Looks like I'll be replacing my front brakes soon along with the rotors on my 92 Civic. This will be my first time doing the job. I've read that the rotor screws can get very seized up.

I have a friend with an air wrench and screwdriver bits that can be used with it. Would this be a good bet on getting the screws out? Obviously I don't want to strip them. This would be my worry with using an air wrench. I don't have an impact screwdriver. Thoughts?

 

You can try but I just drill them out. They are pretty soft. Once they are gone they don't need to be replaced.

 

this, or you could just go to autozone and buy a impact screwdriver.

 

Also, don't use a Phillips driver bit. They aren't Phillips screws. Use the proper JIS bit.

That's actually the reason most people have so much trouble with these things.


And the best benefit of buying JIS drivers / bits, is that they work perfectly fine with Phillips screws.

 

Hmmm.. I never would have realized that they're JIS. Thanks.

 

Interesting didn't realize that on the JIS bits, I probably should get a set, though I usually just drill them out.

I did find the rear rotor screws much easier to remove compared to the fronts with little to no issue with an impact driver.

 

JIS bits are correct, but fitting the biggest phillips you can in there has never done me wrong.

They do drill out very easily aswell, they use an M6X1.0 thread, so you dont need to drill as big as the large phillips head if you decide to drill, at the have a "V" shape, youll only need to drill the size of an M6 bolt (forget how big that is in fractional drill bit size), about 3/16" deep and the head of the rotor screw should be gone and the rotor can be removed

 

I replace them and use a generous amount of anti-seize lube on it.

 

Yea i remember these screws. I actually used a drill to get them out. An impact screw driver wasn't working and I wasn't at a shop so I took a drill with a decent size bit and got to work. With some time the drill worked its way in and i was actually able to reverse the chewed up screws out.

 

Does anyone know of a store that might carry these JIS bits? Such as Advanced or Oreillys. I searched on where I could by them but didn't see anything that says they carry them.

 

yea i'm not sure but if store like that don't carry then you can always get them at honda. A good online site that I use is cheaphondaparts.com

 

I guess no one uses the two hammer method? Couple smacks and most rotor screws come right out.

 

I got an impact driver from AutoZone for about 10-15 bucks. It comes with 2 LARGE Phillips/JIS bits and 2 flat bits. The largest Phillips bit fits the rotor screws perfectly. The bonus is that the impact driver actually has a 1/2" square drive, with a "socket" that accepts the bits. That socket can be put straight onto an impact wrench, which can then zip those screws out with zero trouble.

I have about half of them missing on my car, no problems at all.

However last weekend I was working on my mom's Camry, which Toyotas don't use rotor retaining screws. I had the knuckle hanging down while messing with the CV axle and the rotor was all flopping about, being retained only by the brake caliper pads. At that particular time I wished that Toyotas used the rotor screws.

 

An open ended lug nut will take care of that. I personally would rather deal with floppy rotors than rotor screws. It's real easy to zip a lug nut on to hold the rotor in place. Slightly more of a pain to remove the rotor screws.

 

That may or may not work depending on how shallow the lug nuts are, if they're closed-ended acorn nuts. But to be honest I didn't actually think about doing that.

 

Good info never knew that.

 

Just beat the rotor on the screw area with a hammer and any screwdriver will break it. But yeah you can get an impact driver for less than 20. I've always just beat the **** out of it. No probs

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I have always had great luck by tapping the screwdriver bit in the screw a few times before trying to turn the screw. Has not failed me yet in 100+brake jobs.

 

I tried using an impact hammer. This didn't work out so well. I ended up damaging the screw head. I had to drill the screws out to get the rotor off. I didn't replace the screws after replacing the old rotors with new ones, and so far have not had any problems with them.

 

Here's a trick, albeit pretty old skool. Ya see how a phillips head screw has 4 lines? well you add torque. If you have a chisel...i have a sharp one and a slightly dull one. you put it against one of the 4 "lines" in the screw head. and you whack the end of the chisel with a hammer. this will apply torque to the screw. if it digs into the screw, switch to the more dull chisel.

It helps if you have a hammer with a round head on the back. If you hit the screw square with this, it has a tendency to break loose some of the contact between the screw and the hub.

 

Philips sizes come in a few different sizes. Rotor screws are like a #2 or #3..

For most cars, I put a philips socket-bit on my 3/8" Electric Impact and they come right out. If that doesn't work, put a good Philips/JIS screwdriver with a 'capped' end and wack it with the hammer a few times (or use a impact driver) and then it should unscrew. Past that it's time to drill it out.

This is the type of screwdriver I use. The cheaper ones you can get at HF are garbage.

 

I usually just fit a bit in there that has no wiggle and roll with it. Half my rotor screws were already loose/backed out.

 

Half of mine are missing from falling out I think. With my Rota C10 wheels there are holes that leave the rotor screws exposed, and some of them just fall out over time.

 

The rotor retaining screw is there for assembly line purposes only. Once removed they do not need to be replaced......

 

I can't believe no one has mentioned the correct tool for this job, one whack knocks these loose every time:

http://m.harborfreight.com/impact-sc...d#.UyuaLO29LTo

Edit: nm I see it in post 3. But still, easy peazy.