[Natural Stoner]

So, I'm doing my brakes, probably waited too long, so I'm replacing pads and rotors, as well as oil change.

Everything was going very smoothly, I have practically every tool known to man which makes it pretty easy. Until I got to that stupid "rotor retaining" or rotor locating set screw. I got my car used at the dealer with 93k miles on it. Love my car, it's got about 111k miles now and time for new breaks.

Basically, to keep it short... it's totally stripped, even using a hex socket, wasn't even using an allen wrench. I tried liquid wrench, with no success, even after letting it soak in for 30-90 minutes and reapplying several times. It is stuck pretty bad apparently.

So... I'm looking for some help from all you wise minds and bimmer lovers. Am I going to have to drill the bitch out or what? I would very much appreciate input, thanks!

Here is a picture for some help, it's the screw that has the allen in it. (BTW, not my picture/car, I just stole it from a site.)

Here is what the screw looks like up close, if it helps at all. Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[dsenier]

Just head to the local hardware store and buy a Etraction Kit. Most call it a screw extractor kit. Here is a thread from someone else who used it in your exact situation.

 

[Fast Bob]

Screw extractor or E-Z Out for you, my boy...off to Ace Hardware....

 

[milobloom242]

Welcome aboard, Natural Stoner :rofl: @ name

Like everyone else said, easy as pie if not inconvenient

 

[dakarm]

also fyi, you don't need that retaining screw. it's there to make it easier to bolt up everything. if you do replace it, make sure you put a dab of anti-seize on it before putting it back and clean out the threads on the hub as well.

 

[gesoffen]

Another method - step 1) use an oversized drill bit to drill the head off of the retaining screw; 2) use a BFH to whack the rotor until it falls off, 3) use vice grips or similar to remove remainder of screw (usually the chamfered portion of the screw head is rusted to the rotor, not the threaded portion) 4) use anti-seize on further reassembly

Also, since the retaining screw just holds the rotor on until you put the wheel and lug bolts back in, they aren't completely necessary. However, the rotor will likely fall on your foot (or worse your head) the next time you pull your wheels off. If you go screwless, I'd do it only as a temporary measure (e.g. until you have a chance to pick up a replacement set.

 

[Natural Stoner]

Thanks guys I got it done with the EZ extractor tool. The dealer is far away plus it's Sunday so they aren't open anyway. The driver side was fine, but I just went without on the other bad side. I'm not too worried about it. The caliper pretty much keeps it on anyway.

If anyone was wondering I got the Zimmerman sport rotors and the Axxis ultimate pads, even though they sent me PBR, I heard they are the exact same anyway. I hope they work well. They seemed pretty awesome on the test drive.

Thanks for all the help guys.