Removing xantia brake discs with burred and rusted bolts

xantiadave · Post by **xantiadave** » 07 Apr 2006, 11:20

Hi. I have recently tried replacing pads and discs on a second hand '98 2.1 TD Xantia. Like others, I have found uneven pad wear on inner and outer pads. Dics are well worn, but I could not remove them as both the caliper bolts and disc fixing screws are rusted in tight, and their star heads are burred.

Does anyone have any tips for removing tight and damaged bolts and srews? (e.g. are there any effective lubricating products that help loosen rusted bolts?)

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 07 Apr 2006, 11:38

Would they not be able to be drilled out? Cant see any other way myself but then "I know Nothing"

Post by **RichardW** » 07 Apr 2006, 11:58

The disc screws are easy - just drill them out - they will be soft. You don't really need them, they just stop the disc spinning when the wheel's off. The caliper bolts are more of a problem - they are tight, and if someone's mashed them (God knows how, but they manage all sorts of aggro - i had a ZX with a mashed thread on a rear stub axle

) the fun is going to start. You might be able to hammer in the Torx bit and get it to bite, or you might be able to hammer on a 6 point socket and get enough grip to turn them, or you might be able to use one of those self gripping sockets that are used for extracting wheel bolts when the keys are broken / lost. If all this fails, then you are down to drilling these out too. Given the difficulty of getting to them, it will probably be easier to strip the hubs off (

) and get them in the vice. You do not want to wreck the threads in the hubs, or it will be new hubs time (and the 2.1 uses different hubs to most Xantias). I think it might be a long road.....

xantiadave · Post by **xantiadave** » 07 Apr 2006, 12:28

Thanks for replies. I will try again to hammer in torx bit or 6 point socket first, and investigate the self gripping sockets you mentioned, Richard. Glad disc screws no problem

, but hopefully will be able to avoid stripping hubs off

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 07 Apr 2006, 12:55

Right again...woo hoo 8)

Kitch · Post by **Kitch** » 07 Apr 2006, 13:56

We serious trouble getting through some recently....they were as hard as the discs themselves I reckon!

Drilled until the bit rounded off then hammered the bastards with a big hammer and a punch until the heads broke off. They're only a convenience thing....you don't need them there.

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 07 Apr 2006, 14:38

I've had to remove the screws that hold brake discs on before, two sets in fact. The first one, I hammered the torx bit into it, and that got it out. Screw number two was too far gone for that, so having a mig welder and some reinforcing bar handy, a handle was made and welded on. The last one I had to shift, I used a hammer and chisel to unscrew it.

The caliper bolts will probably need a hex nut welding onto their heads to get them out. They've got threadlock on their threads and there isn't a lot of clearance to slide the caliper off while the disc is still on the hub, so drilling the heads off might not gain you anything.

The best advice I can give is to not round off heads in the first place

BonceChops · Post by **BonceChops** » 07 Apr 2006, 15:33

Kitch wrote:We had serious trouble getting through some recently....they were as hard as the discs themselves I reckon!.

Next time try a cobalt drill. They are usually good for drilling out hard screws. Last resort would be a solid carbide drill but these are quite pricey, the last 3mm one I bought for drilling out rolled steel pins was £8

rossnunn · Post by **rossnunn** » 07 Apr 2006, 19:04

had a simiar problem with our 99 xant, we however in the process of doing front pads & discs broke 3 torx bits & had to drill out one of the disc screws, the joke being after we hammered the old disc off we could undo the rest of the disc screw with our fingers

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 07 Apr 2006, 19:45

Why not use an impact screwdriver ?
- those tools you give a blow with a hammer on end and usually takes out the most stubborn screws no problem - even with burred heads.
Never failed for me.

rossnunn · Post by **rossnunn** » 07 Apr 2006, 19:53

yup agree with that - apart from I've lost mine

lol

xantiadave · Post by **xantiadave** » 10 Apr 2006, 10:12

Finally got them out all screws with a hammer, the next size up torx bit and a lot of effort!

Now the new disc is scraping against inner side of the caliper if I screw the bolts in tight. Some washers between caliper and hub should sort that, but don't know why it should happen?

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 10 Apr 2006, 11:14

xantiadave wrote:Finally got them out all screws with a hammer, the next size up torx bit and a lot of effort! Now the new disc is scraping against inner side of the caliper if I screw the bolts in tight. Some washers between caliper and hub should sort that, but don't know why it should happen?

Because you've fitted the wrong discs ?

There are 3 different sizes of front discs.

1.6i, 1.8i, 1.8i 16v, 2.0i, and 1.9D have discs that are 20.4mm thick and 266mm in diameter

16V, 2.0i 16V, and 1.9TD discs are 22mm thick and 283mm in diameter

Turbo CT and 2.1TD discs are 26mm thick and 283mm in diameter.

If I had to guess I'd say you've put the 1.9TD discs on the 2.1TD ? The 4mm difference in thickness is probably also accompanied by a 2mm difference in offset... (thats a guess, the data doesn't list the offsets...)

Sorry

Regards,
Simon

Post by **RichardW** » 10 Apr 2006, 11:15

Something is not right if the disc is touching the caliper - and washers is NOT the way to sort it! Make sure you got the right discs - the 2.1 uses different brakes to most other Xantias.

Edit: Like the man said ^^ while I was typing this

xantiadave · Post by **xantiadave** » 10 Apr 2006, 11:27

Bought them from GSF car parts for 2.1 TD, but will check they are correct spec.