front caliper torx/star bolt

[ChrisC]

Yes - The uprights changed in 2014 for radial calipers.   They also stopped using the old spitfire caliper that year for 2 pot brakes. 

[elie boone]

No i have no radial calipers, but when the bolt is done up properly it should not come undone, the forces are not rotational, the force is more on the body to shear it off. And it you really want some peace of mind drill the bolt head and wire them.

[ScottR400D]

You're right. There should be no need for a thread locker but it does no harm to use a medium strength loctite which will be easily broken and may prevent seizing in bolts that are undisturbed for a long time. 

Whatever, there's no need for whatever these calipers are assembled with; not only were the boots difficult to remove, the threads needed cleaning with a tap before reassembly. 

[Simon.Rogers]

I had to change the pads on a customer 620 a couple of weeks ago.

I was not aware of this thread until a moment ago.

I used the Torx socket from Halfords Pro set.  Was useless on the standard length ratchet and a pro spec air gun.  Didn't touch the tightness of the bolt.

I had to resort to a 2ft breaker bar and the Halfords torx. 1/4 turn at a time with customer watching every step.  I did this lowly so as not to over stress or heat the bolt up to much.  Slow but very successful with the extended leverage.

I can not believe this is assembled in this way from new.  I ran a tap and thread cleaner down each bolt and into the upright.  Removed a very very small amount of metal and it all went back together as you would expect.

Just a little care when assembling would save everyone the hassle.

[ScottR400D]

Simon, when I did mine I also cleaned out the holes with a tap. I didn't remove any metal, just a lot of very tough thread locker. 

I just don't get why they are assembled like that, it seems very odd.  

[ChrisC]

I know this is a bit of thread resurrection (pun intended), but does anyone know the best fit for these bolts yet?

I have tried EP12 and E12 and damaged the bolt heads on removal.   I am about to remove another set, so hence the question. 

Has anyone tried RIBE sockets?

 

[Mark w]

I used these , fitted ok but the bolts were really tight 

[ChrisC]

So they are EP12 or 12EP what I used last time (back in 2016).    I am sure they will get them out, but I am not convinced its the correct tool for the job.

I kept the bolts from 2016, and you can see the damage on the head.  Also they don't exactly fit perfectly.

 

[Jonathan Kay]

I haven't got these and might have missed it, but I don't think that we've seen a definitive answer to what they are.

Some Members have replaced them with "12.9 capheads". Have we got that exact spec, and are they easy to get hold of, and if not is there a recommended source?

Thanks

Jonathan

[Mark w]

Some Members have replaced them with "12.9 capheads".

 

Have we got that exact spec, POST #50

 

and are they easy to get hold of, YES

 

and if not is there a recommended source? POST#51

[Jonathan Kay]

Thanks for pointing that out. I should have checked properly.

Jonathan

[ChrisC]

Ok so I have removed my calipers this weekend from my new build.  As you can see from my previous photos the Snapon Torx Plus EP12 I used last time did the job, but at the cost of destroying the bolts.   Since I visited the Snapon rep last Friday I decided to take a new caliper bolt with me to see what they could offer.   The problem seems to be the dome, apparently the Bluepoint sockets have a deeper dish to the Snapon sockets.   So we tried a Bluepoint E12 Torx, which was a perfect fit.   It remove the bolts with no damage at all.  They could be reused (but I won't).  

So from my persecutive, its a E12 Torx (as confirmed in post #68 by Mark w), but the socket must have a deep dish to fit properly.   If you have access to a Snapon rep (or can stomach the postage cost), look for a BLPTE3812, which is only £2.34 +vat for the prefect socket. 

[ScottR400D]

At last the answer!! Thanks Chris. 

I’m still at a loss as to why torx bolts were used in the first place, though. There’s no need for the extra torque theoretically available so hex heads were always good enough. 

 

[Jonathan Kay]

Came with the callipers and were originally intended for production line installation?

Jonathan

[ScottR400D]

Maybe, though it’s hardly a high enough volume to give much advantage and cap heads are used everywhere else. 

I see the calliper halves are assembled with torx heads. I hope they’re not similarly thread locked! 

[Nick T]

Dear All,

A quick comment on greasing of bearings, whist clearly too little grease can cause an early demise, over-greasing can also cause the premature failure on roller/ball bearings. There is quite a lot of historical evidence across a number of industries of this. To be fair, it is usually associated with automatic greasers or the over zealous use of grease guns on a regular basis, but it is more to make the point more is not necessarily better.   

 

[SM25T]

Presumably through blowing out the seals with the volume of grease.

[SM25T]

Presumably through blowing out the seals with the volume of grease.

[ChrisC]

Personally I think new builders no longer need to worry about wheel bearing grease from my personal experience.  My current build had what I would consider sufficient wheel bearing grease applied, unlike my previous build (at the beginning of this thread).

Pictures https://caterham420detailedbuildblog.co.uk/2019/11/25/upright-inspection

[Nick T]

Taken from the first thread on google, but quite a succinct answer 

What happens when you over grease a bearing?
Too much grease volume (overgreasing) in a bearing cavity will cause the rotating bearing elements to begin churning the grease, pushing it out of the way, resulting in energy loss and rising temperatures. ... This can result in accelerated wear of the rolling elements and then component failure
 

[Nick T]

ChrisC,

Just seen your blog and it is excellent*thumbs_up_thumb*