COMPLETELY stuck lower caliper pin on 93 Caprice

[vintshave]

Help me before I go insane...please!

I have a 1993 Chevy Caprice Classic. I am working on changing the pads on my front brakes. One side completed successfully. On the other, I was able to remove the top caliper bolt (The bolt is removed with a 3/8 Allen bit and socket wrench) but the bottom one is stuck.

How stuck?

Here is what I tried so far...

-Used the bit with a socket wrench (no dice)
-Held in the socket wrench while hitting the end with a hammer (no love)
-Soaked the area in PB overnight (nada)
-Used a breaker bar with the bit (ended up stripping the inside of the bolt)
-Hammered the area of the caliper where the bolt is frozen (aside from removing dirt, it's still in there)
-Heated the bolt-threads with a blow torch, then tried a Vise Grip on the outside (stripped the outside of the bolt)

I'm not sure what else there is to do and I am desperately looking for ideas. One thought I had was to use a sidecut saw to slice through the pin in a couple of areas to get it off.

DO you think that is the best approach? Any other ideas? I MUST get this off!

Thanks in advance!

[silicon212]

I had something like this happen once, years ago. You already know you have to replace the bolt, so ... what I did was use a large pair of ChannelLocks on the outside of the bolt to break it loose. You should be able to get ample purchase on the bolt with ChannelLocks ... a hint would be to clean the bolt head with brake cleaner, first, so that there's no penetrating oil left over from the attempt at loosening it before, else your tool will slip.

[vintshave]

Originally Posted by silicon212

I had something like this happen once, years ago. You already know you have to replace the bolt, so ... what I did was use a large pair of ChannelLocks on the outside of the bolt to break it loose. You should be able to get ample purchase on the bolt with ChannelLocks ... a hint would be to clean the bolt head with brake cleaner, first, so that there's no penetrating oil left over from the attempt at loosening it before, else your tool will slip.

Will those behave any different than the Vise Grips? All the Vise Grips did was to strip the bolt.

[silicon212]

With the long handled ChannelLocks, you can get more grip on the bolt. Remember to eliminate all sources of potential lubricant from the bolt.

[vintshave]

Originally Posted by silicon212

With the long handled ChannelLocks, you can get more grip on the bolt. Remember to eliminate all sources of potential lubricant from the bolt.

Are channellocks better than vise grips? I ended up stripping the bolt with Vise Grips.

[Blt2Lst]

Originally Posted by vintshave

Are channellocks better than vise grips? I ended up stripping the bolt with Vise Grips.

Channellocks or Vice grips, if they are old and the serrated teeth on the jaws are worn, they won't be able to bite into the bolt enough to get a good grip and not slip. If you look at new vice grips and channel locks, the serrated teeth on the jaws have nice sharp edges to give a good bite.

You could also try a small pipe wrench if space allows.

just my , good luck.

[j cAT]

use a 8 inch pipe wrench . If needed a pipe about a foot long. to get the added torque which maybe required.

I would just go to the scrap yard with the old one in hand, and get one off a vehicle for cheap.

the used caliper maybe cheaper than buying a new pin.

[Blue Bowtie]

Originally Posted by vintshave

Are channellocks better than vise grips? I ended up stripping the bolt with Vise Grips.

Chan-Nel-Lock makes pliers. Vise-Grip (formerly Peterson) makes welding clamps. Vice grips have soft jaws. Try a Chan-Nel-Lock 410G if (when) your Vise-Grip slips.

I would use heat on the threaded area of the caliper first, than apply a good penetrating fluid (NOT WD-40) as it cools to allow the fluid to wick into the threads. Try not to heat the caliper to the point where the fluid cup exceeds 300°F or you will be rebuilding the caliper completely.

[96capricemgr]

Couple weeks ago I had a similarly hopelessly stuck bolt.

Used MAPP gas to get it cherry red and quenched it with Liquid Wrench a few times. Liquid wrench is not my first choice but afterwards when I tried to get the vise grips on it I found the bolt spun out by hand.

I really need to get some more Kroil or at least PB Blaster, the Liquid Wrench is OLD because it is the one I use least, better than WD-40 but not as good as the others.