I need to find out the torque on the bolts that hold the caliper braket in place in the front of a 2004 corolla. My library does not have chiltons available. where else can i get that info?
Thank you
75 FT/LB’s
Tester
Are you waiting patiently for a reply?
If you are using a 3/8 " drive socket with a 12" +/- drive handle and you are an average man of average strength, dab the bolt threads with a non-permanent thread locker or a pipe thread sealer and using one hand put all the torque you can muster on one, then the other bolt and then go back and pull each again… It ain’t rocket science.
I found mine in a Haynes manual in the section for brakes. The 2002 GMC 1500 4WD was 74 ft lbs.
The autozone vehicle repair guide had the specs for my '05 camry. Both the caliper pins and the bracket, two different things. Just sign up, it is free.
Thank you all.
Get a 1/2" ratchet and tighten as good as you can. Bolts that big you’re not going to break…and I don’t see how caliper bracket bolts can be TOO tight.
I commend the OP for seeking the proper torque. If one is going to do a job as important as the brakes, it makes sense to do it right.
I would be surprised if, as a rule, many line mechanics use a torque wrench on brake and suspension work. A thread locking compound and adequate torque are very important.
The bracket to steering knuckle isn’t that critical, but 75 ft lbs sounds about right. Now the caliper to bracket bolts are a different story, especially if it the bushing type caliper that Toyota used to use.
If the caliper to bracket bolt has threads located adjacent to the head with a long nose, that is a caliper pin and its torque is not quite as important as the bushing type, but still should be followed.
If the caliper to bracket is a bolt with the treads at the opposite end from the head and a long shoulder between, it goes through a cylindrical tube called a bushing. The caliper rides on the outside of this bushing. If you apply too much torque to this bolt, it can deform the bushing and cause the caliper to bind.
True. But I still feel he did the right thing.
I agree, he did. But I think it is strange that he would ask for the what we have interpreted as the bracket to knuckle bolts which is less critical and not the caliper to bracket bolts that is more critical, and usually a lot less than 75 ft lbs.
Good point.
You rarely go wrong by doing things right, @tsm. But so few who come here for advice have a full set of tools and certainly the OP here was unfamiliar with what he was doing. The length of standard combination wrenches helps get most fasteners tightened in a reasonable range when an average man uses them correctly. Somewhere, in one of the “Idiot” manuals I’m sure, specific instructions on how to position your hand on a ratchet handle relative to the socket size for proper ~ tightening was spelled out in some detail. It made sense.
Again a good point. Since he asked for the proper torque, my assumption was that he had a torque wrench. But one never knows. I’m not sure the average person even knows what 75lb/ft (or ft/lb for those that prefer…although I always visualize a 75 foot long ratchet when I see it written that way…) means.
I had tried to visualize a DIYer holding an Auto Zone loaner torque wrench, @tsm. A beam type wrench that would require that the OP get totally under the front of the car with a light shining on the pointer as he/she pushed and or pulled at the handle with one hand while holding that light with the other and hoping in the mean time that their scissor jack didn’t fall over.
Scary.
But I use torque wrenches under the car (NEVER EVER EVER on a scissor jack) routinely with no problem. Even with a beam type torque wrench. Been doin’ it for years.
Nobody should EVER get under a vehicle on a scissor jack. That’s suicide.
Thank you all. Caliper to bracket bolts are at 24 ft.lb; bracket-knuckle is 79 ft.lb. (17 mm socket). No; I do not use a scissor jack, I use stands, AND for this job I do not need to be under the car.
Thanks again to everyone.
Nobody should EVER get under a vehicle on a scissor jack. That's suicide.
I have a 2.5 ton hydraulic floor jack…and I WON’T get under the car unless it’s on stands…or I block the floor jack.