Hi I tried a similar question last week.

Simply put, can the rear caliper carrier bolts (Octavia MK2 1KF) be loosened without removing the calipers if the car is up on a lift, is there clearance?

I want to rent some time on a lift, but as little as possible because I am skint.

Cheers

You should be able to do it on your drive with right tools, halfords breaker bar and m14 1/2 socket are perfect for the job

3 hours ago, wiilydog said:

You should be able to do it on your drive with right tools, halfords breaker bar and m14 1/2 socket are perfect for the job

 

Hi I tried this last year and could not get the bar in where I could have enough clearance, hence the question. I did the front ones no problem but Just can't get in on the back ones.

 

Other than working from a ramp or a pit you simply cannot get enough leverage or swing to break the torque resistance of those fasteners, those who say you can do it by jacking against the weight of the car are armchair mechanics living in La-La Land, you absolutely need to swing downwards and if the wheel is not on the ground or ramp they likely still will not release.

 

A good make 18v or higher 1/2" drive impact wrench with a high AH battery pack might do the job but they are not all equal, some just make a lot of noise and vibration to little effect, same can be said of air impact wrenches, in general I find a good battery one (Bosch, Dewalt etc) will outperform an air one.

Halfords 18" breaker bar is the perfect length as it just fits in under the wheel arch to provide you with enough leverage.  I've done a couple on the drive so it is doable  but only with the correct length of breaker bar.

18 hours ago, wiilydog said:

Halfords 18" breaker bar is the perfect length as it just fits in under the wheel arch to provide you with enough leverage.  I've done a couple on the drive so it is doable  but only with the correct length of breaker bar.

Thanks, I tried an 18" and I guess I am just too weak to get them to move.

I did mine a couple of years ago and don't recall them being particularly bad. I was most likely working on axle stands in the yard. I probably jacked the car up and gave them a spray with whatever was in the shed the night before and left it to soak. I think you can get to the bottom end of the bolt with a can with a straw on to spray it up - that's probably well worthwhile. I've got it in my head that I used a long spline bit on an extension so I could knock it all the way into the head of the bolt, then had the bar behind the spring and shock, rather than in front of it, as per the picture.  I'm not totally sure on that though, like I say, it wasn't particularly memorable, so it can't have been that bad.

 

I normally use a 600mm breaker bar and a set of cheap impact-rated spline bits for that sort of job. I've got a feeling I didn't use the impact gun because I couldn't get it in the space available. When I'm trying to get a spline or stardrive off, I normally give them a yank in the wrong direction first to break the rust seal without damaging the bits of the head I'm going to rely on to loosen it. Applying constant force doesn't break fixing loose, you need to shock them. 

 

Don't know if any of that's any help, I'm just sat in my armchair 

On 21/05/2024 at 20:03, StevesTruck said:

I did mine a couple of years ago and don't recall them being particularly bad. I was most likely working on axle stands in the yard. I probably jacked the car up and gave them a spray with whatever was in the shed the night before and left it to soak. I think you can get to the bottom end of the bolt with a can with a straw on to spray it up - that's probably well worthwhile. I've got it in my head that I used a long spline bit on an extension so I could knock it all the way into the head of the bolt, then had the bar behind the spring and shock, rather than in front of it, as per the picture.  I'm not totally sure on that though, like I say, it wasn't particularly memorable, so it can't have been that bad.

 

I normally use a 600mm breaker bar and a set of cheap impact-rated spline bits for that sort of job. I've got a feeling I didn't use the impact gun because I couldn't get it in the space available. When I'm trying to get a spline or stardrive off, I normally give them a yank in the wrong direction first to break the rust seal without damaging the bits of the head I'm going to rely on to loosen it. Applying constant force doesn't break fixing loose, you need to shock them. 

 

Don't know if any of that's any help, I'm just sat in my armchair 

Thank you for taking the time to respond, mine are tight I tried with an 18" bar because I couldn't find a way to get my longer one on to both bolts, and it just wouldn't budge, I brought an impact gun which either wouldn't do it or I couldn't get it on the bolts, can't remember.