Went to bleed the brakes today and had a helluva time trying to loosen one of the screws. I started to round the nut a little so I stopped for now. I figured I would try more PBBlaster and a little heat but any other advice would be appreciated.

I figured I would go ahead and replace the screws since I started to damage the one. I can't seem to find any on the web, is my only option the dealer for these?

 

Look online for "Speed Bleeders", they make it easier to bleed your brakes too.....

 

I wish you luck, them majority of times I've run into this condition the caliper piston itself was also sticky/corroded, etc (was in NE land of salt and muck). The local Auto Parts International often had refurb units at a good price and I'd swap the whole darn thing out...

(Talking VW's, Audi's and Honda's and a Toyota truck twice- luckily my MINI's didn't live in NE long enough to suffer that..)

 

I've always heard folks running into issues with speed bleeders leaking so I tend to stay away from them.

I would hate to have to replace the whole caliper, I imagine it's not cheap!

 

You might try tapping (lightly) straight down on bleeder with light hammer/mallad. Lightly enough not to peen over top of bleeder. By tapping straight down on it you loosen up any corrosion that has built up on threads of bleeder. Re: possible rounded bleeder - use small vise grip on it.

 

Taking heat to the caliper can be a little touchy and I agree with the post about the caliper being the culprit (could be wrong but most I've seen were the expensive part, Murphy and his laws you know). I also have had trouble getting speed bleeders to seal and they won't address the issue of corrosion any better than a regular bleeder. I just picked up calipers through Rock Auto on line and the prices were very reasonable. If you get new ones try wiping a beed of caliper brease at the junction between the bleed nipple and the caliper, with the bleeder in place, you don't want anything but brake fluid in the caliper! It might keep things free for the next time you do the job. Good luck.

 

A few thoughts. For initial loosening be sure to use a six-point socket, or box end wrench - less tendency for rounding off the bleed nipples. If the socket or wrench is not really snug, that is, rocks for a few degrees when installed on the nipples, things can be snugged up a bit with some foil. A little tapping helps - nothing heavy - I find a small brass malet is ideal, as well as a long soak in a good penetrating fluid. Remember that the bleed nipple is hollow, has a drilled passage down the center and as such, the breaking torque is going to be less that that of a bolt. When they break, I have never had good luck rescuing the caliper with an ez-out, bolt extractor.

In any event, when working on these things one needs to be prepared for a failure - that is, probably should not start the job if broken bleed nipple is going to leave you stranded - one needs a 'plan B' for breakage of the nipple. Hope some of this is helpful.

 

phoxx47 - Good post. My experience is the same. I would only add that heat, as a last resort, is the best bet. There's probably a 50-50 chance of getting the bleeder out with a torch. If it's out, great. If not, it really doesn't matter if if the caliper is destroyed by the torch or the crushed bleeder.

 

I realized too late that I should have started with a socket. I started with an open-end wrench, then box-end (which is what slipped badly and started rounding the screw), then used a socket. The socket was holding fast but at that point I was worried about breaking the whole thing.

Looks like the caliper isnt as bad as I thought. Rock Auto has the screws as well so I guess I'll pick some of those up, if I break it I'll have to grab a new caliper.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

If you haven't damaged the caliper yet, you can always consider taking it to a local machinist. They'll do the job for you and it will probably cost a lot less than a new caliper.

 

looking to replace my brake bleed screws.

what size are they?

 

Not sure what year/model you have. This would work for my 2005 Cooper S

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-C...w_All/ES59482/

You can put in your year, make, model on the above website, then search brake parts.