I disassembled my front struts and spindles tonight. In the near future I plan on going with the Toyota 4x4 front calipers. Getting the backing plate phillips screws out was tough on 2 out of the 4 and 1 of those required a bit of heat to work loose. I sort of f'ed up the screws getting them out. Could I just go without the backing plates? Is there a safety issue with this? I don't plan on every driving the car in the rain, unless I get caught out. Thoughts?

I drilled mine out and re-tapped for M6 X 1mm stainless steel bolts.

You can easily drill them out from the back side as the holes guide your bit and also hold the cutting fluid nicely.

Philips screws, or any screw for that matter, should not be on the underside of cars where water, dirt and corrosion live!

Edited August 5, 201113 yr by Blue

Impact driver worked for me on the last 3. The first one I screwed up the head with a phillips screwdriver. The cheap Chinese vice grips would not work on it. The genuine 'Vice Grips' locked on it and it came right out, with liberal amounts of PB Blaster.

Bonzi Lon

If you are referring to the dust shields, when you covert to the Toyota brake calipers the dust covers will no longer fit. I've had them off for a couple of years now with no issues.

Impact driver work for me too. It got a lot of the 40 year old screws loose no problem. It’s a tool worth having. I don't know if there would be a problem running without the backing plates but I can't think of anything but more road dirt and water. It should not be a problem if the car is a Sunday driver and you keep them clean. I am not an expert.