Stripped Caliper Bolt-AM I SCREWED ??

[moe411]

Hello and thank's for your help, I changed my rotors and pads this weekend, when I screwed the lower bolt on the passenger side caliper I somehow stripped the hole. Now I can't tighten this bolt anymore. I noticed the threading on the bolt is a bit rough so I guess I will need to get another one.

My question is what could I do to fix the stripped hole ? Can it be fixed somehow WITHOUT having to replace the whole boot ?

I will probably have a REAL mechanic do the job this time but I want your advice on what can and should be done.

THANK YOU !!

[Sponsor]

[norcalfocus01]

you mean the hole for the allen wrench is what you stripped?

if so peel back the rubber sleeve and put a pair of vise grips on the bolt and take it out then get a new one.

[moe411]

Originally Posted by norcalfocus01

you mean the hole for the allen wrench is what you stripped?

if so peel back the rubber sleeve and put a pair of vise grips on the bolt and take it out then get a new one.

Thank's for the quick reply, my caliper has 2 bolts covered by a plastic cap. I can get the bolts out but I can't get the lower one screwed back in since I stripped the hole somehow. I swapped the bolts to see if it was the bolt or the hole which had a problem and both of them cannot be tightened anymore so I gess I stripped the hole somehow... Any ideas ?

[norcalfocus01]

im still not following what you stripped.

did you strip the threads the bolt goes into?

or the head of the bolt?

[moe411]

Sorry for the confusion, english is a second language.... The caliper bolt seems fine, I stripped the hole this bolt goes in... I can't thighten it anymore. The top one is thight, the lower one is loose and won't grip in the hole amymore.

[Peregrine]

If the bolt head is stripped, you can tap a six point Torx bit into it to loosen or tighten it.

Sounds like you'll have to rethread the hole or replace the entire caliper bracket altogether.

[moe411]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

If the bolt head is stripped, you can tap a six point Torx bit into it to loosen or tighten it.

Sounds like you'll have to rethread the hole or replace the entire caliper bracket altogether.

The bolt is not stripped, the hole is though. You think I could get this rethreaded ? Would it be strong enough ?

[norcalfocus01]

yeah it maybe can be re threaded. it would be plenty strong enough. the caliper really just slides on the bolt.

check the local junk yards for a new bracket, it would be a very simple install and cheap. the nice thing is you learn a junk car on what to take off before you take the bracket off your car.

[JPSCOTT713]

yes you can rethread, its pretty simple but if you are not confident in it you can take it to a local machine shop and they can even put a sleeve in there to tap to keep the same bolt size if needed, how bad you stripped it will decide wether or not you will have to tap it out to a larger size

[moe411]

Originally Posted by JPSCOTT713

yes you can rethread, its pretty simple but if you are not confident in it you can take it to a local machine shop and they can even put a sleeve in there to tap to keep the same bolt size if needed, how bad you stripped it will decide wether or not you will have to tap it out to a larger size

OK thanks, I'll have a machine shop do the rethread,