# Brake calipers are kickin my a$$!!! HELP!



## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

So I finally decided to do my GTI brake swap but of course, its not going as smoothly as Id like. Got the car up on jackstands and the wheels off buttt, these carrier bolts on my calipers are NOT budging . Even with a huge breakerbar they will not budge. Tried WD40in them up but that hasnt done a thing. Im thinking Im gonna have to get some air tools out to get these suckers loose. I had a feeling this was going to happen but I always think optimisticaly so I figured maybe Id get lucky. Anyone got any advice on what I could do to get em off? I really dont wanna have to pay to get these done if at all possible. Thanks, T


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## pennsydubbin (Mar 3, 2010)

damn, I don't know what else to try- maybe a bigger breaker bar? My dad and I replaced his rotors and pads on his truck lastnight and we couldn't get his caliper bolts to budge either. Power tools didn't do it the job but we ended up breaking it lose with with a 3 foot breaker.


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## Laser04 (May 25, 2006)

Electric Impact Wrench?


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## DerekH (Sep 4, 2010)

My recommendation, be a man  

They are a bitch to get off lol, hit them with a little liquid wrench and let that soak for a bit. Make sure that your car isn't going to come off the jack stands and give er ****. If you have a torch you could hit them with a little heat just make sure you don't get the flame near your lines or abs sensors.


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## LampyB (Apr 2, 2007)

Ive always just used an 18" breaker after letting the carrier bolts soak in pb blaster. Its difficult but use your shoulder as leverage instead of just your arms....


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## thygreyt (Jun 7, 2009)

tay272 said:


> So I finally decided to do my GTI brake swap but of course, its not going as smoothly as Id like. Got the car up on jackstands and the wheels off buttt, these carrier bolts on my calipers are NOT budging . Even with a huge breakerbar they will not budge. Tried WD40in them up but that hasnt done a thing. Im thinking Im gonna have to get some air tools out to get these suckers loose. I had a feeling this was going to happen but I always think optimisticaly so I figured maybe Id get lucky. Anyone got any advice on what I could do to get em off? I really dont wanna have to pay to get these done if at all possible. Thanks, T


:banghead:

i feel your pain. i was on the same situation.

it turns out that the mexican who torqued my brakes was going through a rough time. While "trying" to loosen them we bent a breaker bar, and we broke a couple of sockets (crasftman)... we even tried a gun, and it just wouldnt do a thing.

Finally, we lifted the car to a comfortable height, got a thicker bar and an extension and we had our way! 

advice? liquid wrench, a LOT. let it soak for some time, then *turn the wheels* so that its a little more confortable to access the brakes, and use an extended braker bar.


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## sleeper247 (Oct 2, 2009)

Well I've ran into this situation before replacing an axle on a honda. I ended up using a butane torch and heating the bolt. ONce you heat it up a bit it tends to come right off with out any effort. Don't heat it until it tuns red, just get it warm.

Good luck.


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

First of all. There is a brake forum.

Secondly, a torch and breaker bar. If you don't know how to use a torch, use a wax candle to heat up the bolt and (tap) it to break it free. Don't expect this to just come free with a big breaker bar! If you just keep upgrading the bar and don't work the bolt free, you can twist the head off the bolt.

An impact wrench works great too. It heats the bolt up, taps it, and twists it all at the same time so you don't have to! If all else fails, just twist the stupid head off the bolt and replace the carrier.


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

I know there is a brake forum but I figured Id get quicker results here since most of you know what Im talking about or have done the same as me. I can extend my breaker bar a bit more with a length of pipe and see if that works. Thanks for all the advice tho guys, I appreciate it. Ill soak up the bolts more and let that set in for awhile. Luckily my dad just bought an electric impact wrench and Im gonna try that on em tomorrow and see if it works. If not, prolly take the torch to em for abit like some of your suggested. If that doesnt work, haha then I guess Im just **** outta luck. Ill let everyone know how it goes then tomorrow, thanks again.


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

Its all good, the impact will get it off. Just be patient with it and don't let it slip or get too hot. I've never used the electric impact wrenches but have heard they are good for the first five minutes or so on a full charge for heavy work.

What did the brake swap require? I'm putting new pads on my rear rotors at 45k tomorrow and am thinking about the r32 upgrade, $700 though a lil pricey will have to wait a bit. I bought the autozone euro spec pads, basically OEM but w/lifetime warranty against wearing down. My friend thrashes these on his gti and they're awesome, takes them back when they're basically worn down to the metal at 15k miles, gets a new set for free (on his third set now), and replaces the rebranded brembo (duralast) rotors they sell for $28 for free once too. All in all he gets to destroy his rear brakes once a year, pays for rotors every two years, and never has to buy brake pads again. Autozone is so liberal with their lifetime brakepads and the ceramic CMX and eurospec pads are not bad at all.

