I went to swap my rotors on my MCS the other day but there are those little T-45 or T-50 bolts that hold the rotor on that I just can not get off. Is there a secret to getting those buggers off? I could cut them out or drill them, but there's gotta be an easier way. I've already mangled one beyond recognition. Also, can those bolts be bought from Autozone/O'Reilly, or do I need to go to the dealer for extra rotor bolts?
Some WD40, time, and a [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_driver"]manual impact driver[/ame]. Always worked for me.
Kroil works very well. You could drill out with a left handed drill bit if you have one or just drill the heads off & go without those PITA bolts. When I bought My MINI I pulled them & added a bit of anti-seize.
Doing mine tomorrow - this is a very timely thread. Thank you. Will be stopping into the store and picking up an Easy-out kit, some penetrating oil. I've already anticipated the worst, and have 4 new T-50 bolts ready to go. (Didn't want the 60 mile round-trip to the Mini Dealer, so i stopped in at the local BMW place. They didn't have them, but ordered them from mini, and had them back at the BMW place for me in a couple of hours. That's pretty good, if you ask me. A little under $11 for 4 bolts - it's one of the cheaper parts i've purchased.
Naucrx.... Since you are local, I'll be at my shop in the Short North tomorrow morning at 10:00am. I can help you get the other three out for sure, but soak them with penetrating oil overnight. I can help you drill the bad one out. Stop by M.A.G and pick up four new ones and we add a little anti-seize before they go back in.
MM, cool, that works! I work downtown at 4:00pm tomorrow, but I don't imagine it would take us that long to get it unless something catastrophic happened. I'll soak them in PB Blaster tonight. Could you PM me the address of your shop? I'll swing by MAG on my way home from work tonight and pick up those bolts. Thanks!
Also, I am a total noob and posted in this in the 2nd Gen section. I have an R53. I was wondering why I couldn't find my thread. Doh!
Second Gen cars use the same damn screw. :crazy: Glad MM came to the rescue. 1000 karma points to MM/Chuck
Had the same issue. Used Silikroil let it soak 24 hrs I stripped the head of the bolt anyway. So, it got drilled out. PITA. Anti-seize on the new torx bolts and my local MINI dealer just gave me four new ones. Tech said they get stuck on a semi-regular basis. They keep an ample supply around in case.
Wrenchin with Naucrx.... Success.... Those little wimpy a$$ screws weren't going to hold us back... Two broke off and I had to drill them out. Couple of gawkers in the background. Thanks for the pizza Mark.... Not sure who that other dude is that Marks is talking to.... It was nice "wrenching" with you Doug... Meet up with us at the monthly donut munch and sure hope to see you on one of our many "Not a Club" MOM runs this summer... [/IMG] [/IMG]
Well carp, I didn't realize there was a MINI MoM get together today. Glad you guys got everything fixed.
Whew! Thanks again for the help, Chuck. I really appreciate it! Glad we got those buggers off. Also thanks for the pizza, Mark. What's left of one of those pesky bolts: