OT: car repair - seized bolts (ideas welcome)
 

Lots of folks here seem into car repair so I thought I’d hunt for some ideas. I’m trying to change pads and rotors on my new to me BMW 550i. I’m not a pro but I’m not totally green at this. Everything is stuck. I spent 2 hours last night fighting every bolt on the first wheel. Lug bolts, hub, rotor screw, calipers...everything is seized up. I was ultimately stymied when the caliper bolts just wouldn’t budge. I don’t have a lift so I’m limited to what I can do with WD40 and a 10” breaker bar (tight spaces in the wheel well). Even getting the wheel off was a pain as it had seized to the hub. Lots of salt up here in Massachusetts, so I think it’s just corrosion making life difficult. Anyone have tips for besides “take it to a shop”? I really prefer not to spend the money to pay someone to do what I’m perfectly capable of doing.




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Impact wrench would be a big help. Rent one?

For greater leverage with breaker bar, turn wheel to see if you can use longer bar extending outside of wheel well. Salt sux.

PS - use stands and don't take chances!

heat has always worked for me. Rust gets slippery when it's hot. MAPP cylinder on a propane torch

I once had to get a bigger impact wrench to work on a friend's car. I had the cheapest one They sell electric ones, but they have limited torque

heat for the stuff under and behind. large breaker bar for the lug nuts ( get some anti-seize )

best you bring it to a mechanic with a lift and torch. i know its not what you want to hear. but it will save you alot of time and potentially pain or broken parts.

i hate dealing with seized bolts under the car without the right tools. its also really dangerous.

get it done right the first time, then keep up on the maintenance to avoid these issues. i get my cars krown rust proofed and i've noticed a huge diff when it comes to driveway maintenance such as brakes/rotors. nothing it ever seized up.

Kroil or PB blaster and let it soak.

A quick commiseration-the shop that last serviced my r129 v12 roadster and my s/o's A8l must have had a "new guy" do the oil changes (at the time I lived at a house without a place to work). Upon arriving here, BOTH cars had the drains tightened by an impact-the Benz rounded off and I had to use an extractor socket and impact. Of course it spun out and shot oil all over, missing the pan. The Audi uses a hex and rounded internally, will have to hammer in a torx.

Most shops that use air tighten fasteners way beyond torque. I'm fine with running stuff up with air set on low, but fer chissakes use a normal wrench to reach ultimate torque.

PB Blaster.
Smells like crap, but it works.

+1 PB Blaster. People seem to like Kroil better but I’ve never used it. PB Blaster generates some serious gas fumes so use it outside.

maap gas and an impact wrench.

also, forget WD40, you need a penetrating lube like CRC Freeze Off or PB Blaster.

be careful.

Wheels stuck to the hub: loosen lug bolts 1 or 2 turns and drive around the block.

I have the PB Blaster, antiseize, and I think I a torch as well in boston, if you wanna borrow some.

I agree ^^^^

No new ideas as torch, PB Blaster, Kroil, and CRC are in my arsenal against frozen fasteners. I will say that some of the portable impact wrenches available now have sufficient torque to take on most any automotive fastener or even break it if you overdo things. Impact wrench in combination with a swivel impact socket and extension may be of help. It's not optimal but if you can at least get the car secure on jack stands maybe you can find the right angle of attack.

I've never worked on a BMW but aren't those likely to have red loctite or similar which is intended to require heat to remove?

Impact.

not normally on fasteners that are meant to be routinely serviced, primary suspension member bolts or some engine bolts maybe.


PB blaster and an impact wrench have always worked for me. other option is a manual impact driver with socket.

I sometimes find those easier to work with than an electric or air powered one, particularly if you'd like to reuse the fastener.

the milwaukee M18 cordless impact wrenches will work for most automotive needs.

otherwise 1/2" long breaker bar with a cheater pipe.

getting wheels off the hub, i've always gone for the old fashioned kick the tire method. if it doesn't come off that way, remove lugs completely and drop it back down on the tire slowly.

BMW tends to have lug bolts, so with those removed there's nothing to hold the wheel onto the hub, weight of car should pop it right off, just make sure to go slow on the jack.