He still runs "real" brake pads on the fronts though, for better bite and low noise that can't be beat the HPS is sweet.

Its just so hard to justify upgrades when there are deals like this out there!


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## thygreyt (Jun 7, 2009)

i have had my HPS for about 2 years... that, in juction with the drilled/slotted rotors, and i have always stopped on a dime!


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## nothing-leaves-stock (Mar 1, 2005)

i can do it :wave:
:laugh: they are torqued like crazy from factory. REALLY tight and have lock tight on the threads too....


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

thygreyt said:


> i have had my HPS for about 2 years... that, in juction with the drilled/slotted rotors, and i have always stopped on a dime!


Drive the car more! :thumbup: Those pads get hard after they sit too long so might as well burn em up bro. They will chip and start to eat cheap rotors alive if they get too hard from age.

I've never had my stock brakes fade on me. Even towing 2000lbs. I think the oem are pretty good and part of the reason i buy european cars. I can't wait to get my brakes upgraded to OEM+ :laugh: but need more power to offset the weight first. I remember this episode where they dyno'd some honda on some car show. They added big brake kit and intake, lost like 5whp. They were scratching their heads then realized the brakes were so heavy relative to the power they'd added that it actually reduced power to the wheels. Obviously changing carriers/caliper mounting points won't do this but larger rotors can make a big difference in whp on a tiny economy motor.

I have no idea why I'm mentioning this but it just kinda popped in my head w/the brake talk. Good luck with the bolts and let us know how it goes w/the rattle gun and pb blaster. I'm omw to the garage now to hit mine with a 550ft/lb twin hammer IR impact wrench... after reading all this I'm not wasting time lol.


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

nothing-leaves-stock said:


> i can do it :wave:
> :laugh: they are torqued like crazy from factory. REALLY tight and have lock tight on the threads too....


I know you can man but I cant really afford to pay someone to do it right now, even tho it would be wayyy less work for me haha. Havent really wrenched on my car at all lately so we need to get back in touch :laugh:. Alittle update tho, finally managed to break one side loose and got the new rotor and caliper on and hooked up. Ran into another little problem tho with the lines. I bought some USP SS lines and for some reason, the stock metal clips that hold the lines to thier brackets arent holding them on tight enough. I got the screw for the hard line in as far as it will go by hand. I put the clip in to hold the line like its suppose to so I can screw it the rest of the way in but its just not keeping it tight enough against the bracket. The fitting inside the line spins with the screw everytime I try to tighten it. I only have like 3 or 4 threads left till its all the way in the line. Does the hardline piece that the fluid comes out of have to be sticking out of the screw or should it be flush with the bottom when you screw it in? That could be my problem right there cause I usually leave some the line sticking out the bottom when I start to screw it in. Is that right or am I doing it wrong? Need input guys.


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## thygreyt (Jun 7, 2009)

tchilds said:


> Drive the car more! :thumbup: Those pads get hard after they sit too long so might as well burn em up bro. They will chip and start to eat cheap rotors alive if they get too hard from age.


my car is an 09, bought jan 23rd 2009.. and it has 60180 miles. want me to drive more? :laugh:


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## we are138 (Aug 11, 2007)

i used a socket extension and a 2' pipe wrench, marred up the socket extension, but made quick work of the carrier bolts


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

None of you guys have put on SS brake lines? Really need to know what Im doing wrong here so I can get this finished up.


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

Sry I've never run stainless lines like that before. Try posting a specific question about it on the brake forums. They know their stuff lots of brake techs and what not. This forum dunno a lot about brakes hehe.


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

I contact Gregg at USP himself and I think I got the answer I needed (I hope). These lines are becoming more of a pain then the bolts were ha :banghead:


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

hehe cool

i put new autozone euroline pads on my rears yesterday. the bolts came undone with a 3/8" drive socket wrench and one hand! :laugh:

My rear brakes even get submerged under water at that on some boat launches! Another reason to buy 09+ :laugh: loose caliper bolts.


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## eatrach (May 13, 2004)

i am getting ready to do the upgrade. I hope it all go smooth.


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## thygreyt (Jun 7, 2009)

tchilds said:


> hehe cool
> 
> i put new autozone euroline pads on my rears yesterday. the bolts came undone with a 3/8" drive socket wrench and one hand! :laugh:
> 
> My rear brakes even get submerged under water at that on some boat launches! Another reason to buy 09+ :laugh: loose caliper bolts.


mine werent loose.


