Sometimes the Wrong Tool is the Right Tool

"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5) 10/05/2018 at 21:58 • Filed to: None

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My Jetta has been apart for about a week as I’ve waited for time to button up the back brakes. Before putting them back together though, I wanted to replace both of the inoperative rear wheel speed sensors...and that’s been trickier than anticipated.

Helpful toddler.

The sensors tend to get stuck in the hub, but before I even got that far, the bolts holding them were stuck. Naturally Fritz made it a 5mm internal hex instead of a 10mm bolt like a normal fucking person, and I promptly rounded them both off trying to loosen them.

Allen sockets, triple squares, pounding a socket over the round head of the bolt...even a reverse threaded bolt remover didn’t work. You know what worked? Channellocks worked. Squeezed them as tight as possible and actually got the things to turn.

So with a little luck, I’ll have working rear brakes tomorrow along with working ABS and traction control. All I need after that is the flex pipe and it’ll be road ready.

Oh, also it seems my parking brake issue (I couldn’t pull the handle and engage the parking brake) was due to the stuck caliper, whole mechanism was frozen. I’m going to replace the rear cables anyway because they’re cheap and they look like garbage. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 10/05/2018 at 23:06

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It's like my dad always told me. When in doubt, vice grips and a five foot steel pipe.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 10/05/2018 at 23:59

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MINIs have torx screws on the rotors which I’ve come close to mangling a couple times. I’ve found if they don’t yield easily, they often  respond well to tightening first.

arl > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 10/06/2018 at 00:39

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Nice. What year Jetta?

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > MiniGTI - now with XJ6 10/06/2018 at 00:55

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Torx screws are designed to piss off anyone trying to work on a car.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > MiniGTI - now with XJ6 10/06/2018 at 03:06

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https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-2910-2-Inch-Manual-7-Piece/dp/B000NPUJYE

An impact screwdriver (along with whatever bits you need) is well worth owning for removing fasteners on rotors.  

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > arl 10/06/2018 at 06:59

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01 GLS,  1.8t/5 speed. 

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 07:09

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Your dad is  a smart guy. I’m a big believer in brute force and ignorance as my most effective tools.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 10/06/2018 at 07:48

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Don't forget stubborness. 

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/06/2018 at 10:29

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I prefer to call it ‘persistence’, hahaha.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 10/06/2018 at 11:23

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Yes I’ve been thinking of getting one of those for years. I borrowed one from someone to do the rotors on my 03 Civic that had, even worse, Philips (looking anyway) screws.  It worked beautifully.