trhs75

I was changing my daughter's brakes today -- got the front pads and rotors changed, and I was able to loosen the rear caliper bolts except for the right rear upper one which snapped off at the head. That ended the brake work for today!

Naturally, in the salt belt, the right side gets pretty rusty. I don't know how to get the rest of the bolt out without taking it to the dealer, which sort of negates the advantage of saving money by doing things myself. Has anyone else done this?

Also, I noticed with the new front pads (Lexus parts), there are no raised nibs to position the anti-squeal shims which were in there before, so I just sprayed the back of the pads with NAPA anti-squeal spray and installed the pads. So far, it seems OK.

Lexmex

Happened to me when I was in Mexico on my front passenger side.

My uncle ended up having to take a drill to it, pointed it right at the middle of the bolt and made a hole. We then stuck a hex wrench in that hole (tapping it in a bit with a hammer) and slowly was able to turn it and get it out.

trhs75

What a chore -- I new it wouldn't be easy! Thanks for the input. I don't know if I'm as skilled as you and your family, so I may have someone else do it so I don't make it any worse than it is!!

AlexusAnja

If it was in that tight that you broke the head, it's not going to come out using a reverse bit. I'm afraid that LexMex's way is the only way at this point to remove it. Not a pretty, or easy job... gonna cost you at mechanics too.

Lexmex

It's actually something I always dread the next time I have to change out my pads (which I haven't done since Mexico back in 2007), but plan to show some updates when it comes time to do so.

dzell81

Same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I was replacing the pads and rotors on all four corners. Everything was going smooth and quickly through the first three corners...... Then as I'm taking the caliper off of the bracket on the fourth and final corner - the bolt breaks off in the caliper bracket. I spent three hours trying the get it out, but it wouldn't budge. No one in the greater DC area had a caliper bracket. The dealership said they could order it for $237, but Autozone got it for me in two days for $25. Good luck.

trhs75

Going into the shop tomorrow. If they can't get the bolt out, I may take dzell81's advice and order my own caliper bracket!