EarlyBronocGuy
09-22-2010, 09:08 AM
I'm currently restoring an '85 200x, it had no front brakes when I bought it - by "no front brakes" I mean the parts weren't even there. I shopped around and ended up getting a complete front setup on eBay for $30, when it arrived I saw why it was so cheap. It must have sat for years out in the rain, every screw, bolt, and nut was rusted solid.
Lots of PB Blaster, heat from a propane torch, and leverage eventually got everything apart, but it fought me every step of the way. All 4 of the long screws that clamp the master cylinder resevior together (top, cup, cylinder) broke when I went to remove them, I got 2 out by grabbing what was left of the rusty shank with Vise grips and unscrewing them carefully, the other 2 had to be drilled out, the holes filled in with JB Weld, the holes redrilled and re-tapped.
The REALLLY stubborn piece, though, was the caliper slider stud. I've had stubborn ones before, they all eventually came out with pentrating fluid, heat, and pressure, but not this one. Oh, no. It was STUCK. Might as well have been welded in there. Even clamping the caliper in a vise and using a large brass punch and a 3 lb hammer, it didn't budge. It was time for.....air tools. :mad:
Air hammers are great things. If you have an old chisel tip you've cut the end off so it's nice and flat, so much the better. I let the air compressor pump up to 150 psi, soaked the slider in PB Blaster again, heat it with the propane torch until the fluid starting bubbling, and went at it with the air hammer.
Success! Well, kinda. It started to move, but instead of the slider coming out of the bushing, the bushing was coming out of the caliper body with the slider stud. Damn, that thing was rusty. I went ahead and got it out, then carefully removed the steel bushing from the rusted stud - it's galvanized steel, it was in good shape, but the stud was toast.
Just because you can't get a rusty bolt to move with a little work, don't give up. :)
Lots of PB Blaster, heat from a propane torch, and leverage eventually got everything apart, but it fought me every step of the way. All 4 of the long screws that clamp the master cylinder resevior together (top, cup, cylinder) broke when I went to remove them, I got 2 out by grabbing what was left of the rusty shank with Vise grips and unscrewing them carefully, the other 2 had to be drilled out, the holes filled in with JB Weld, the holes redrilled and re-tapped.
The REALLLY stubborn piece, though, was the caliper slider stud. I've had stubborn ones before, they all eventually came out with pentrating fluid, heat, and pressure, but not this one. Oh, no. It was STUCK. Might as well have been welded in there. Even clamping the caliper in a vise and using a large brass punch and a 3 lb hammer, it didn't budge. It was time for.....air tools. :mad:
Air hammers are great things. If you have an old chisel tip you've cut the end off so it's nice and flat, so much the better. I let the air compressor pump up to 150 psi, soaked the slider in PB Blaster again, heat it with the propane torch until the fluid starting bubbling, and went at it with the air hammer.
Success! Well, kinda. It started to move, but instead of the slider coming out of the bushing, the bushing was coming out of the caliper body with the slider stud. Damn, that thing was rusty. I went ahead and got it out, then carefully removed the steel bushing from the rusted stud - it's galvanized steel, it was in good shape, but the stud was toast.
Just because you can't get a rusty bolt to move with a little work, don't give up. :)