Bleeder Screw

||Where would I find a bleeder Screw for my Front Caliper. || ||I was almost finished bleeding my brakes, was on my last caliper, driver ||side front, when she wouldn't open. In trying to get her to turn, I ||stripped the bolt/screw.

What's stripped - the hex head or the threads?

||I guess I could try and heat the thing and get it off that way, but I want ||to replace the screw so this doesn't happen in the future.

So is it still in the caliper? I don't think I'd use heat. Try some PB Blaster penetrant. Try tapping the bleeder screw with a hammer to jar the threads. Get some visegrips on it if the hex is rounded.

||Are these bleeder Screws universal?

No. Well, sorta. Any good parts store should have them.

Use teflon tape on the threads when you put the new one in. Texas Parts Guy

The Hex Head.

Yes.

Like Liquid Wrench?

Tried the Visegrips, no luck!! But never tried tapping it.

Thanks for your suggestions, will update soon.

Will try it tomorrow.

Thanks for your suggestion.

Steve

grab your smallest ball-peen hammer, whack it smartly square on the nose 5 or 6 times, drive your cheap 7 mm socket as far as you can on it, and gently remove it and throw it away. works almost every time.

After breaking those damn fittings on air and water cooled VW's for years I finally did try heat (but see below). From a small torch of the type you use to do plumbing work. I had a deep socket ready in one hand and the torch in the other, and my kid standing by with the garden hose just in case. Heated the fitting for a few seconds (ten? thirty? don't recall exactly) tried the wrench, heat, wrench, heat, and so on. And after a bit it just turned right out without any damage or fuss. Note that I'd tried the PB Blaster routine FIRST, so it's possible, or even likely, that the heat helped it do the job. Whatever the case, it's the very first time I've ever done a four wheel bleed without breaking at least one of those fittings. Well, except for the time I'd replaced all four cylinders on an air-cooled bug years back.

In my experience PB Blaster works better than Liquid Wrench, and I'd try this before heat (and did in the above scenario, and got one out of four loose that way). Put it on, let it sit for a while, hit the caliper/cylinder near the fitting to set up some vibrations, and try to take it out. Try a couple of times before giving up.

Yes, except that I'm afraid to really whack the fitting. They seem kind of soft. I suppose it doesn't matter in this case, since it's already damanged and (I'd guess) will be replaced when it's taken out.

Please do. I'm also curious as to your environment. That is, where are you? I'm in New England and these fittings seem to get bonded to the cylinders/calipers in about a year or so and are a pain to get out after that.

- Bill

Jim B.

I've been working on cars since '73 and I've never run across this before. I'll look it up next time out. I did put some of that silvery stuff you use on wheel bolts to keep them from seizing on the ones in my son's Scirocco, but we haven't had to bleed them since, so I don't know if it helped.

I do replace the fittings if they get even slightly damaged or if I take 'em out and they're corroded. Part of my "going to bleed the brakes" shopping trip is to get some fittings.

There's less decay on the brake parts?

But the body doesn't hold up well?

Thanks for the geographical insight. We tend to get fender and/or suspension mounting point rust out up here, with a mix of floor rust through to make things interesting. And damn near any bolt exposed to the weather has to be broken free in some way when it comes time to take it out.

- Bill

Make sure the dust seal cap is in place or they rust internally. Always use a well-fitting socket. It can be a help to tweak it a fraction clockwise first. Brake (rubber) grease will undoubtedly help. Don't overtighten after bleeding. Keep away from garage mechanics unless you are lucky to have a careful one (there must be some out there).

Glad you've got it sorted now.

Everything that needs to be taken loose is more challenging in locations where the cars see salt. Either ocean/gulf salt or ice prevention salt.

I learned early on that those screws do not take much torque. Less than 10 lb. ft.

Bleeding is on the book for VWs every two years. Who knows how stuck things can get in two years. As the other person mentioned the dust caps can help.

I have had people offer me cars from the north. I pass because a southern car with 50,000 - 100,000 more miles is probably going to be in better shape corrosion wise and the drivetrain did not suffer as many below freezing starts. My 84 GTI did not have any rust through even at the windshield when I got rid of it last January.

I always recommend pe>> If you keep having problems with them seizing you might try new screws

Jim B.

That I've heard, and what I've seen up here certainly seems to confirm it.

Seems about right.

Those seem to get lost in operation somehow. I suspect from running through snow. I'd heard about the two years, but I've rarely had to go by that because I've usually ended up bleeding them for some other reason before the tick on that came up. My '87 16V Scirocco is the only VW I've had that I've actually had to do that to. Nothing busted, it was just time to do it.

- Bill

I'm in Maine. I keep my bleeder screws and other underbelly bits from seizing by liberal application of grease.

Bad news: everything underneath is covered in slime...

Good news: No rust...

If you've got a good way to cut the slime, when needed, I suppose that's better than rust.

- Bill

Most parts of the UK don't get snow deep enough to pull off bleeder caps. We've just done a tour through New England from upstate NY-VT-NH-MA-RI-CT, but missed out on Maine - nice area, but you can keep the winter snow!

I've lived in eastern Mass. all my life. I'm very pleased with the scenery and the variability of the weather. But the winters are hard on cars and houses. There are parts of Maine, however, which are powerful beautiful, especially when doused in snow. As to snow and bleader valve caps... when you mash through six inches of snow (I've almost always lived on back roads) it gets thrown up under the car pretty good and can pull off things that aren't well attached. Worse, sometimes it picks up gravel and smaller rocks and such with it, especially as our snow plows tend to do unfortunate things to our roads. I notice when I loose an exhaust hanger, but how do you hear/feel the loss of a bleeder valve cap? When I've replaced cylinders or calipers or even bleeders I always put the caps on them, but I'm never surprised to find some of them gone the next spring.

- Bill

Not but I've come to bleed the fronts before and found some mechanic has snapped the bleeder clean off

||Brake (rubber) grease will undoubtedly help. ||Don't overtighten after bleeding.

Get all new bleeders. They are only a buck or 2 each. Wrap with teflon tape before installing. Threads only, be neat.

Texas Parts Guy

Anyone have a part number for the bleeder screws for 1997 MKIII?

Thanks.

||Anyone have a part number for the bleeder screws for 1997 MKIII?

Raybestos Part # S23925

Texas Parts Guy

Thank you. Is that a VW Part #? If not, where can I get the part at?? Thanks, Sorry for being a Pain in the ass!! Steve