Honda Civic brake rotor replacement

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

'98 Honda Civic. Trying to replace the front brake rotors. There are 2 philips head, flat head bolts holding the rotor. They seem to be plated. The heads are clean. But, I can not loosen them. The heads are recessed so there is nothing to grab with any kind of wrench. I’ve nearly stripped the cross out of the phillips head. How do I remove these bolts?

2

You need an impact driver, like this: http://www.jcwhitney.com/1/2_Impact_Driver_Kit?ID=12;0;1101021159;0;100001;ProductName;1;0;0;0;2010693;0;0

http://www.jcwhitney.com/jcwhitney/sku/images/large/I_272731_CL_1.jpg

3

You just might need a hand impact driver to remove the screws as these can be real difficult to remove. I use my impact gun set real low on air pressure with the proper Philips bit to remove these screws.

A local parts store should have a cheaper version of one that looks like this http://www.mytoolstore.com/klein/70220.html

Tester

4

I would try to use a impact drive like this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93481 ; if you strip the heads, sorry, you will have to drill them out and use a locking alligator pliers to take them out. Sorry to ask but did you soak it with pb blaster ?

5

Yes. I did use a penetrant. Not sure how effective it was since there are really no threads exposed. I haven’t totally stripped the heads, only one of them a bit, so there’s still hope.

Thanks to all for the advice. Any additional ideas are welcome. I’m gonna take another shot at this on Saturday.

6

Yep, impact driver. A couple hits with the hammer and should come right out unless its stripped now. I think I got mine at Sears for about $20. I’ve only used it twice but one of those essentials unless you can borrow one.

7

I faced this with my 99 Civic and did buy an impact screwdriver set I had seen at my local hardware store. I used PB Blaster - nothing is as good, in my experience - and it may help to tap the area with a small hammer. The impact screwdriver did the job. Since then, I’ve read that it’s OK to drill out the screws. The rotor them comes off. The screws are not essential, because the lug nuts will hold the rotor in place just as they old the wheel in place.