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

Well I must just be freaking heman then. I used a deep socket and 3/8", didn't even have a problem w/the socket slipping off. I guess I got lucky. I used the replacement bolts that came with the autozone euroline pads. They already had thread locker on them! 

I think I'm going to upgrade to the autozone ceramic CMX pads up front. Maybe just go with these euro ones, dunno yet. I just know one thing. After reading the reviews on these pads I'm never paying for brake pads again the life of this car. The nissan guys take the same pads back for free replacement like 4 times and love these brakes.

Its all about the budget these days!


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

Yeah well Im talking about the fronts not the rears. I already got my triplesquare ready from metalnerd for those. Theyve come off before tho last year to put new pads on so they shouldnt be as tough to break loose as the fronts were. Those have never been off yet as long as Ive had the car.


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## TylerO28 (Jul 7, 2008)

Torch... Heat it up... And crack er loose... Mine were on there too! But I removed them for these


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## eatrach (May 13, 2004)

TylerO28 said:


> Torch... Heat it up... And crack er loose... Mine were on there too! But I removed them for these


 looking hot:thumbup:


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

What are those rotors coated in eatrach? Does anyone make floating hats for us yet? I'm trying to keep wheel size down but little rotors are going to warp on me fo sho.


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## nothing-leaves-stock (Mar 1, 2005)

TylerO28 said:


> Torch... Heat it up... And crack er loose... Mine were on there too! But I removed them for these


why did you "upgrade" the calipers to SMALLER pad to rotor surface? thats a down grade. the rotor area to larger then the pad.


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## TylerO28 (Jul 7, 2008)

Its actually a larger pad, and has better modulation. Stops much better than even the r32... This pic is mock up... But I found that the S pads go to the inner edge and offer more surface area...
Also remember my car didn't come with 312mm rotors so this is STILL better than the oem 289mm rotors


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

BBK i'm not a fan of, lose power and gain very little compared to a good set of tires. if your brakes are fading on you in a rabbit under 300hp you seriously need to stop riding them =)

props to the cool mod though, not trying to down play it. i'm sure they are sick nice and I did always appreciate the 312's from the factory on my last VW, even if it was in my head 

312mm is still pretty conservative (should fit under a lot of 17" wheels) and the angle of the caliper gets more leverage, even if the pad area is the same.


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## alwaysdutch (Oct 19, 2011)

Where do you actually find R32 calipers? Aftermarket or Ebay or somewhere else?


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

undergroundvwparts

junk yards

r32 classifieds

or very easily sourced new but stupid expensive.


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## TylerO28 (Jul 7, 2008)

With stage 2 turbo I think these are nice to have! You're correct under 17"wheels was another plus. Since winter wheels are a must. 
I wouldn't technically call the porsche a bbk lol its more like better brake balance...and better modulation... These weigh several pounds less than my original brake set up too! So it was a win, win situation for me!


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

What are those rotors coated with? Agreed its not a BBK. I just meant its a very good solution that isn't stupid overkill.


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## TylerO28 (Jul 7, 2008)

Good question! Not sure its the ATE coating... I think its zinc because they STILL have no rust on their faces and edges... Overall I've been happy with them. I'm not a fan of slotted rotors, but these were just too good of a deal... Free is always nice! Otherwise i'd go with blanks!


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## eatrach (May 13, 2004)

just finished the install. Too much cursing on that one caliper. These idiots over-tightened the bolts on the left caliper. My hands hurts. My back hurts...and no girl to give me a massage.
Will let you guys know how it performs later this week. Stay tuned.


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## tay272 (Aug 22, 2007)

So apparently I had the brakelines done up correctly and I wasnt leaking any fluid like I thought. Only thing I did wrong was I had the wrong caliper on the wrong side. My bleeder screws were facing down instead of up but we swapped em back pretty easily. Didnt even know they had to be on a certain way but after bleeding them with new fluid, they were good to go. Still gotta get the rears on but the brakes are noticably more firm now and stopping is abit quicker.


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## eatrach (May 13, 2004)

yep TAY, they are much much firmer  and I love them. Remind me like my 'ol E36 M3 brakes. 
Instant grip, without any fade-braking; that's what I like about them thus far. 
I went with just the plain Zimmermann rotors, and Hawk Ceramic pads. Had the fluid replaced with Motul 5.1. I wish i had done this at 10k miles.


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## tchilds (Nov 21, 2008)

Glad to hear the brake parts are working out for you. My autozone euro line pads are doing great, very dusty though. They "bite" a lot harder than OEM pads and are garunteed for life so I can track the car hard and replace them every 20k for free.


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