Toyota Camry 2000 Caliper Bolt Size?

[carjock]

I have a 2000 Toyota Camry 4 Cylinder.

I recently decided to change the front brake pads myself and

after taking the wheel off I found that I did not have the right

wrench to loosen the two hex shaped bolts on the caliper

(The middle bolt ties to the brake line). After fighting with it with a slightly

off sized wrench, I gave up with some damage to the bolt head.

(hopefully I didn't completely stripped the bolt head..)

Do I need a special tool to loosen them? (They are in the back

so I'd imagine some tool that's bent at a angle with a hex socket

wrench head would do) Also squading in front of the rotor with

the right wrench, do I push toward to the left (counter clock wise)

or pull toward the right (clock wise) on the wrench to loosen?

[gazza1286]

You mention 'hex shaped bolts'. I've had a few Toyota and haven't seen any 'hex' bolts or fittings on the brake components? I assume you mean hexagonal shaped bolt heads?

You must use Millimetre sockets on these bolts (a decent quality set must be used) - They are relatively soft and can easily be damaged - Ring spanners/combination spannners are no good as they will chew the corners off.

If you have already damaged the head don't worry. Buy a pair of 10" 'lock grip' pliers - sometimes caled 'molegrips' (UK) or 'vice-grips' (US) - These will cetainly remove the bolts. (you will have to buy some replacements from Toyota tho)

All brake bolts are counter-clockwise to remove. As for accessability - un-set the steering lock and turn the wheel fully left/or right which will give much better access.

Alternatively the entire caliper/cage assembly can be removed by loosening the heavy bolts (17/19mm I think) securing the assembly onto the hub. This way will allow you to get the parts onto a bench for easier disassembly.

Good luck