Broken brake bleed nipple

[ianwhitewick]

I've seen a few of these threads, so I know I'm not alone.

The bleed nipple of the front caliper broke off, almost as soon as I touched it!

Does anyone know of anywhere local to Portsmouth that could drill it out and re thread it?

Thanks

[Matt]

I always used to use J W Touts that were between Sainsburys and the Trycorn car park. They seem to have closed down, but I understand from a quick Google that ML UK Ltd bought up their equipment. They are at Mile End in Portsmouth. Good luck.

Matt

[billybradshaw]

ianwhitewick said:

I've seen a few of these threads, so I know I'm not alone.

The bleed nipple of the front caliper broke off, almost as soon as I touched it!

Does anyone know of anywhere local to Portsmouth that could drill it out and re thread it?

Thanks

Do you have the kit to weld a nut onto the end of the nipple? The nut gives you a chance to get a spanner back on it and the heat from the welding will do wonders to break up the corrosion particularly if you blast it with Pipe Freeze or similar when hot. A hot / cold cycle is great for stubborn nuts / bolts / nipples.

HTH

Ian

[ianwhitewick]

Thanks guys. I also took the brave (stupid) step of drilling out the remaining half of the nipple, thinking I may be able to prise out the remaining crap. But no .....

[billybradshaw]

ianwhitewick said:

Thanks guys. I also took the brave (stupid) step of drilling out the remaining half of the nipple, thinking I may be able to prise out the remaining crap. But no .....

You might still be able to save it yourself. To what diameter have you drilled it? If they're M10 nipples you're probably going to have to stick an 8mm drill down it to stand a chance of then being able to collapse the remaining nipple and pick out the threads. Or, try an 'easyout' but take it easy cos if it snaps then you're into the world of spark erosion. Before trying an easyout make sure you put the nipple through several cycles of hot and cold before having a go.

Ian

[ianwhitewick]

Already tried a screw extractor. I'll give the hot and cold a go too.

I drilled it out to 7 or 8mm and then lost my nerve. Probably worth the hot and cold treatment and a bit more poking.

Are new bleed valves really £5 each, seems a bit steep. Anyone know what size valves are on the front four bolt AP calipers?

The good news is that all the remaining valves came out.

[gruffalo]

billybradshaw said:

You might still be able to save it yourself. To what diameter have you drilled it? If they're M10 nipples you're probably going to have to stick an 8mm drill down it to stand a chance of then being able to collapse the remaining nipple and pick out the threads. Or, try an 'easyout' but take it easy cos if it snaps then you're into the world of spark erosion. Before trying an easyout make sure you put the nipple through several cycles of hot and cold before having a go.

Ian

Spark erosion was the way I went straight away when mine snapped, for £10 it seemed the best way forward.

The company that did it erroded the middle out to take a hex key and then it just undid leaving the thread untouched.

£10 well spent I think.

[billybradshaw]

ianwhitewick said:

Already tried a screw extractor. I'll give the hot and cold a go too.

I drilled it out to 7 or 8mm and then lost my nerve. Probably worth the hot and cold treatment and a bit more poking.

Are new bleed valves really £5 each, seems a bit steep. Anyone know what size valves are on the front four bolt AP calipers?

The good news is that all the remaining valves came out.

A fiver seems incredibly expensive, do a search for M10 X 1.0 bleed nipples, you'll need them to be 20mm long I think.

Ian

[Jhonno]

ukkid35 said:

AP Caliper Bleed Nipples - £1 each

Well worth replacing them if not done so already, much cheaper than replacing a caliper.



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130995896756

M10 x 1mm BLEED SCREWS FOR BRAKE CALIPERS AND WHEEL CYLINDERS INCLUDING THE EVER POPULAR PRINCESS 4 POT UNITS AND THE ESCORT CAPRI M16 TYPE CALIPERS

OVERALL LENGTH 30mm, FROM TIP TO UNDERSIDE OF HEX 20mm

[ianwhitewick]

Thanks for the advise and link to cheap valves. I'll keep poking for the moment!

[Erich Stahler]

Try these guys, had four broken nipples, removed and helli-coiled threads where necessary and reconditioned callipers all for a very reasonable price.

http://www.bgdevelopments.co.uk/