So ive got a 99 civic si, before you go sayin "Si's already have disc brakes jackass" heres what happened, i busted my trailing arm the other day so i picked up a used one from a junkyard off of a 96 EX, obviously this has drum brakes on it. while removing brake components to do the ole switch-a-roo, The Torx head bolts holding the brake assembly onto the trailing arm rounded due to being very rusty and just all around garbage. with their given location i cant exactly get to them using vice grips, or any other normal means of extraction... should i just drill them out and retap the holes on the assembly, aka the part that looks like knuckles, or is there another means I should try first before destroying this thing??? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

no one???

 

so your gonna put drums on the back because you broke a trailing arm?

 

negative, im trying to swap my si disc assembly onto the new trailing arm(off an EX with drum brake) and the stupid rusty torx head bolts that hold it to the trailing arm are rounded out, im debating on drilling them out...just wanted to see if anyone had a pre-last resort method to try to get them out without drilling

 

why you do that i dont know...
just get some knock er loose from home depot or somewhere. let it sit and the try with a throx bit. not pilers.

 

okay im going to say it again...the torx head bit ROUNDED them out due to them being rusty and brittle. im trying to find an alternative to getting them out by drilling them. read entire post next time

 

except the trailing arms are differant from drum to disk. or at least the honda part numbers are differant.

 

the trailing arms arent different, the only difference is the shaft that the wheel bearing goes on, and also the "bracket" that holds the brake assembly to the trailing arm... which is all interchangeable, and the bolts that hold that "bracket" are the ones im trying to remove so i can put all my Si disc stuff on the new trailing arm

 

opps i read the whole thing, im not a great reader and sometimes miss things.
yea drill them out a re tap

 

lol its all good man... i believe thats what im gunna do, ive lost all my daylight and have no garage time to bust out the work lights! w00t! i hate trailing arms! lol thanks fellaz

 

either get an "easy out" or cut a "line" if you will the head of the bolt so you can use a flat head (if you can get that in there)

 

and use alot of pb blaster and or a tourch

 

gotcha, becuse hondas part number includes all that stuff.

 

i can get a screwdriver in there easy, its getting the dremel in the approx 1 1/2" hole to access the bolts and make the slot haha... and ive used a whole can of pb blaster, great stuff but has somehow screwed me on this! lol. guess ill be drillin them out i really wanted to avoid doing that but seems like my only option now

 

yep, and id hate to see how much theyd want for the trailing arm/brake assembly, i paid 30 bucks for this one.. not too bad considering its prolly atleast 300 at honda. but yeah im definitely wishin i woulda paid more to avoid all this stripping down and swapping parts...ERRRRRR!!!!!