I just removed my rotors today for a little machining and zinc plating. Man are those front calipers massive or what? I was impressed.

I noticed the rear calipers had four Allen Head bolts that were rusted badly. Has anyone else had this problem and can I replace them one-by-one without braking the seal and rebuilding the caliper?

Also, the calipers were so massive that I was thinking about painting them red to show them off. I just not sure if that would clash with the Aero Blue. I’ve seen picks of red calipers on Black XF’s. Just a thought.

 

Yes, I took one of the bolts out when putting in new pads on the back and then put it back it with no problems and yes mine were rusted too...looked exactly like yours.

I too was impressed with the size of the calipers and put EBC Red Stuff ceramic pads on my SRT and the red on the pads even looks cool (my SRT is black) which makes me think I want to paint my calipers...someday.

 

Check the link to the rotors I purchased (Yes, I stated they were massive too )... I didn't have rusty bolts at the time, but I bet they are going to have some now. I'll have to check and swab them with some Naval Jelly or Evapo-rust.

 

You should be able to replace them with a stainless steel hex head bolts that you could get at any good hardware or Napa store.

 

Please be careful when replacing any fasteners on suspension components. For the most part, they are spec'ed for tensile and shear loads and can't be replaced with stainless steel. Stainless may be tougher, but it's a heckuva lot weaker. The bolts in the picture look to holding the hub to the frame and would be under a lot of stress in both braking and cornering.
In general, Socket Head Cap Screws (pictured) are ASME UPGRADED unless specified.
Metric SHCS are grade IEC 8.8 (ASME equiv. 5) unless specified.

IMO, stainless would look good and prevent corrosion, but be a poor choice for this application.

Most SHCS in most grades can be bought with a yellow/green Zinc anticorrosion coating that lasts forever and looks good.

Be sure to buy from a good retailer (ie: Fastenal). They will be happy to get you a bolt that the head won't pop off from on the first corner. And they have a fast distribution system (for industry) so it can be had in 24-48 hours.