Grrr... Broken Bleeder Screw

[Deltona_Dave]

Was almost done flushing the brakes on the Titan, when I got to the L/F, put the box wrench on the bleeder and gave it a palm tap to loosen the bleeder screw. Darn thing snapped off flush with the caliper. The other three came loose with no problem, just a nudge with the palm to open them.

At least it is still closed and not leaking. I am more worried about the old, spent fluid still in the lines, when the other three have new fluid.

I think I will spray it with Blaster, and use a screw extractor to get it out, if that does not work, I will try a drill. I would hate to buy a new caliper.


Any thoughts?
Dave

 

[nwjones18]

Well I wouldn't spend very much time worrying about the old brake fluid. Its not going to give you any real problems. It will be fine till you get around to it. No reason to rush, and while it wouldn't have helped you in this case. Flare-nut wrenches are best for breaking loose those bleeders. I've rounded off several with a box end. Your thoughts on how to get it out are as good as mine. I think you'll get it out.

 

[Deltona_Dave]

I used a 6 point box end, just for the rounding off. My brake fluid was pretty dark, which made it real easy to tell when the new fluid was all the way through.

Should have let the dealer do it...(NOT!)

Dave

 

[Johnny248]

Originally Posted By: Deltona_Dave
.

Should have let the dealer do it...(NOT!)

Dave


you SHOULD have let the deaer do it. We would have been eating a new caliper for your truck.

 

[eljefino]

If you *have to* bleed it because you're getting shot at or whatever, take the caliper off, stick a chunk of wood between the pads, orient it so the banjo bolt is the highest point, have someone stand on the pedal, crack the banjo and tighten 'er back down.

Of course this doesn't get the volume of fluid within the caliper itself, but you're going to swap that out pretty soon anyway.

 

[Deltona_Dave]

Originally Posted By: Johnny248
Originally Posted By: Deltona_Dave
.

Should have let the dealer do it...(NOT!)

Dave


you SHOULD have let the deaer do it. We would have been eating a new caliper for your truck.


Or, they may just say oops, he'll never know and leave it at that. Unlikely, but possible. Anyways, I am not going to loose sleep over it, and at worst, I will need a new caliper housing..

 

[hounddog]

Dealer or mechanic would not have 'eaten it' its your caliper that has a seized bolt.A re man caliper may not be very much money.Some are as low as $25 bucks.You can pull the caliper off and repair on a work bench.Might be easier and a better job.This is not uncommon in snow belt states or coastal.I'm on some diesel truck forums and the snapped off bleeder screw is a common post.I sprayed all of mine down with PB blaster just as a precautionary and I'm not in a salt state before changing my brake fliud.

 

[Pete]

This happens, even if you use Blaster or Kroil, sometimes. That bleeder metal is sooo ductile.

Good luck carefully extracting the bleeder--it might not be bad to know the part number of the replacement caliper, and have the Altima available in case the extraction doesn't turn out perfectly...

 

[Vikas]

What makes you think a repair shop will "eat" it? They will make the dreaded call and tell you that your truck needs new caliper. In this case, it will not be their fault. Even if it were their fault, they will still get their money.

 

[Johnny248]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
What makes you think a repair shop will "eat" it? They will make the dreaded call and tell you that your truck needs new caliper. In this case, it will not be their fault. Even if it were their fault, they will still get their money.


I don't know.. I would have just replaced it. Realy is a little bit of money to throw at policy to keep a customer.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Johnny248
Originally Posted By: Vikas
What makes you think a repair shop will "eat" it? They will make the dreaded call and tell you that your truck needs new caliper. In this case, it will not be their fault. Even if it were their fault, they will still get their money.


I don't know.. I would have just replaced it. Realy is a little bit of money to throw at policy to keep a customer.

Why would you replace the caliper?

Wouldn't it be cheaper, easier and faster for your tech to have extracted the screw and install a new bleeder screw?

 

[Ducati996]

I just finished replacing brake lines on a suburban with frozen bleeders and bleed the system as follows.
Remove the caliper’s as though you were going to replace the pads, do not loosen the banjo fitting, next pump the brake pedal to push the piston outbeing careful not to go to far as a precaution you can install a block of wood to prevent this.
Never push the brake pedal to the floor when doing this or bleeding otherwise the master cyl may be damaged. Push the pedal no more than ½ way to prevent from damaging the internal seals due to dirt/sludge/corrosion in the master cyl.
Now holding the caliper with the banjo fitting as the high point push the piston back in, this will force the old fluid and air into the master cylinder.
Repeat this process 2 or 3 times problem solved.
When I replace pads I remove the brake fluid from the master cyl then push all the calipers in, this moves all the old brake fluid/air to the master cyl where I once again remove the remainder of the old fluid and refill with new.
Always install cover on master cylinder when doing this otherwise brake fluid can squirt out and ruin your paint.

 

[Eddie]

I used an extractor after drilling the smallest hole possible. I removed the bleeder and flushed the caliper without the bleeder to hopefully remove any left over bits. Installed a new bleeder and bleed brakes normally. That was over 40,000 miles ago so it worked for me. That is the reason I now only use a 6 pt wrench of the correct size and give a gentle tap to the top of any bleeder before loosing.