mwpayne

I soaked that thing for weeks with kroil, PB, etc. Still snapped off with just a little effort to remove.
Whats the best way to handle this?
79 front brakes .

mustanghammer

iTrader: (3)

I would look at something like this:

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...0&gclsrc=aw.ds

To use the kit, you drill out the broken bleeder and then install a new brass seat and use the matching bleeder. Since you you will need to disassemble the caliper to clean it out after you drill out the bleeder you'll also want to get a rebuild kit. My advice would be to pull the piston out and examine the bore to make sure the caliper is still viable. If the piston bore is heavily scored or pitted from rust it probably isn't worth the effort to repair the bleeder.

TomU

iTrader: (11)

Before you do anything drastic like tapping inserts, try extracting the broken bleeder first. I broke a speed bleeder and they recommended using an allen wrench (can't find their instructions any more though). You drill a small hole slightly smaller than a small allen wrench that is smaller than the bleeder diameter. The bleeder is generally a soft metal and you can gently tap the allen wrench into the bleeder. It worked. An extractor bit may work as well. Also heat helps loosen the threads. There's a lot of info on the interwebs on how to do this.

EDIT:

Speed bleeder removed their instructions, but found it copied...

Procedure for removing a broken Speed Bleeder

For those who would like to remove a broken Speed Bleeder themselves, I will explain the best way to remove the broken Speed Bleeder. Read these instructions over and over until you understand the procedure and feel comfortable tackling this job. If you still have questions or don't understand the steps you can call me or e-mail me for clarification.

Do not use an EZ-Out! I can't emphasize this enough! This tool is too brittle and hardened and nine times out of ten you will snap it off and loose any hope of removing the broken part. Before you can remove the broken part you will have to remove the spring and stainless steel ball. The spring can be removed by using a piece of wire or pick. The ball can be removed with a blast of air from an air compressor. If you still cannot remove the ball because of a burr at the area where the break occurred you can use a drill bit to clean up the burr. Then the blast of air should remove the ball. Next, drill a hole in the Speed Bleeder with a 5/32" drill bit. A good quality cordless battery powered drill such as "Dewalt" works best for this step. It is easily maneuvered and has a built-in clutch to minimize drill breakage. Try not to go all the way through the bottom of the Speed Bleeder. Then take a 5/32" hex wrench (allen wrench) and tap it into the hole that you just drilled. Use a quality hex wrench brand. A quality hex wrench will be hardened and tempered which makes it strong and ideal for the job. The corners of the 5/32" hex wrench will bite into the sides of the hole and act like an EZ-Out. Then carefully turn out the broken part of the Speed Bleeder. If the wrench twists in the hole and will not remove the broken Speed Bleeder use the next larger size drill bit and corresponding hex wrench. This procedure is the way I remove a broken Speed Bleeder and hasn't let me down yet. Be patient and be careful when doing this procedure. I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Oh yes! and wear safety goggles!

Think this procedure would work for a regular bleeder (minus having to remove the ball valve). Note, they recommend NOT using an extractor. If that breaks, you've just compounded your problem

mwpayne

Sounds great, thanks! I’ll try that tomorrow.
Looks like caliper rebuild kits available at Rockauto.

midnight mechanic

drill a hole in the broken bleeder, use an easy out, counter thread bolt extractor.

https://www.harborfreight.com/screw-...-pc-61981.html

but don't get it from harbor freight, because it if it breaks, you are twice as screwed.

midnight mechanic

drill a hole in the stuck bleeder, then use this
https://www.harborfreight.com/screw-...-pc-61981.html
but don't get it from harbor freight.

yeti

iTrader: (1)

@mwpayne I have SA calipers and in South Knoxville if you are interested.

mwpayne

Interesting! Calipers or not we’ll have to meet up one day!
I took them to a machine shop. If that doesn’t work I may hit you up.