Disc Brake - ?

[cjwally]

So...I wanted to upgrade to a 185 mm rotor, soo last night I dropped by Da Path to pick up a new mount and rotor. As I cruised home, I was thinking about how much fun it would be to fill up a big glass of Stone IPA and change out my rotor. Sounds good, right? Well, I did poor the glass of beer then everything just didn't work out after that... For some reason, I was unable to loosen the torx screws that hold the rotor on the hub.

Any tips on getting these things off? They are frekin' stuck!

[Chewyeti]

in auto clubs we say "heat, beat, repeat"

you may need to heat it up to break down the thread locker (only a little heat!), try some penetrating lube and let it sit for a bit, and lastly a little force. with a torx bit installed on your socket extension, give a few light taps. This force may be enough to break down the thread locker bond.

[Pho'dUp]

Hey Craig,

Yeah, I've actually broken a T-25 socket trying to remove those once. How long is the wrench you're using? I use a beam type torque wrench and that does the job.

Maybe spray some WD40 first? That's what I usually use when trying to remove siezed bolts?

Worse comes to worse if you round out the bolt... You could always file down the sides of the bolt making flat spots on each side and grab it with channel locks to turn the bolt.

Originally Posted by cjwally

So...I wanted to upgrade to a 185 mm rotor, soo last night I dropped by Da Path to pick up a new mount and rotor. As I cruised home, I was thinking about how much fun it would be to fill up a big glass of Stone IPA and change out my rotor. Sounds good, right? Well, I did poor the glass of beer then everything just didn't work out after that... For some reason, I was unable to loosen the torx screws that hold the rotor on the hub.

Any tips on getting these things off? They are frekin' stuck!

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by mechmann

use a high quality torx wrench. i have the park one.

if you wind up rounding them out, you can always cut a slot across the head with a dremel tool and unscrew them with a flat blade screwdriver or chisel.

you have done that before

me too

[Pato]

Try using a heat gun or a hammer drill/wrench. If you don't have any of those you can try using a plain old hammer and try to "lightly" hammer the screws a bit to break the bond between the screw and the hub.

I'm off on Fridays and weekends. On the DL so, have tools, will travel. Let me know if you need help.

Duc

[soul rider]

Wear some heavy duty gloves so you don't shave/cut your knuckles off on the rotor

[allison]

Originally Posted by DeeZee

you have done that before

me too

We used to have the damnedest times trying to get r/c engine head bolts off.

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by Pho'dUp

Hey Craig,

Yeah, I've actually broken a T-25 socket trying to remove those once. How long is the wrench you're using? I use a beam type torque wrench and that does the job.

Maybe spray some WD40 first? That's what I usually use when trying to remove siezed bolts?

Worse comes to worse if you round out the bolt... You could always file down the sides of the bolt and grab it with channel locks to turn the bolt.

in the long run it will take less time and $$. Lube those suckers up and let them sit. Then you should be able to get them off.

Before installing make sure you use some alcohol or ? and clean everthing up an then apply more thread locker

[Pickettt]

Try using a torx bit on a long ratchet handle or breaker bar. I find it hard to believe a long lever won't break them loose. I wouldn't use a torque wrench for loosening stuck bolts, it may affect it's future accuracy.

[Cableguy]

As people states above, long ratchet w/ torx bit (sometimes I use an old straight handlebar/pipe inserted into the handle to get more leverage), and try heating up the bolt to loosen up the loctite (some compounds are designed that way).

[cjwally]

Originally Posted by soul rider

Wear some heavy duty gloves so you don't shave/cut your knuckles off on the rotor

Too late, my hands are f'd from trying last night!

[socal ridur]

Originally Posted by mechmann

use a high quality torx wrench. i have the park one.

if you wind up rounding them out, you can always cut a slot across the head with a dremel tool and unscrew them with a flat blade screwdriver or chisel.

thats exactly what i had to do to atleast 3 screms everytime i switched rotors just dont cut to deep..i almost did that

[el_d00der1n0]

I would go with double bastard next time. IPA isn't strong enough to help you tear s#it up.

[nappyt]

I'm the master of using the wrong tool for the wrong job. I have had that happen a few times. Last time was when PacMan was upgrading to his 8" rotor. I grabbed my drill found a bit smaller then the hole and drilled the damn thing out. If your not careful you can damage the rotor, the hole and the hub. Like I said the wrong tool for the job.

So far I'm 3 for 3 with no fatalities. I was drinking that cheap Karl Strauss Amber Lager from Costco all three times so that might be the secret.

[cjwally]

Originally Posted by mechmann

lol... like i said, buy a high quality park torx wrench. it looks like a T handle wrench, but the one side of the T has the "bolt remover" and the regular side of the wrench is so you don't over-torque during install.

as mentioned before, a pencil torch can help loosen the locktite by liquefying it.

First stop on the way home....Da Path

[mtbchip]

I'm sitting here trying to figure out the issue.....

Oh, DOH...... I don't even have them funny bolts with XTR brakes. My rotors are spline mounted (something like that)

Another note, not to start a flame game, but reading in "Dirt Rag" several months ago I saw a quick article about rotor size. The question was does bigger make a difference. I'm sure many of your reading this RIGHT NOW are thinking YOU BET!

But the upshot in the article was..... well, I hate to burst anyones bubble...... but increasing front rotor size make negligable difference on mtbikes.

Don't ask me, I don't have an eng or phyics degree, I just like riding

[soul rider]

ah yes double Bastard...

[FyrFytrRyn]

i had this happen along time ago. worse lead to worse and i ended up drilling the thread out of the hub, re-tapping and having to drill the rotors out. pita. id just buy a new wheel.

[mtbchip]

Originally Posted by mechmann

...(snip) if you are trying to keep up with me, you better have big rotors when you need em.

I would think I would need bigger cranks to keep up...

..... now I'm REAL confused.......

..... ah , I sense a "thread-napping". Lets stay focused!

[TKCastle]

Originally Posted by allison

We used to have the damnedest times trying to get r/c engine head bolts off.

Wow thats cool! All my stripped screw extraction was learned from racing nitro rc trucks. Any set of easy-outs are a must when dealing with small screws in torx and allen heads.