Hey folks-
I'm trying to bleed the brakes in my 81 to get rid of a soft, spongy brake pedal since I put new pads on the car.

The two rear calipers bled no problem. I moved to the front right caliper, and the bleeder screw is totally stuck. Many attempts of me trying to get it to open up resulted in me rounding off the edges of the bleeder screw 'nut'.

I guess my next option is to replace the entire caliper- looks like in order to do that, I'll need to disconnect the front brake hose from the hard brake line to get the hose off with the old caliper.

Technically, this all looks easy enough, but I'm really worried about the hard brake line nut rounding off as well- I'm sure it's been years and years, if ever, that it's been turned. I don't want this to turn into an even bigger problem if I can help it.

Before I go all in and mess with that hard brake line nut and replace the caliper, does anybody have any ideas how I might get that stuck bleeder screw out? I've tried Vise Grips with no luck.

Thanks-

 

you can try heating it with a torch or soaking it in a 50/50 mix of ATF & Acetone and try a few taps with a brass hammer

 

You should have used either a 6 point socket, a six point closed box end wrench, or a fuel line fitting wrench. You wouldn't have rounded your bleeder fitting that way (it might have broken though). Assuming you have fully rounded the bleeder fitting I'd heat the fitting with a torch and spray PB blaster on it. Keep the oil off the rotor and pads. Don't heat so hot as to melt the caliper dust boots but keep in mind brakes get hot when braking. Several heat spray cycles and on final heat attempt (when still good and hot) use the vise grips to try to loosen (set them tight to keep from spinning). Don't burn yourself or your car. Lots of luck. Russ

 

Poncho,

Since the bleeder screw is toast, I would take a dremel tool and grind two flat spots on opposite sides of the hex large enough to get good contact area with the vise grip clamping surface. Soak with PB blaster, ATF and acetone, or whatever you like using for a few hours (or overnight). Then adjust the vise grips so they lock very tightly onto the flats and then add the heat to try and break the rust. Good luck.

MajD

 

Never tried it myself but I've heard of guys heating them up and dousing them with cold water before they try turning them. Vice grips are the tool of choice now that the flats are gone. Might as well try it since the next step is to change the caliper.

 

 

I have broken my share of bleeder screws before I got "educated"...
FIRST, get a Fire Extinguisher and have it ready, just in case... check to be absolutely sure there is no gasoline around while doing this!
SECOND, use a low temp torch (NO oxy/acetylene setup allowed) or if you have a good hot air gun that can work too, it just takes longer.
THIRD, using a wire brush clean the base of the bleeder screw of any corrosion or dirt where it threads into the caliper.
Now apply heat to the screw and to the base near the threads where it screws into the caliper with a torch, (not too hot as you are playing with aluminum) and then soak the bleeder screw and its threads at the base with KROIL OIL (my ALL-TIME favorite) or WD-40 and let it set for a few minutes. It will make a lot of smoke but don't worry unless you see flames. Then heat it up and repeat the procedure. The second time you heat it up there will be some burning of the excess oil possibly, do not be alarmed, you should be able to blow it out.
Let it sit a few hours like this, then since the screw is buggered up anyway use a pair of Vice-Grips and clamp them on tight. Once you have the vice grips on it then slowly wiggle it back and forth, (tighter and looser) a tiny bit and then try to back it out. If it still hesitates heat it up and oil it down again, I have never had one break since I have been doing this. My 1988 Vette calipers had their originals and all four came out with the first application of heat and (thin) oil.

 

Go with the heat. The other thing I do on ANYTHING that is stuck is to TIGHTEN it. I cannot explain why it works, but it seems to break the rust etc a little loose. And when you put your new bleeder screw in, put a dab of never seize on it.

 

The folk at Speedbleeder are experts at removing stuck/broken bleeders.

 

Well I soaked the bleeder screw overnight in PB Blaster, and this afternoon I took the Dremel tool and ground 2 new flats on the rounded off screw, as suggested. The screw came right off, no problem. Go figure. Really happy I didn't have to fool with replacing the caliper!

I appreciate everyone's help! Thanks-

 

You see great things can happen when we share our ideas and offer solutions and suggestions!

Doing what you did in removing the Bleeder screw without having to replace the caliper probably saved you a lot of aggravation and money. Isn't it nice to be able to fix it yourself? The next time you run across a stuck or frozen fastener you will know that you can handle it! A great job by the way...

I have learned so much since I have been watching this Forum. The amount of knowledge in this Forum is incredible. When we share our personal knowledge with others we all benefit and we learn at the same time.

To all you guys out there who contribute regularly, I salute you and I offer a hearty "thank you". YOU are what makes this Forum so great.