Grrrr Loctite!

Mucky_Pup · 29 Jun 2011 at 09:41

So I notice the back pads on my bike are wearing thin, so I go and get a replacement set to change them myself. Comes to yesterday afternoon to do it, M6 retaining pins, so on goes the 5mm allen key, will not budge, on goes the 5mm socket bit, and snap that goes! Hmmm this isn't looking good, bit of spray with penetrating fluid, let it soak in, try again, nope, all we've now managed to do is to round off the hex hole, after very little time fffffffuuuuuu!!!

Manage to get hold of the service manual this morning, check the diagram, and they've only gone and loctited the pins in! I don't know what strength they've use, but it's looking like possibley a strong grade.

I use loctite at work quite a lot, but I wouldn't have thought loctite would be strictly necesscery here, would be fine just torqued up correctly in my opinion personally.

So now I either have to try a blow lamp to warm up the loctite, or drill the heads off and try removing the remnants from the thread before bashing the pins our from the back. Or go to a garage and get my eyeballs removed for payment.

Can my day get any worse, ahh well, lol.

Morbius · 29 Jun 2011 at 11:16

That sounds like a right pain in the backside. I would have just torqued them up to the setting in the manual.

How much would a new caliper cost? It might be worth checking in case it's cheaper than the amount the garage would charge.

boxman2000 · 29 Jun 2011 at 12:23

Nailvarnish remover - just be careful what you pour it on though!

Either that or a petroleum based cleaner.

Dogbreath · 29 Jun 2011 at 12:34

Common problem, even if they aren't Loctited they often seize through corrosion in the threads.

Mucky_Pup · 29 Jun 2011 at 13:35

£26 for 2 poxy bolts lol, should get them Friday, going to file down a 6mm key to fit, bash that in, give it a soak in some stuff, then a bit heat, then get teh breaker bar on the hex key.

Mucky_Pup · 2 Jul 2011 at 14:23

Update: Got them out... eventually.

Started with the heat gun to warm it up a bit, tried a tapered allen key, couldn't grip it, so moved on to some easy outs, couldn't get a grip either, just started grinding out the bore. Decided to break out the drill, drilled it out to about 7 mill diameter to get enough purchase on it with the easy outs. I also drilled forwards 5mm on one of them to seperate the thread from the unthreaded part, didn't need to do it on the 2nd one though. Got someone to hit from the back with a punch and hammer as I turned the easy out, and out they came.

They're a little worse for wear though, lol.

Fit the new pads, and lubed it up with copper slip in the threads, and a thing coat on the retaining pins.

Moral of the story, check your breaks often, remove, clean, and regrease your pad retaining pins, and don't loctite in your pins, just torque them up to the correct torque.

Dureth · 2 Jul 2011 at 15:20

I have never seen brake pad retaining pins locited in before! Heck the ones on my bike don't even have a thread, they just slide in and are kept in by an R clip that goes through a small hole in the pin.

Flukester · 3 Jul 2011 at 06:52

This kind of thing on bikes sucks...

I learnt a lesson a while back and tried to torque up the pad pins but used a wrench far to large and inaccurate...

'tighten tighten (still no click from wrench), tighten tighten abit more (still no click), tighten tighten CRACKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Result was cracked casting on caliper, cost me £160 for a new one

I just do them up hand tight with a small allen key now (with copper slip spray on thread and thin coat on pin), spoke to mechanic at garage and they also agreed never use a torque wrench on them.

Dogbreath · 3 Jul 2011 at 10:36

The problem with large torque wrenches at very low settings is that the "click" is extremely weak and easy to miss.

Mucky_Pup · 4 Jul 2011 at 10:13

I used a torque wrench on mine, set to 18Nm which is sod all really, was very little turning after I'd done them up with the allen key.