpen up my drills for a fight with a $50 rusty bit of junk. It's perspective I guess. I throw away entire engines and transmissions (that could conceivably be repaired) on a daily. A rusted up caliper bracket goes directly in the core box. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 13, 2017 Author Share Posted September 13, 2017 oooo...such wisdomyou remind me of someone i know. i don't hang out with him if i can help it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 OE bolt (#901130011) is MSRP of $5.25. It's not uncommon for dealerships to mark up over MSRP, but if they quoted you $15, something is wrong. And yea, most reman calipers come with a bracket. Reman brackets by themselves are usually available. Don't mess with trying to extract it. Autozone special order is FedEx overnight. So they can usually have stuff from anywhere in the country in a day or 2 (there's usually a mid-afternoon cutoff for next day). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Teflon is like the most inert substance known to man. Seriously it's harmless. Also super cheap to have recoated. It's effectively a powder coating process. I know a coatings shop that does all the restaurant chef cookware. Cheap too. Yeah I do this every day and I charge labor. While I could easily extract the bustamacated bolt shaft... it's an indication of the larger condition of the system. I can have a new caliper and bracket in an hour or less and spend all that time making real money on another job in the shop. I understand that you feel you saved $44 here, but in reality you spent $6 and wasted hours upon hours of time (yours and your friends) and fuel chasing a problem that you didn't need to chase. Now if this were the last caliper bracket on planet dirt farm, backwoods, appalaicha or wherever, then sure - got no choice. But I would rather enjoy a hike in the woods or fetch with my dog than sharpen up my drills for a fight with a $50 rusty bit of junk. It's perspective I guess. I throw away entire engines and transmissions (that could conceivably be repaired) on a daily. A rusted up caliper bracket goes directly in the core box. oooo...such wisdom you remind me of someone i know. i don't hang out with him if i can help it Well, GD does this for a living and you do it out of necessity or intellectual curiosity (I do understand the challenge). So, I am sure that GD would not want you hanging around the shop as he is trying to earn a living wage to feed his family. Can you imagine what a customer would say if you tried to bill them for the hours you have invested in this project? So, you are welcome to all of the free professional (GD) advice and others like myself with limited experience here on the site. Only here to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 (edited) Besides feeding my family, I have the customers best interest and liability to consider as well. Brakes are a touchy business and more than one shop has been sued over such things. I would NEVER consider replacing a caliper mounting bracket bolt with something from a bolt bin that I cut the length..... If it's bad then I get the right parts number from the dealer for $5 or whatever. Then I have a receipt to PROVE the right parts got used. You can imagine the poop storm that would ensue should the incorrect bolt shear off, work loose, etc. And then I'm left telling some judge that the part I used was fine "because I say so!".... and God forbid if somoem gets hurt or killed in that accident. I could go to prison. Not even kidding. Of course I can do all this quarter a$$ed stuff on my own cars. But I don't. Invariably it takes longer and I haven't got the time to screw around. GD Edited September 13, 2017 by GeneralDisorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 13, 2017 Author Share Posted September 13, 2017 (edited) mike104 and idosubaru....once again, thank you Edited September 13, 2017 by thook44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 14, 2017 Author Share Posted September 14, 2017 Well, GD does this for a living and you do it out of necessity or intellectual curiosity (I do understand the challenge). So, I am sure that GD would not want you hanging around the shop as he is trying to earn a living wage to feed his family. Can you imagine what a customer would say if you tried to bill them for the hours you have invested in this project? So, you are welcome to all of the free professional (GD) advice and others like myself with limited experience here on the site. Only here to help. i gotta reply to this.... advice/help i appreciate. and, i've extended that as you can see. start insulting me because you disagree, you'll get far less than gratitude. and, seemingly you wanna defend his attitude..... because what? he's your friend? because being a reputable member, a professional graciously offering his knowledgeable advice, and because he feeds his family (oh...wow) while doing so somehow gives him license and excuse to be condescending because someone elected (me...for my own good reasons) to follow difference advice than what he had to offer? right. that makes sense. and, since when did this thread topic start becoming about him, his situation, and his professional ethics, anyway? oh....when i made some cheeky remarks because...oh...he was being.... helpful? i said from the start i didn't want to buy another part...new or used. and, i said it more than once. who doesn't listen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 (edited) Who said you had good reasons? That's clearly what we are debating. You don't have good reasons, you just haven't got the experience to know they weren't good reasons. You come here and ask for the BEST WAY to do something, and we hand you that. Despite our objections you wish to proceed as if this were a post apocalypse and spends inordinate amounts of yours, and others time solving a non-problem with stone knives and bear skins. Yeah, I'm a condescending a$$hole. This is well known. I've been known to show customers the door that insist on foolishness such as this. I help people, and I solve problems - efficiently. It's my job you see..... And much like Winston Wolf - if my help is not appreciated - Lots of luck gentleman. I don't beat around the bush, and I will tell you if you are stepping over dollars to pickup pennies. And I've helped thousands of people. Check my post count sir. If this project was just a diversionary side show and you didn't actually need a car to drive (which I doubt) then I guess as a learning experience on broken bolt extraction it's somewhat useful. But don't expect to be an expert in that till you do it daily for a couple decades. Each time the job is a unique snowflake so this is somewhat of an area that's best left to professionals with thousands in tooling and decades of experience. They will get you back on track much more efficiently. GD Edited September 14, 2017 by GeneralDisorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 ok, here are my 0.02 cents worth.... 1. Don't screw around with rusty brake components. Period. Brakes are just too important for safety to be screwing around with rusted up garbage. Reman calipers are relatively cheap, and usually come with pretty much everything you need aside from pads & the bolts to mount the bracket to the hub. 2. Yes, GD can be a jerk - BUT - he knows what the heck he is talking about when it comes to repairing a Subaru. Take it how you like, but wasting hours & hours trying to tap out a broken bolt just to "save" a couple of dollars? Penny wise, but dollar foolish, imho. Yeah, there is something to be said for doing things yourself, but there is also something to be said for making smarter choices in how you do them. When it comes to brakes, if parts are in bad enough shape that things are breaking, then it is time to replace them. I also live in the boonies - nearest parts store is a half hour away... but the phone is handy, and I often call ahead - order if I need to, and save the gas of making an unnecessary trip. (and at $2.60/gal - that adds up quickly). Advance Auto is usually pretty good about being able to get certain parts in over night if they dont have them in stock when I call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thook44 Posted September 14, 2017 Author Share Posted September 14, 2017 look folks. my brakes are fixed. i achieved my goal on my terms in a manner that made the most sense to me. from here on, post back/debate/argue all you want. i'm done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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