goaty Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Hi, I am new to here aswell as the land rover world and i have meet my first problem. I have been given a disc braked rear axle to go on my Defender 90 but it has a snapped caliper bolt in it and i cant seem to find a way of getting it out. Does anyone have any tips or shoudl i just get another axle?? It has come with new discs and perfect calipers as well as a good diff so i cant decide. Any help please?? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 split the caliper, then rebuild it with new seals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiddler Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Hi, I think you mean the bolt that would normally hold the caliper to the axle has sheared? If so, how you get it out depends on what equipment you have available to you. You could drill down the centre and use a stud extractor(not often successful on siezed threads) or keep on enlarging the drill size carefully until you have removed all of the body of the bolt but not so much that you damage the threads. Then "pick out" the remaining metal threads using a small centre punch or strong screwdriver. You could try welding another bolt to any protruding part of the snapped bolt and use this to turn it. Sometimes the heat will help to loosen the stuck threads too. However, you best bet may be to take the axle case to a local commercial vehicle repair garage and ask them get it out for you. I would be surprised if they wouldn't do it for a small cash donation. Hope that helps, Tid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Tony is right! If you break down the caliper and remove the other mounting bolt you can remove all the caliper bits from the axle, leaving only the sheared bolt. Now you will have access to both ends of the bolt which gives the option of drilling it out with a regular drill so it tries to wind itself into the hole and hopefully out the other side. You may be able to get a pair of mole grips or stilsons on the broken end which is even easier or lastly you could try an EZ out type tool - but all of these will be very easy if you follow TC's advice. (Well done Tony - have a house point!) Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goaty Posted June 30, 2007 Author Share Posted June 30, 2007 Tony is right! If you break down the caliper and remove the other mounting bolt you can remove all the caliper bits from the axle, leaving only the sheared bolt. Now you will have access to both ends of the bolt which gives the option of drilling it out with a regular drill so it tries to wind itself into the hole and hopefully out the other side. You may be able to get a pair of mole grips or stilsons on the broken end which is even easier or lastly you could try an EZ out type tool - but all of these will be very easy if you follow TC's advice. (Well done Tony - have a house point!) Si Hey, thanks for the replies, and the caliper isnt on the axle as the bolt snapped so i have as much room to get it out as possible. Main problem being that my friend gave me the axle complete as he sanppoed the bolt, then snapped a stud extractors in it trying to get it out. This makes it even harder so it killing a few dril bits now. I am going to have another go at it this weekend but the welding a rod or similar to it wont be easy as the bolt isn't poking out at all. I think if all else fails i will just have to replace the axle housing..... How would a commercial place sort it and what sort should i try??? many thaks joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 A snapped off 'easy-out' is a big problem. They are made of very hard and brittle steel. I don't know of a drill bit that would remove one of them. The only thing I can think of is to shatter it using heat/cold. One of those freeze spray things and then a blow torch/oxy gear could cause it to break up and perhaps fall out in bits. Wear eye protection though - the sudden expansion/contraction of it may cause bits to fly everywhere - much the same as rust flakes do. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 Think I'd just cut that lug off, make a new one and weld it on! You could try welding something else to the remains of the bolt to unwind it. To get the EZout out, smash the end with a pointy cold chisel, drill a bit, chisel a bit. You can also heat up the EZout with a torch - or even by sticking a blob of weld on the end and let it cool as slowly as possible which may soften it enough to drill. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Horsevad Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 ...I am going to have another go at it this weekend but the welding a rod or similar to it wont be easy as the bolt isn't poking out at all. ... Find a small length of tubing with an outside diametre equal to the inside diametre of bolt hole. Push tubing down the bolt hole until it has contact with the snapped bolt. Then use a stick welder on high power and fill up the tube. (This requires some training, in order not to melt the whole thing!) The heat will break any rust and loctite. Use a pipe wrench or similar on the filled up tube to undo the bolt. Actually rather simple. Just make sure the weld has really good contact with the remains of the snapped bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclebill1 Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 A snapped off 'easy-out' is a big problem. They are made of very hard and brittle steel. I don't know of a drill bit that would remove one of them. The only thing I can think of is to shatter it using heat/cold. One of those freeze spray things and then a blow torch/oxy gear could cause it to break up and perhaps fall out in bits. Wear eye protection though - the sudden expansion/contraction of it may cause bits to fly everywhere - much the same as rust flakes do.Les. If it was mine I'd just borrow the spark eroder from work, which is why if you have a reasonable machine shop locally they'll probably have one and do the job for you, should be cheaper than new casings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 take the hub off so you can get to the other side of the bolt and attack it from the other end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Even though I do not a current problem, this is great information. The different ideas are really great. Being really stuborn I don't like to be told that I can't do something, so to see ideas that go sideways around problems is really interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige90 Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 A GOOD quality carbide burr in a Dremel type tool will remove bust eazi outs and snapped studs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean f Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Just a quick safety point. Eyeballs arn't easy to replace!!. If you are doing anything like this remember to wear decent googles or a face mask. Hitting hardened steel is likely to cause it to shatter and bits go every where. I expect most people on here have had metal splinters in there eye at some time or know some one who has and it is not nice. Normally it is the quick job were you only have a little bit to do and can't find the safety googles when it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickm Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 only had a quick read of this, but if theres any studd showing cant u just slide a nut over it and weld it on let it cool down un undo it even if u aft 2 take the caliper apart 1st had to do it on my swivel filler as i couldnt undo it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.