Removing caliper bolts

Ezvalet

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Nov 6, 2022
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Good morning. I looked through previous posts and have not been able to find what tool is needed to remove my caliper on a karavan trailer (surge brakes). Salt water destroyed the pads. :/. I tried some of the Torx sockets I had. No luck. Either I don’t have the proper size or it’s not a torx. Any help would be great my appreciated.
 

harringtondav

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Good morning. I looked through previous posts and have not been able to find what tool is needed to remove my caliper on a karavan trailer (surge brakes). Salt water destroyed the pads. :/. I tried some of the Torx sockets I had. No luck. Either I don’t have the proper size or it’s not a torx. Any help would be great my appreciated.
A picture of the bolts will be helpful in getting advice.
 

Ezvalet

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Nov 6, 2022
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Good morning. I looked through previous posts and have not been able to find what tool is needed to remove my caliper on a karavan trailer (surge brakes). Salt water destroyed the pads. :/. I tried some of the Torx sockets I had. No luck. Either I don’t have the proper size or it’s not a torx. Any help would be great my appreciated.

Sorry. I did not include this previously- Here is a photo
 

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mike_i

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I've never had issues removing my bolts, try an allen wrench not torx. Try some PB blaster and let it soak in for awhile.
 

harringtondav

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Thank you! Any idea what size is common?
The best way to find out is to get a set of Allen wrenches and see which fits.
Likely inch. These are inexpensive and handy to have around. Also I'd go with the PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench or some other penetrant before trying to loosen them. I have a set of 3/8 drive Allen. Good when you need extra torque to break things loose.
Also your disc rotors look pretty rough. I'd get them turned down or replaced before installing new pads. These rotors will chew the pads up quickly.
 

tpenfield

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You can also get a set of hex sockets for your 3/8" socket wrench.

You mentioned salt water, so grab some liquid wrench and a wire brush while you are at the store.
 

Ezvalet

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The best way to find out is to get a set of Allen wrenches and see which fits.
Likely inch. These are inexpensive and handy to have around. Also I'd go with the PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench or some other penetrant before trying to loosen them. I have a set of 3/8 drive Allen. Good when you need extra torque to break things loose.
Also your disc rotors look pretty rough. I'd get them turned down or replaced before installing new pads. These rotors will chew the pads up quickly.

Thank you soo much for the advice/input. I have soaked them with PB blaster pretty good. I just didn’t know what size or type of socket was needed to remove them. I have don’t motorcycle and truck caliper/ rotors and brakes. However obviously not on a trailer yet. I will pick up a set of Allen sockets. I did for sure notice the rotors :/. Thanks for pointing that out as well!
 

HRG

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Thank you soo much for the advice/input. I have soaked them with PB blaster pretty good. I just didn’t know what size or type of socket was needed to remove them. I have don’t motorcycle and truck caliper/ rotors and brakes. However obviously not on a trailer yet. I will pick up a set of Allen sockets. I did for sure notice the rotors :/. Thanks for pointing that out as well!
Please note that there are metric and SAE Allen wrench sizes. Using the correct size Allen wrench is important to prevent rounding out the hex key in the bolt. There are Allen wrench sets that include both metric and SAE wrenches.

You may need to buy a hex bit socket for more leverage.
 

harringtondav

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Also, assuming your disc brakes are similar to automotive, don't over tighten the caliper bolts. The caliper mounting bracket takes the brake load from the pads. The bolts are more like guide pins for the caliper. About 35 ft/lb is all that's needed. Tight, but not too tight.
It might be a good idea to give the bolt threads a dab of anti-seize grease before installing.
 

Ezvalet

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Please note that there are metric and SAE Allen wrench sizes. Using the correct size Allen wrench is important to prevent rounding out the hex key in the bolt. There are Allen wrench sets that include both metric and SAE wrenches.

You may need to buy a hex bit socket for more leverage.
Thank you. I was hoping someone would know an approximate size or even if it’s metric or not. I know a lot of the Japanese motorcycles are all metric. I really don’t use hex or Torx sockets very often. Thx again
 

Scott Danforth

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It's going to be 5/16hex or 3/8 hex. Or it's 8mm or 10mm

it is the one that fits.
 

harringtondav

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I know a lot of the Japanese motorcycles are all metric. I really don’t use hex or Torx sockets very often. Thx again
It gets worse than that. Japanese bikes are build to JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard). Metric is metric. But their Phillips head screws aren't Phillips. They're JIS. I learned this after gumming out some with a Phillips driver. After drilling these out I replaced the first bike's and current bike's screws with Allen screws.
 

Jmunk

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I have a simile setup, I used heat from a small propane torch and a pair of vice grips. I was replacing my calipers and new ones came with new fasteners.
 

HRG

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Thank you. I was hoping someone would know an approximate size or even if it’s metric or not. I know a lot of the Japanese motorcycles are all metric. I really don’t use hex or Torx sockets very often. Thx again
One way to get a close (if not exact) size of the hex key in the bolt head is to get a piece of plain paper. Position the paper on the bolt head. Now with the ball end of a small ball peen hammer, gently tap the outline of the hex key depression in the bolt head. This will cut the paper exactly to the size of the hex key.

Now you can take that piece of paper to the hardware store and buy metric and SAE size Allen wrenches to fit the cut out. After determining the correct size Allen wrench or hex bit socket needed, you could return the unused ones.

If you don't have a small ball peen hammer, you can use a flat end pin punch and gently tap the punch with a hammer to cut the outline of the hex key in the bolt head. With a ball peen hammer, it's a one man operation. With a flat end pin punch you need to tape the paper in position or have someone hold in in position while you tap the punch.
 

Ezvalet

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Nov 6, 2022
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I have a simile setup, I used heat from a small propane torch and a pair of vice grips. I was replacing my calipers and new ones came with new fasteners.
Thank you. I might be getting close to that. It’s difficult to get a good angle on the head / because the leaf spring u bolts are right across
 
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