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Hey guys,
I got a 97 nissan pickup RWD plagued with rust. Its eating my truck alive, bit by bit. Long story short I am trying to replace my rotors and the caliper mounting bracket has two bolts (19mm) that are so rusted I broke two ratchets trying to loosen em up and finally broke the head off one. I also am not sure how to go about removing the hub from the spindle. I know Eric had a video of him doing this on I think a GMC but for the life of me I cannot find it anymore. I believe my truck would be similar but I’m not positive. So as I dwell on how to get those bolts out, I have a few questions.
Anyone removed rotors on a 97 nissan pickup and have some advice tips or ideas?
Would a propane torch help loosen the bolts out? If so would it compromise the frame around those bolts?
Anyone have any advice on the rusted bolt problem? As far as the broken head one, I’m going to attempt to use easy outs.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
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The pictures are great, few take the time but it helps. So I don’t know about the getting the rotor loose on that, but I can say not to bother with the easy-out. The part of the broken bolt that’s rust seized is not threaded. It’s only threaded into the caliper bracket and no the two other pieces it holds. Once the rotor is able to be removed (totally loose) you will want to use a hammer and punch or air hammer to beat that bolt thru the holes is stuck in. It will still be threaded into the caliper bracket so the bracket and the rotor have to be able to move outwards as you work the bolt out.
Any heat you can get on the parts the bolt goes thru will help. In the shop I’d be using Oxy-Acetlyne like in that video College Man links to. Propane isn’t really hot enough but it will still help. It will be tough bull work no matter what. The heat will not damage the knuckle/spindle unless it transfers too much into the bearing area, which is designed to tolerate heat to begin with.
One more thing that will help loosening the remaining bolt is to tap the part where the bolts go through with a hammer. The idea is that the vibration will help loosen up all that rust. As Fopeano mentioned, that broken bolt should punch through.
you can find the FSM for the truck here:
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Hardbody/1997_D21_Truck/
brakes are in the fa.pdf file, that should show how to get the rotor off. From what I remember, you need to take the hub off the spindle to change the rotor.
This youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdiJ4vYgD2k is a good overview, since it looks like
the design of the front hub did not change much between the d21 and the d22.Thanks for the reply,
I think I might be confused by when you say beat the bolt through after I remover the rotor and caliper bracket. The caliper bracket is bolted over the rotor to the knuckle, so I have to get those bolts out first. Since that seems to be the case I don’t see how I could punch them out. At 2:59 in the video dtidman posted below they take em off before getting the rotor off. Also if I was able to punch the bolts through, wouldn’t I ruin the threads on the knuckle and have to tap the holes. Am I missing something or is this a bigger mess then I thought?
Hi,
You’ll have an easier time of this in the long run if you take the hub off and have it on a bench, believe me.
1. Undo axle nut and release axle by tapping it back gently with the nut just over the threads.
2. Disconnect caliper and hang it out of the way. Disconnect ABS sensor if present.
3. Undo and release steering rod.
4. Undo and release top and bottom ball joints.
5. Pull hub off, tapping the axle shaft back if needed.Once on your bench, get a hammer and punch ready and heat the area around the caliper bracket bolts to cherry red. Then use the punch to turn them loose.
If you don’t want to do all that, you might try cutting off the remaining bolt head in situ and smacking the bolt stubs outwards towards the rotor. The rotor and bracket, complete with bolt stubs, should pop off. Heat and hammer shocks will help.
I guess the question I should be asking then is it even worth it? I could just replace the pads and the caliper. My brakes are in working condition but with all that rust I cant be sure on how long. The rotors don’t have unusual wear on them besides that inner ring of rust so if I can avoid the daunting task of removing those bolts I will.
Thanks for the suggestions.I suppose it would be OK to drive with that bolt head snapped off but in time there is a risk it will work loose with heat and load, and allow the bracket to twist perpendicular to the hub axis. This might cause brake binding and vibration.
If I were you, I would change the pads and caliper for now, and get hold of some new bracket bolts. Sometime in the future, enlist some help and cut that remaining bolt head off and smack the lot outwards. Once the bracket is off the vehicle the bolt studs will be sticking up nicely for you to remove in a vice with heat. You’ll feel more confident in the vehicle with the job done.
:blink: I have driven over 5,000 miles with this broken fastener… When I broke two ratchets on them I had spent 3 hours beating on those bolts. Having said that I would still like to do this job right and replace those rotors. So if I understand what Fopeano said, those caliper bracket bolts are threaded only where the bracket is, so I would not have to rethread anything, considering I would replace the bracket. So lets say I can get the whole assembly of hub, rotor, and bracket off I would still need to remove the bolts to get the core back right?
Besides changing a brake line and the belts my experience is null. I am hoping to be able to do this myself, and with limited tool access. Think a breaker bar would give me a better chance to get the remaining bolts off?
Also, have you guys heard of heating the bolt area up then spraying penetrating fluid around the head in an attempt to get the heat to suck the liquid through? Heard it was effective with rusty bolts.
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