Had to choose between a 10mm socket and a prayer yesterday

Working on a 2008 Civic in the shop. Bolt was stuck hard. My only two options were the socket or just hitting it with a hammer and hoping. Went with the socket, but it slipped. Bolt rounded off clean. Took me an extra hour to drill it out. Anyone got a better trick for a seized caliper bracket bolt?

3 comments

3 Comments

morganl711d ago

Feel your pain on that rounded bolt. Heat is the only real fix for those old Civic brackets. Grab a torch next time before the socket even comes out.

kevinallen1d ago

Man, that sound is the worst. Rounding off a bolt feels like a personal failure. My buddy swears by a map gas torch on the bracket for a solid minute before trying. Heat it until it smokes, then hit it with the impact. Works way better than PB Blaster on those old Honda bolts.

jamiehayes1d ago

Yeah heat is the only thing that works. I've had the same bolt snap clean off even with an impact. Now I just hit it with the torch first every time.