Brakes are generally pretty easy, but when I attempted the replace the pads and rotors on a '94 Honda Accord EX it went bad. I couldn't get the rotors off without removing the 4 bolts that hold the rotor to the hub assembly. I successfully got 5 out of the 8 removed on either sides but the other 3 I stripped. Any bright ideas on how to remove the stripped bolts? I couldn't even break them loose they're so damn tight in there. So there goes the idea of drilling it out.

Thanks in advance.

 

You could get those special sockets that grip the walls of the bolt rather than the corners. I think sears might have them, but I forgot what they are called. And spray them with PB blaster or WD 40 and make sure to use an long breaker bar or a ratchet with a long pipe extention to break the bolts off A LOT easier. I pipe goes a long way.

 

I have the, I think it's called Gator Grip, but it's in a 3/8 size. I need one for a 1/4, cause those aren't coming loose any time soon.

 

Brakes on those accords are a MAJOR job, take it to a dealer and have it done right. It depends alot on rust and age of the car. You will probably end up taking off the spindle and sledge hammering the hub out. Don't be suprised if you will need new front wheel bearings by the time your done.

You may need all new everything. Bolts and all.

 

Bolt outs are what he was talking about I believe. Several other companys make them. I have a friend that swears by them a long with a family member. Like said being that the accord have the hubs over the rotors they are a pita to change.

 

I use two tapered thick chisels and tap one at a time after the four bolt are removed, the chisels are placed behind the part you just removed the bolts (hub) from and at the rotor hat area (trapped rotor), tap on one chisel then the other and back and forth. This action is very similar to a pickle fork that pops a tie rod end apart or a ball joint apart. Dont forget the axle nut needs to come off also.

I put the chisels facing down vertically so I may hammer on them from above, approx the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock position going straight down to the 8 o'clock and 4 o'clock position, I hold the one farthest from me in my hand while the one nearest me is resting againt my chest to hold it in place, I move my body from chisel to chisel as I alternate the wedging action, this also means my car is on a lift, you may need a helper if you are on a jack and stand. Also two guys with two hammers would also work. I finally use the axle (CV JOINT) and axle nut to press it (hub and bearing) back together on the car, do no use an impact, spray lube on everything will assist with reassembly also.

Goog luck with getting the stripped bolts out.

 

bolt-outs at sears work pretty well and are great to have around...sets costs from 20-100$ tho...

 

I agree with others, that's a big job.. Most dealers charge 4 to 5 hours to replace the front rotors along with the wheel bearings. It usually takes me around half an hour to remove the rotors.

But if your willing to do it yourself, the tool of choice.. The biggest air hammer you can get from Snap On. It has always worked for me..

 

yeah, bolt out works. I used one on the nuts that hold the exhaust to the cat on my friends Accord. The nuts were rusted and just rounded when he tried removing them. So I pulled out the set of bolt outs and gave it a shot. First time I had used them and it worked great.

Duane_in_Japan:
That method seems kinda long and drawn out to do the same thing and slide hammer would do. Also, with that method you would be seperating the hub and bearing which isn't recommended. Wouldn't want to go through that entire job and accidently get something in the bearing causing it to fail and then have to go through the whole thing all over again.

I prefer the loosen the four bolts on the hub/rotor, remove the axle nut (loosen while the car is still on the ground), pop the lower ball joint and remove the axle from the hub, remove the four bolts on the back of the knuckle holding the bearing and hopefully if everything isn't to rusted together the hub/rotor/bearing assembly should come off the knuckle. If not, try hammering on the back of the rotor to free it. Otherwise you may need a slide hammer or a press. When I did the rotors on my 95 EX, the bearings were so rusted in there that I had to have them pressed out. Just clean and grease that bore to make removal easier the next time.

Also, to have this job done right does not require taking the car to the dealer...

 

You are correct, a bit risky, this was the first time I did my homemade pickle fork method. Normally I pull the whole knuckle and press the hub from the knuckle but as you mentioned, the bearing still comes apart, the outer most bearing race sticks to the hub.

If I am doing a bad bearing on similar Hondas, I automatically get a new hub too, my bearing splitter adaptor for the press is not too sharp and does not do a great job, I see it like this, pay for the part or pay for extra labor, maybe the same price for the customer with new part or hell for me to attempt to save them a buck which doesnt always work.

On my own Odyssey I had to grind the race off of the hub and yes a bit of the hub went with it but overall the new bearing had a good tight interference fit and no problemo. Splitting the hub away from the rotor on these trapped rotors with the chisels and not a lot of effort seemed resonably safe and gave me an idea to build a real large pickle fork just for this job. I admit that there is a tapper and there has to be some stress on the bearing but if not beat the hell out of, it is acceptable. Airplanes land heavily on those bearing all year round. No worries for the smaller four bolts behind the knuckle, no ball joint disassembly and I did not have to even remove the outer caliper bracket, just lifted the caliper out of the way as though a pad replacement was going to be accomplished, pulled pads and the rotor slipped past the heavy bracket with very gentle nudging.

Its too bad that any job has to require extra work due to corrosion or mishandling or the previous tech that was making commission on your car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Duane_in_Japan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You are correct, a bit risky, this was the first time I did my homemade pickle fork method. Normally I pull the whole knuckle and press the hub from the knuckle but as you mentioned, the bearing still comes apart, the outer most bearing race sticks to the hub.</TD></TR></TABLE>

the bearing doesn't always need to come apart. If the bearing comes away from the knuckle ok once unbolted, you can replace the rotor without removing the hub from the bearing. But if the bearing is really rusted in there, like mine was, you may need to seperate the hub from the bearing, press the bearing out and then replace the bearing or course.

 

I have had to replace my rotors twice (dont buy the white box- there's a reason..) in my 96 ex and it was a major pain. Put the Large adjustment tool aka big effing hammer to some use. But not that long ago I saw a post on here where some guy and his dad ordered this vice/clamp device that yanks em right off. He did a full write up with pics and all.

 

I used an air hammer to get those striped head bolts out... you have to go at it at an angel...

 

found the item on ebay, kinda pricey, but if you have ever gotten an estimate on pulling the rotors of these model accords off with the labor then this is waaayy cheaper in the long run. Places like Midas charge around 400+ dollars to do it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...d=1,1

 

I think the thread your referring to is...

1997 Accord Brake Tutorial

That thread as well as other useful brake threads can be found in the Accord FAQ.