Hi All,

I could use a bit of advice - I'm working on changing the rear brake pads/rotors on my 2005 A4 1.8TQ. I got the caliper off with no issues, the two bolts were easy to remove. I'm having some difficulty removing the caliper bracket however (the piece that needs to be removed to get the old rotor off). The two 8mm allen bolts are really stuck, I've tried wd-40 and pb blaster on them to no avail. One thought that came to mind is that I could be trying to "unscrew" them the wrong way. Does anyone know if these two 8mm allen bolts are right hand threaded, i.e. righty-tighty lefty-loosey? I've been trying to turn them "left" and it seems impossible. What also makes it difficult is that I can barely fit the 8mm allen socket with the socket wrench back there to try to remove them. Any tips/advice on getting those suckers out?

 

If you can barely fit a 8mm allen, then you should probably crawl up under there and have a look and make sure it is not a Torx screw/bit.

Other than that, I did this job successfully (on the front anyway) with a rubber mallet. Get the bit set properly, hold it tight, then beat the **** out of it. iirc, the rotation is correct, but you have to visualize it from the other side... so you are holding the wrench, bit facing towards you, you want to be beating that mf'er to the left.

They were Torx on my 06, for the front caliper holders anyway...I didn't need to replace the rotors on the back yet

Recently I bought a set of air tools from Sears, I think that would have helped me (will help me next time).

If you don't have the air tools, 3 to 4 really good whacks ought to get it. Maybe even 2 if you strike it perfect.

 

Thanks for the info - when I said I can barely fit the bit in there, I didn't mean in the head of the screw. What I was referring to, is that directly behind these bolts is the shock body, so there is extremely limited space to get tools between the screw head and the shock body. Also, if the bit is facing me, which is true since the "tip" of that bolt is pointed towards me, shouldn't I be turning the wrench/allen key to the right?

 

I had the same problem, I was using a torx/allen (i can't remember which) bit on a socket wrench. I had a hard time getting enough torque on it to break the sucker free. Take the closed end of a standard wrench and slip it over the the end of the socket handle then pry it in the direction you need to loosten the bolt. The extra distance plus the adjusted angle gave me enough torque to bust it free. The trick is finding a wrench that is long enough but has a small enough closed end.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense. It's not very easy to explain in a post...

 

Indeed, I understand what you're saying, that was one of the approaches I tried. Since the 8mm allen key socket was about an inch long, I was able to get the closed side of a 8mm box wrench around it. I exerted enough force to break the circular, closed part of the box wrench, and this was a Craftsman wrench, not some no name POS :-( It turns out you need to use a "stubby" 8mm allen socket and it helps to have a socket wrench with a pivoting head. To make a long story short, my incorrect tool usage stripped out the bolt, so I returned to the dealer where I bought the pads/rotors, threw myself at their mercy, and had a very nice audi technician help me out. He hammered an impact socket around the bolt and was able to get it free using that approach. Almost needless to say, I went out and bought a pivoting socket wrench, and am hunting down "stubby" allen sockets for next time.

This job is only 4 bolts to get the caliper/caliper carrier off, but if you're going to attempt it, make sure you have a backup plan, and consider buying the caliper carrier bolts up front, in case they do get screwed up. They are threaded all the way through for the 2005 A4, so cutting the heads off is not an option, although I came across a forum post where someone mentioned doing that as a last resort with a sawzall. If you plan to only do the pads, it's really a piece of cake 15 minute job on a floor jack/jack stands.

 

ahh, sorry I misunderstood, more room in the front, that is why I specified

hell if I know, that **** confuses me unless I want to jack it up and pull the wheel to tell you right...I'm pretty sure I was always beating from the right hand to the left. :idk: I'm glad you got it sussed either way :thu: