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My uncle swore by a trick for stuck caliper bolts that almost cost me a rotor
Honestly, my uncle Mike, who's been turning wrenches since the 80s, always told me to give a stuck caliper bracket bolt a good whack with a hammer to shock it loose before trying to turn it. He said it never failed. So last week on a 2015 Civic, I did just that. Ngl, I hit it pretty solid with a 3lb sledge. The bolt didn't budge, but I heard a nasty crack. Turns out I cracked the mounting ear on the knuckle itself. I had to source a whole used knuckle from a junkyard, which set the job back a full day and cost me $85 out of pocket. Now I'm looking at a possible weld repair if the customer complains. Has anyone else had a 'trusted' trick completely backfire like that? What's your real method for frozen bolts besides just heat and patience?
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