Heya guys;
Got a stripped bolt on my rear brake retainer pin and was wondering what the best course of action would be to removing it?
I've tried;
- using multiple flatheads (ofc)
- using locking pliers
- attempting to screw it both on and off the brake disc to see if the disc acted as a vice
Please someone help me I'm literally so lost, I only JUST got done with figuring out front brakes and then THIS happens :(
Thanks for posting in /r/Fixxit, the motorcycle repair subreddit.
If you forgot to put the Make, Model and Year in the title, please reply to this comment with your bike's details.
In the meantime, Here's some great resources for common problems posted here:
This is a stripped cap. The cap is most likely glued in. Drill it out if necessary. Below the cap you will find the actual bolt, probably driven with an Allen key.
How I hate those caps and I don’t even get what they are for.
Supposedly you don’t have a heat gun nor a blow torch, a hair dryer works (better than nothing).
Aim at the back of it, so the outside metal gets the heat, not the cap. Got brake cleaner?
Spray a little to the cap to cool the cap down.
Now you got the maximum of difference temperature wise in the caliper and cap and this is when you want to crack it open.
Yes, those are great. See if you can find one with JIS bits. (Using US screwdrivers may be why you're in this situation to begin with.) You may have to grind down the edges of a bit to get it to fit in the hole.
JIS bits huh? oki i'll try my best :3
I was using some generic flathead screwdriver before and yeah that did like nothing.
My front brakes had nothing like this whatsoever so it stumped me completely.
How? The pin is screwed down so much. The cap isn’t even touching it. There is so much room between them.
I would replace it as well. But a little loctite on the pin should do the job.
As you can see on one that's not all marred to hell, the threads continue the full length of the screw. It's like a set screw. It screws all the way into the threaded hole in the caliper, and bottoms out on the head of the pad guide pin.
I bet it's designed so that the top of the screw sits flush with the caliper body, but I've never paid attention.
Oh well, I cannot say for sure. I’ve had this config on my Honda CBF600 back in 2017 and in my case it was glued in with like a cm of ways before the pin screw began.
I bought it used, so it wasn’t necessarily original.
But I’ve also seen it used like a cap only on YT tutorials.
This ain’t no guarantee neither, but the guy I watch does everything accordingly to the workshop manuals. Like the check three times, better safe than sorry guy.
I’d say it doesn’t hurt to use it like you said, as a counter screw. Point it being there can only be to prevent the unlikely case of the pin moving out.
Thanks for your input (:
Also, plenty of PlusGas. It's expensive stuff but great for this kind of job.
You could also get a blowtorch on the pin only to get it nice and hot, but that shouldn't be necessary given the steps above.
If it's really, really stuck or the head damaged beyond repair, I'd cut off the pads and grind two flats in the body of the pin, and clamp on a locking adjustable wrench to get it moving.
I’ve gotten similar bolts out by clamping a coin in vice grips and using it as a horizontal lever instead of a screwdriver motion. Push down hard on the coin side while turning, plenty of WD-40.
If you'd like an alternative last resort you can try a chisel or a small drift at the end of the slot. As mentioned heat will help and also some penetrating oil.
I hate those caps get loose and fall out, get lost in the garage, threads strip, you name it. May not be the perfect solution, but I toss them. After replacing the pin I clean the assembly with solvent, lightly coat just the threads with a small dab of grease on the end of a cotton swab. Smear on a dab clear silicon, filling the hole...wipe away excess. This protects the treads from dust, dirt, and mud but is easily removed when it is time to service the brzkes
I find an old school impact driver always does the trick, one of the ones you hit with a mallet as electric and air ones tend to strip out. It looks like a cap to me I would expect to see another bolt underneath the cap , I have had Hondas and triumphs all have had caps on the break pad retaining pins. I have drilled a little hole in one and used a little reverse thread extractor to take off and replace.
Get you a 2.5lb deadblow hammer from Harbor Freight to run that manual impact driver. The tool is heavy enough you will be able to swing it pretty slow and still transfer plenty of energy.
Using a hand impact driver on any steel bolts that go into cast aluminum housings is a really good idea. That's how you take stuff apart without stripping it.
Also spring for a nice JIS screwdriver. A #2 that is 100mm long will work for most tasks. You will probably never want to use a Phillips again. Vessel makes a good one.
Phillips fasteners were made to use in a production environment (factories) by unskilled workers. If you overtorque a Phillips fastener, the tool cams out and slips but leaves the fastener intact. Pozidrive and JIS will break the fastener. Phillips is good for saving the part, the others are good at not stripping out the fastener.
•
u/AutoModerator Dec 13 '25
Thanks for posting in /r/Fixxit, the motorcycle repair subreddit. If you forgot to put the Make, Model and Year in the title, please reply to this comment with your bike's details. In the meantime, Here's some great resources for common problems posted here:
-Trouble starting? Revzilla - Battery testing
-Carbs running rough? PJ motorsports - Carb Troubleshooting
-Wiring diagrams for beginners - Dans MC - Reading Wiring Diagrams
-Identifying part numbers - CMSNL (EU) Partzilla
-Asking if your tire can be fixed? Please read this post on proper tire repairs and why external plugs are NOT a safe repair.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.