Rear disc swap keeps breaking caliper bolts

madmikeismad

madmikeismad

So mad
Not sure what they're from, got them off crabelle years ago, but he said they came on a lot of 80's Chevy stuff. Not sure if bolts are same on most cars, but I tell the guy at the counter they're on an 86 Monte Carlo when I have to replace them.

Had to replace around five of them between both sides in the last year. What could cause that?

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sounds like you need to see if arp makes caliper bolts for it.
I have the same brake caliper setup on the 14b in the rear of my scout, never had any problems. had the same ones on my crewcab before that.
maybe the bolt holes are not drilled and tapped straight, causing it to bind.
 
I believe those are mid 70's Cadillac Eldorado calipers. Harder bolts are not the solution. Need to pull the wheel off and inspect everything. I ran that setup for a few months. I didn't care for them one bit, mostly the weak service brake.

Found the place I had purchased mine from.
http://www.tsmmfg.com/2682N.htm
 
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They worked great for 3 years before this.

That looks nothing like my setup lol, I'll try to get better pictures when I get home.

Do you have pictures of yours?
 
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Shocker.jpg


I don't have them on this machine, and I jacked up my remote access. Going to be later tonight. I thought there were only a few companies that made these conversions, but I thought they were all pretty much the same, and used the same caliper. You calipers looked like mine with the ebrake lever, and that long spring.
 
Shainer said:
Shocker.jpg


I don't have them on this machine, and I jacked up my remote access. Going to be later tonight. I thought there were only a few companies that made these conversions, but I thought they were all pretty much the same, and used the same caliper. You calipers looked like mine with the ebrake lever, and that long spring.
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Hahahahahahahaha in stealing that
 
Standby for text descriptions

The entire caliper

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Caliper bolt head size

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Caliper bolt hole - I think I found the problem

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Gap on the remaining bolt

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Gap on the new bolt

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Top caliper bolt hole on passenger side. Scary because the bottom bolt broke out 2 days ago while I was hauling a hefty load of firewood.

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Really really really glad I decided to grab pictures for you guys lol I never noticed those gaps before because I just stuck the bolts through without climbing very far under the truck.

Any chance they make a caliper bolt with .040 bigger head? It would be very hard to bush that down.
 
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I know when I installed my kit I had some initial issues getting the right pieces in the correct orientation resulting in all sort's of fitment issues. Yes you can get over-sized caliper bolts but I believe that is only on the threaded portion. The head will remain the same. I think you still have other issues. I looked for pics of my install. Couldn't find a single one, and I know none of them were that detailed anyway.

I would think there should be some sort of rubber bushing/seal on the caliper. Keeps lube in, dirt out, and reduces noise.

Edit: Had to put my GM brake hat on. Those caliper bolts do nothing more than keep the caliper from falling away from the rotor. They should not be receiving any of the torque from brake application. In the pic I posted the brake torque is transferred from the caliper to the red bracket.
 
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there is supposed to be a rubber bushing inside the end of the caliper. there is a groove inside for it to pop into.
the top hole on the pass side looks like its broke out. should NOT be that way. you may need a new caliper.
 
ok your pins don't stick out of the caliper far enough. you need pins for a 79 cadillac eldorado, and you need the hardware kit, both for the rear. theres a spacer that slides in the caliper end after you install the rubber piece, and the bolt goes thru it and makes the head stick out further. the calipers and bolt stuff is all for the rear of a 79 cadillac eldorado.
 
K204DR said:
there is supposed to be a rubber bushing inside the end of the caliper. there is a groove inside for it to pop into.
the top hole on the pass side looks like its broke out. should NOT be that way. you may need a new caliper.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I had no idea. LOL

Shainer said:
I know when I installed my kit I had some initial issues getting the right pieces in the correct orientation resulting in all sort's of fitment issues. Yes you can get over-sized caliper bolts but I believe that is only on the threaded portion. The head will remain the same. I think you still have other issues. I looked for pics of my install. Couldn't find a single one, and I know none of them were that detailed anyway.

I would think there should be some sort of rubber bushing/seal on the caliper. Keeps lube in, dirt out, and reduces noise.

Edit: Had to put my GM brake hat on. Those caliper bolts do nothing more than keep the caliper from falling away from the rotor. They should not be receiving any of the torque from brake application. In the pic I posted the brake torque is transferred from the caliper to the red bracket.
Click to expand...

The bolts really just let the caliper slide in/out a hair, but they do recieve torque from the caliper once the pads bite the rotor. The bolts actually thread into the adapter. And the bushings are definitely missing, and do not look replaceable. I'm just gonna try to get new calipers, pads, and rotors. They're going on 5 years old anyways. I wish they were as strong as OEM. My front brakes were on the truck when I bought in 80k miles ago, in May 2009, and still look like new, minus some scoring on the rotors.
 
K204DR said:
ok your pins don't stick out of the caliper far enough. you need pins for a 79 cadillac eldorado, and you need the hardware kit, both for the rear. theres a spacer that slides in the caliper end after you install the rubber piece, and the bolt goes thru it and makes the head stick out further. the calipers and bolt stuff is all for the rear of a 79 cadillac eldorado.
Click to expand...

They come almost flush to the edge of the caliper hole. Either way, thats just a spacer issue. Now I have no idea what rubber piece you're talking about.

Are you saying my brakes are for a 79 eldorado, or thats what I need to get?

9724VF350 said:
Try OEM bolts instead of auto parts store versions?
Click to expand...

OEM for what though?
 
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