General Caliper Bracket Bolts

[bhillhct]

Hi, can anyone tell me what size and type of bolts secure the brake caliper bracket on my 1995 Ducato TD please. I want to relace the front discs and pads before venturing up and down the Alpine passes the summer. Thanks.

 

[DucatoMiltonKeynes]

If they're anything like the ones on mine (2004 2.0 JTD), then they are Torx socket headed bolts which are designed for use once only. I think that's because they have loctited threads, which you destroy the loctite of when you remove them. Nothing to stop you putting new loctite on and reusing them if you really have to. The other thing that usually goes are the anti-rattle springs that stop the pads rattling around in the caliper over every bump. I drove all the way to Bulgaria and back last year with the drivers side pads rattling over every pothole - very irritating! Back at my Fiat dealer, they discovered that they can get Brake Service kits. These have the new bolts for both sides and new anti-rattle springs too. They only came to about £15 for the whole set, despite the strange Fiat computer system saying they were about £80 initially. Best to get over to your local Fiat dealer and spend some time getting some and for the right price too!
Pads and discs are available from your local car parts shop, but don't get the cheapest ones they have. Get German ones if you can. The cheap ones are made in India from god knows what and will wear out in no time.

 

[bhillhct]

Thanks for the tip, I'll source the brake kit when I've crawled underneath to check if that they are torx bolts, if they are I need to get a bigger set of torx tools and some release oil. Thanks again, a great help

 

[DucatoMiltonKeynes]

I hope it goes well. The brake kit has the long bolts that hold the pads in and the anti-rattle springs. My workshop manual says that the bolts holding the caliper frame onto the steering knuckle are loctited too, and should be replaced. As they are much bigger than the caliper bolts, I would just loctite and refit unless you've chewed them up. Try not to use oil when removing if you want to use loctite when you refit, otherwise you'll have to clean out the threads with a solvent. The original loctite should have stopped any thread corrosion.