I just got a used '97 Dodge Ram 1500 w/ a 318ci engine. the u-joint on the passenger side is bad and needs to be replaced, but the two bolts that hold the brake caliper on are stripped and seized (from previous owner). i tried the reverse threaders and stipped those too. i feel like i could take the entire assembly apart by removing the ball joints and what i think is the sway or steering bar, but i was wondering if most 2nd gens have the same assembly design. I plan on going to the junk yard to see if i can salvage a usable assembly, but i'm not sure if some 2nd gens have a different setup than others, can u help me?

 

No room to get a set of vice-grips on the slider bolts? Sounds like the previous owner wasn't much for PMs...lol

Good luck.

 

i think all the previous owner knew how to do was drive, not wrench. the 3/4" allen slot on the slider bolts both broke off about a half inch so there is no way to get a pair of vice grips on there. I did drill a hole in the center and tried the reverse threader tools, but ended up stripping those out, that's why i was thinkin' i'd just replace the whole unit, but i need to know if there were different assmeblies for the 2nd gens before i go to the junk yard and pull the wrong one.

 

Hmmmmmm..........

 

I would try a dremmel tool. Cut the rest of the head off, and then try to grad the slider pin and pull it out. Then you should be able to manipulate the caliper to grab the broken bolt and twist it out. You can always keep drilling the bolt down into the slider too.

Good luck.

 

it would be pretty tricky, close to impossible to remove the whole spindle from the BJ's with the rotor/caliper still attached.. as you were asking about above.. worth a shot though.. id try what DD said above first.. bolts are already screwed up .. its not like your gonna screw them up any more lol

 

I looked at my calipers 2nite. Theres room to dremmel at the hex head end, but if you went after the slider and bolt at the spindle, you'd need an air grinder, probably a 4 inch wheel. Do either end with an air grinder. Better than 65 dremmel wheels...lol. If you DO have access to one, there's room to grind the sleeve and bolt straight thru. Then after you remove the caliper, give that remaining embedded bolt section some serious heat. Mapp gas at the very least. Cherry the bolt up then hit it with water. You should be able to "easy out" the last piece. Spray it down with PB blast or liquid wrench. (I strongly suggest safety goggles for this entire evolution.) I don't see many more choices. If you have a drill bit sharpener, the keep drilling the bolt down thru the slider. You'll be there a while, and the shavings would need to be tended to, but it's an option...lol.

Get the biggest tub of Anti-Seize you can, and a nice box of nitrile gloves for re-assembly time. My personal experience also guides me to say that the biggest problem that occurs with calipers is how many guys set them atop the spindle, or just let them hang. And they fall, and the inner liner breaks, and $500 later your mechanic STILL doesn't know what's causing the problem. Get a wire coat hanger, and make yourself a durable hook to suspend the caliper why you work on the bolts. Then, before you reaassemble, wire brush all the guides, wire brush the caliper except for the dust boot, wire brush the sides of the pads, make sure there is no leading edge build up on them etc. You get the point, make a mess all at once, bang the rotor, scrape it, hit it with air. After every thing is brushed/blown, remove the rubber bushings from the caliper casting. Get a small hone that fits the diameter of the 2 bushing holes in the casting. Take a visual look at the rust/corrosion build up in the holes. Hit it with the hone, use the oil too. Don't go crazy in there to the point where you change the bore size.....lol, but clean it out.

And I know I rattle on like a woman my friend, but trust me with all these minute details, it will prolong your caliper life. That build between the casting and the bushing is 95% of the reason that the cailpers stick and or eventually need to be replaced. That "distortion" acts like a speedbump in the course of the slider pin's travel. It's all downhill after that.

Now, sweep the floor, then take a big carboard box, spread a garbage bag in it, place it under the wheel you'rer working on. Now waste a can of brake cleaner on it. Make sure the insides of the bushing holes in the caliper are washed out. Start high and wash downward. Wash the pads. Try not to let the dustboot take a direct hit. Let it dry, put your NEW bushings into the caliper....do NOT lube the casting nor the external circumference of the bushing. I have tried all kinds of light lubrication. No matter how little I used, the bushings would work their way out. Lube the sliders. Don't go crazy there either because too much pin grease just accumulates and collects dirt. Insert both sliders, reinstall the pads after you grease their contact points. Put it all back together and VIOLA.....lol. Put anti-seize on the bolt threads too.

It's easier than you think........with a 6-pack....lol

Good luck.

 

i've changed brakes on a handful of cars before, both disc and drum, but i'm a little unclear as to the caliper bushing your talking about. I know the 2 bolts that go into the spindle, and the sliders that go over the bolts, but what are the rubber bushings from the caliper casting? and what are the little rubber caps with the metal ring that cap the tip of the bolt and slider? do those hold the slider in place?

also, i took the wheels off again last night and noticed that, like you said, 1.) with an air grinder i'd be able to cut the bolt at the spindle and pull the caliper off...and 2.) that i could pull the slider out and have enough clearance to maybe put a set of vice-grips on the bolts and try to get it out.

that might have been confusing, lemmie know if it needs clarification

-andrew

 

I have a 1-pint container of anti-sieze my father gave me in 1992. That stuff lasts forever, and you don't have to slather it on threads or pins. Just a light coating is more than enough. Even a small tube will last for a couple of years.

 

The bushing I am talking about is what the slider pin, slides into. Look at the caliper. The slider pin slides into a bushing that is easily pressed into the caliper. You can't miss it, it's wrapped around the slider pins this very moment...lol.

Good luck.