Brake rotors

[roryd]

Hello all.
I'm in the process of restoring my 85 fj1100 that I purchased new. It's been my daily rider ever since.
I'm having trouble getting the brake rotors off. I have tried heat, penetrating oil and a impact wrench.
I still don't have any of the bolts loose. They have never been off. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[FJmonkey]

Heat and an impact gun are my first choice, aside from age they are thread locked in, you need heat to soften that stuff up. Then the impact can do its magic...

[Thmsdoyle]

Hello all.
I'm in the process of restoring my 85 fj1100 that I purchased new. It's been my daily rider ever since.
I'm having trouble getting the brake rotors off. I have tried heat, penetrating oil and a impact wrench.
I still don't have any of the bolts loose. They have never been off. Thanks in advance for any advice.

I used a regular 6mm Allen wrench and a 24 inch piece of 1/2 inch pipe. Applied heat then put steady pressure on the wrench with the cheater pipe. They all snapped loose, the Allen wrench was looking like it was going to Ben/twist just before they snapped loose.

[rktmanfj]

Carey showed me the trick to this at Boone a few years ago.

Use something reasonably solid (we improvised with an old socket) and use a hammer to sharply rap down on the head of each screw before trying to turn them.

I never would have believed it, but he removed all my rear rotor bolts with a hex key on a 3/8" ratchet after doing this.

[FJmonkey]

Carey showed me the trick to this at Boone a few years ago.

Use something reasonably solid (we improvised with an old socket) and use a hammer to sharply rap down on the head of each screw before trying to turn them.

I never would have believed it, but he removed all my rear rotor bolts with a hex key on a 3/8" ratchet after doing this.

Shock load them to break them loose.

[ribbert]

The problem with normal allen keys is the bite you need to crack it is lost in the srpringyness of the tool.

I use these with the long bar from my socket set.



And, as someone else has already suggested, my favourite, a big belt with a hammer first to break the seal.


I'm not a big fan of using an impact gun on small allen keys, they're too brutal.

[fintip]

I have actually torn an allen key in half trying to get a seized bolt to move. 

I pulled some rotor bolts off not too long ago (of a younger bike, granted, only 12 years old or so). I know you said you used penetrating oil, but better than penetrating oil is a 50/50 mix of Automatic Transmission Fluid and Acetone. THEN go back and try heat and hammer.

That's what I'll put my money on. I've had great luck with that. (When I do use penetrating oil, I usually go for Liquid Wrench. I typically use both these days, for really hard ones.)

Let us know what works.

(Also, as Noel suggested, those are worth investing in. The mechanic I recently started interning with said the same thing he did. Not surprising, as Noel knows his stuff. I used a long metal tube as a cheater bar on the allen key, on mine, but his is definitely the smarter long term choice.)

[fj11.5]

I bought a set of the socket type allen keys,don't know how I worked without them for so long, ,great tools

[Tiger]

  Impact driver with a socket Allen key, like this...

...worked for me this past winter, while working on my '85...


John.

[andyb]

Don't you guys have impacts?  Put some heat to break the threadlocker, and a whap or two with the impact takes them off nice and easy.

[paulfj03]

Hello all.
I'm in the process of restoring my 85 fj1100 that I purchased new. It's been my daily rider ever since.
I'm having trouble getting the brake rotors off. I have tried heat, penetrating oil and a impact wrench.
I still don't have any of the bolts loose. They have never been off. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hey Rory,

I went through this same thing just yesterday!!!

My allen key turned and rounded the inside of the rotor bolts. After walking away from it for a bit to cool down, I simply drilled out the bolt just a bit wider and then hammered in a larger key... (Or torxkey, or what ever will grab nicely).

Using a long breaker bar it was enough to break them free smoothly.
A small pipe on end of the ratchet works the same....(FINTIP's cheater bar)

Hth

Paul

[ribbert]

Hey Rory,

I went through this same thing just yesterday!!!

My allen key turned and rounded the inside of the rotor bolts. After walking away from it for a bit to cool down, I simply drilled out the bolt just a bit wider and then hammered in a larger key... (Or torxkey, or what ever will grab nicely).

Using a long breaker bar it was enough to break them free smoothly.
A small pipe on end of the ratchet works the same....(FINTIP's cheater bar)

Hth

Paul

At the risk of being obvious here, were you using a metric allen key? 

They bend and break but if the correct size tool is firmly seated they shouldn't spin.

You shouldn't have to get to the stage you describe above if using the right tools.

Noel

[FJmonkey]

At the risk of being obvious here, were you using a metric allen key? 

They make them in metric? 

[paulfj03]

At the risk of being obvious here, were you using a metric allen key? 

They bend and break but if the correct size tool is firmly seated they shouldn't spin.

You shouldn't have to get to the stage you describe above if using the right tools.

Noel

Good point.  Thanks Noel. But I actually did use the right one. I didn't expect the bolts to be so soft. I was also prepared for it as it has happened before with those bolts... But...

They make them in metric? 

[andyb]

http://www.mototuneusa.com/power_news_--_damaged_allen_bolt_removal.htm

Dunno if that's helpful.