So it's not 3/8"

Chev Cadaver front brake caliper bolts are not 3/8" Allen

They're 10mm

How does one remove a 2003 cadaver lower brake caliper bolt with a stripped head?

It's still drivable for now, but the pads are thinnnnn.

help!

Weld on another good bold to the visible stripped head.

I wish - the bolt and slider are one piece and it's buried about 1/2" inside a rubber weather boot thing.

looks like this, but the hex head is now round inside...

have you tried a left hand drill bit?

Pull boot off and vice grip the bolt out?

you can't stick the allen wrench in there and hit it with the mig?

I think I can get a sawzall in there to cut the bolt at the spindle, but the sawzall is 300 miles south right now.

Any thoughts about hammering in a 7/16" socket?

Those are my 2 thoughts at the moment - it'll have to happen over Xmas by the look of things.

http://www.harborfreight.com/13-piece-left-hand-drill-bit-set-95146.html

They probably won't last you too many uses, but I used left handed bits as an extraction method with pretty favorable results. Your mileage may vary.

Grtechguy wrote: you can't stick the allen wrench in there and hit it with the mig?

ne pas de mig

pound in a larger allen or torxs or remove the boot and use a pipe wrench.

Grind a convex face on to a piece of steel rod the same O.D. as the caliper pin. The idea is that you're going to beat the face of the pin back to deform the hex bore a bit smaller than it was.

A couple things to consider -

• Unless you managed to spin a really sharp, new 3/8" hex drive or Allen wrench in the hole, there's probably 6 fairly sharp corners left. If you get a brand new ~high quality~ 10mm x 1/2" drive female hex bit, deform the face of the caliper pin, get the pin hot with preferably a MAPP torch (unless you have oxy-acetylene) and spray the threaded interface with Kroil or AFT-acetone mix - grind the face of the new 10mm bit absolutely square - drive it in 'til it bottoms -put a breaker bar on it - apply as much pressure as you dare, then...

Whack the end facing the bit with a big hammer.

It should break free and you should be able to wind it out.

Don't try to take any shortcuts on this - you'll likely only get one try.

(I had one more idea - it's not possible it you have one pin out to rotate the caliper on the stuck pin 'til it has room to be slid off, is it?)

x2 on the torx/allen deal it has worked for me many times

+10,000 on a Torx bit, works like a charm regularly at work.

I'll have to bring my torx stuff up next weekend - I think I have up to t50.

I have only propane, no MAP or oxy-acetylene. No welder here or in the Falls

I can get some cheap 1/2" drive torx bits and I'll have to get a new caliper bolt or two - depends on how the other side goes.

Sometimes I hate cars.

Hello Loaded Caliper. I'll bet they're cheap for a Cavi. Get one with a bracket.

Be careful what you do to that bolt. It's a goofy thread. Take the old one with you to make sure you get the correct one.

I haven't seen the car you're talking about, but that probably threads into the caliper carrier. If so. try unbolting the caliper carrier from the knuckle. this will allow you to remove the caliper assembly. From there, the caliper will just slide off the bolt/slider. Now, you have the caliper carrier with said stripped bolt outside of the car. Take it to the nearest bench vise, clamp the E36 M3 out of it, and use a pair of vise grips, equally clamped to E36 M3, and unthread. If you have no vise, bolt it back on the car and let the caliper hang.

Brotus7 wrote: I haven't seen the car you're talking about, but that probably threads into the caliper carrier. If so. try unbolting the caliper carrier from the knuckle. this will allow you to remove the caliper assembly. From there, the caliper will just slide off the bolt/slider. Now, you have the caliper carrier with said stripped bolt outside of the car. Take it to the nearest bench vise, clamp the E36 M3 out of it, and use a pair of vise grips, equally clamped to E36 M3, and unthread. If you have no vise, bolt it back on the car and let the caliper hang.

Cavaliers bolt the caliper directly to the spindle- no extra bracket means no extra parts to fail later and a few dollars and seconds saved on the assembly line.

i'd just grab the next biggest allen wrench and pound it into the bolt.. then use a box end wrench on the allen wrench to apply pressure as you tap it with a hammer.. it will come loose.. a new bolt could be found in any junkyard as a "pocket" item that they probably wouldn't even charge you for, or purchased at any parts store..