Stripped Threads on the Brake Caliper

[Badbob]

Checking my pads Sunday one of the bolts didn't want to come out.. There was a pop (not good) and the bolt turned hard bring about half the threads with it. So here I am on Sunday afternoon running around Tallahassee looking for a metric heili coil kit for a M10-1.25 bolt. Amazingly I found one. I could not get a new bolt so I picked up a cheap metric tap and die set at harbor freight (the only one I could find that I had money for with the right size die) an proceeded to retread the hole. Here things got bit interesting. I've got this huge drill press but I don't want to drain my brakes just so I can get the caliper up on the table. I'm pretty good with a drill and its aluminum. I also have a new very sharp bit. If I can hold the caliper some how I should be able to drill it in place. Some clamps, green plastic milk crate, four foot 2x4 and the bottom drawer of my tool chest got involved and the hole got drilled.

I never put a heili coil into a bottomless hole before and messed the first one up trying to brake the tab off. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR! On the second try I got out my favorite instrument of destruction a Dremel cut off wheel and carefully trimmed the insert. If your patient you can cut just about any thing with one of these.

I used the a die and a vise to clean the bolt threads and a tap to clean up the other hole.

I reinstalled the caliper carefully applying some high temperature anti-seize compound to the bolts and using my trusty torque wrench reattached the caliper. Seventy-five dollars later its fixed.

A friend who is a certified aircraft mechanic and a long time rider actually warned me about this and told me to put the anti-seize compound on the bolts. All of them. I had bought it already but had not used it on these yet.

The bolts and the aluminum in the holes were corroded enough to stick to the threads. There was enough junk on the other bolt that the die would not go on it with out some persuasion. This bike is in covered parking even at work so the only time it's wet is when I ride it in the rain or wash it.

So I get to go to Franklin GA after all.