DannyBoyC6

Hey guys, I had an incident at the track today where I came off after the first morning session and had brake fluid all up in the inside of my front right wheel, and smeared all down my caliper. When I got the front end up in the air, I saw that the little rubber cap had popped off the bleed valve - presumably that the valve / screw was leaking and fluid pressure popped the rubber cap off. I grabbed some brake cleaner, cleaned it all up the best I could, snugged the bleed valve down a bit more (it felt pretty damn tight to begin with), and went down to the highway to test it again with some hard stops. Sure enough, the rubber cap had popped off again, and the valve was leaking again.

I have a stock C6 Z51 brake setup except for braided ss lines. Do the stock bleed valves eventually give up (2007 C6) and let fluid through on hard braking? If so, can I just order replacement OEM bleed screws, swap them all and be good to go? I was expecting to see a few threads with a similar situation, but maybe I just screwed up my search!

Thanks as always for the advice!
Dan

Lawdogg

I had one on my '07 Z06 that leaked. I went to NAPA and bought a whole box of bleeders (spares are good). Replaced the leaker and it has been dry ever since.

DarkMastyr

My vote would be just a bad bleeder. Nothing intrinsically bad about them from my limited experience.

SunnydayDILYSI

My guess is it just needs to be tighter. Only area where stock torque settings have done me wrong is on the bleeder screws. The sealant goop on the threads makes the torque wrench brake before it is really fully seated. After several bleeds, you'll start to see leaking around the bleeder screw as well. You'll either need to put new sealant on the threads or need new bleeders with fresh goop. If you tighten the bleeder screw as hard as you can with only using your pinky finger on a wrench and it still leaks, you have a bad bleeder.

SunnydayDILYSI

Follow up safety tip. You don't have to drive the car to see if the bleeder is failing. Just stand on the brake pedal for 20 seconds while parked, or even still up in the air. It'll pop just the same if broken.

DannyBoyC6

When I pick up the replacement bleed screw, what type of sealant is recommended? Any thoughts on cleaning on cleaning out the threads inside the caliper?

ajg1915

Do not use any sealant. I would just clean out with a rag and replace the bleeder. You could have a bad seat on the bleeder or the brake caliper side. The seat is where the materials meet up to form a seal.

blkbrd69

Tried using a calibrated inch pound torque wrench and they always leak. Takes just a "bit" more and they stop. (For Me)