Glen

I am having some trouble installing new brake pads on my 99' GT....I seem to compress the pistons okay, but I do not know how to get the caliper off. Could somebody help me out?

I already checked MustangWorld's tutorial, but it's for an SN95 which has single pistons...

- Glen

Twister

well, the bracket that bolts to the spindle also bolts to the caliper, remove these 2 bolts and the caliper will come out of the bracket. The pads will slide out both sides, be sure to grease the slides.

GodAmGT00

Usually, if you take the front bolt out, the entire caliper assy. swings upward, and out of the way, to get the pads off.. Then you just attack the lower bolt.

Then comes the bracket, which has 2 bolts as well... Those are usually REALLY tight in there, so try to avoid stripping them....




JT

Glen

Thanks for the replies. The two bolts in the bracket are the ones I am having trouble with. I believe CarX stripped one of them while retightening them after a check (I knew I should have done it myself...). The bolt just spins in place... Any suggestions?

They quoted me nearly $100.00 for front brake pad installation...@#$% that!

- Glen

willyd465

for the bracket i let some pen oil soak in there the day before then the next day i attacked it with some heat and they came out like nothin

GodAmGT00

Wait, what do you mean, the bolt just spins in place?!?!? That's terrible. That could potentially mean:

- The bolt is stripped inside the steering knuckle, which could mean you'd need to drill, re-tap the hole, or get a new steering knuckle at absolute worst case..

- The bolt is broken in half, and is just sort of spinning in the bore. This would also require special extraction

- You may be spinning the wrong bolt. Doubtful, but I figured I'd throw it in there just for sh-ts and giggles...

I know this sounds silly, but did you try actually taking the bolt out, just by pulling on it now??

Something is wrong...


If the bolt isn't moving, or if the bolt head is rounded out, I have a tip for you, that negates ever having to deal w/ it again... Find a shallow socket (I believe it's 17mm, or 5/8" maybe, it's been a while since I've done brakes on my car) that's just TOO small. If it's metric, go w/ a standard size, and vice versa.. Beat the socket on evenly, and make sure it's tight on the bolt head. Now, all you have to do, is affix a ratchet to the back, and take it off. No more hassles, no more issues, or at least until you can get some new hardware...

I did this on my car about 2 years ago, when I totally rounded out the head of the caliper bracket bolt, and I was at a friend's house who had no tools. I had to be creative... It worked until I upgraded to my Cobra's about 2 months ago...



JT

Glen

Thanks, JT. I will have to inspect it myself. The only reason I don't just pull everything apart is because I am shy to do so and drive quite a bit, so I don't have gobs of time to mess up my car and cover mistakes. The bolts in the bracket are in a strange spot which is why they are tough to remove, however the head of the bolt that is spinning is definitely not stripped, it must be inside the bracket. I may have to re-tap the hole if worse comes to worst. I will update this thread once I figure out the problem.

- Glen

GodAmGT00

Glen,

I have to stop working so hard at my job.. I totally realize what you're talking about now...


You're talking about the smaller bolt, that goes INTO the braket, not the braket bolts themselves, right?? If that's the case, if you look at the other side, where the smaller bolt threads into, there is a flat spot on the round tube-like thing.. You put a regular open-ended wrench on there and hold it while you take the small bolt out.. This actual part is called the Caliper Guide pin...


I kept thinking over and over about this, and then it just hit me...


Both bolts have that flat spot.. I don't have a camera, nor do I have my Mustang today (Outta town), so I can't take any pictures.. If you have one, take a few shots, and I can see about Photo-shopping some sort of detailed info on the picture...




JT

Glen

Okay, here are some pics of what I am seeing here. The second picture shows a ratchet on a bolt; that's the one I believe is stripped but I'm not sure

My car is still on jacks right now, so quick, detailed help is GREATLY appreciated...I'm not a brake guy, so I'm totally stumped!

Thanks

- Glen

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TX02GT

Bummer