striped bolt

[jkhania]

When i changed my brakes i encountered a rather subborn bolt trying to remove the caliper from the boot. Only after finishing and trying to reattach the caliper did i realize someone had forced the bolt into the boot and effectively stripped the boot's screw hole. I am worried about getting the bolt hole re-threaded because if it makes the hole too big the bolt with not work.

Is this as big of an issue as i think it is, or can i find or get a bolt made to the right spec, since the bolts are long and only threaded at the end of the screw?

[Dumpy]

I would have to say that you will need to use a tap to re-thread the hole. You may be lucky and the bolt will just grab after wards, but you may not.

[jkhania]

I'm kinda novice, but im assuming a tap would need a powerful drill? is it possible to rent these tools?

[Dumpy]

The tap doesn't need a drill in most cases. And bet I had to do the same thing on the same bolt as you. A place like Advanced Auto or AutoZone should have them for rent (a decent set can normally be found for a fair price too).

[jkhania]

ok cool i'll see about doing that, thanks

[Dumpy]

Make sure that the threads are in fact messed up of course. And take a good look at the bolt, especially on the first few threads.

[jkhania]

i think the bolt is fine?

[spidertri]

You may be able to *carefully* run the correct size tap in that hole to clean the threads.