Broken bleed screw

Busted off a bleed screw on one of my drum brakes.

Is it risky to drill the remaining screw out, with the chance that metal shavings will get into brake line, or should I just replace the wheel cylinder?

Reply to
Me
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Do they make generic wheel cylinders, or must I got with an OEM?

It costs $45 OEM for my 1999 Altima.... a relatively cheap car!

Reply to
Martin Lynch

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, $18.69

Reply to
Chris Z.

Good grief, Martin! Is that a dealership price?

Try a real parts store.

Reply to
Larry Smith

I think he was talking about the $45 estimate.. NAPA is where repair shops get some of their parts. They get them at NAPA because NAPA carries many additional parts that Autozone, Pep boys and O'reillys don't. The shop where I used to work would get parts from NAPA but generic stuff like spark plugs, brake cleaner, tranny fluid and anti-freeze would come from Autozone.

-Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Chang

Can't you use a bolt extraction tool to remove the remaining part of your bleed valve? It already has a hole drilled in the center. To make sure that you don't get particles in the cylinder, have someone gently push on the brake pedal to force fluid (and particles) out. Wrap a rag around the area and maybe wear some eye protection.

- Dave

Reply to
Dave

NAPA is a great parts chain. They are not always the cheapest, but quality is usually very high.

My comment was aimed at the high price for the cylinder, OEM basis, probably meant dealership. Dealerships, IMHO, often drub people on prices, and parts are not necessarily as good, or as cheap, as top quality aftermarket.

Reply to
Larry Smith

Dave wrote in article ...

I always get a chuckle out of people who believe that "easy outs" and similar broken bolt extraction devices will really work taking out something that in its full-size configuration broke upon removal attempt.

If the full 3/8" or so diameter of the fastener/bleeder was not strong enough to remove it without breaking it, why would something substantially smaller in diameter such as 1/4" or so "easy out" work any better?

I was taught to *never* attempt to use an "easy out" on anything that I, personally, didn't just break while installing it. That would be the *only* way to know exactly how tight it was when broken, and know that it was not corroded/rusted solid.

Attempting to remove something that broke because it was corroded and/or rusted in probably has a 10 percent or less success rate, and often results in a harder steel "easy out" broken off inside the previously broken fastener - forcing a decision that should have been made upon the initial breaking of the fastener/bleeder.

The end result is, often, that a trip to the parts store to pick up a new part would have consumed less time, and had a much better result for the time expended.

After you've broken the "easy out" or chewed things up so badly that you'll never be able to install a new bleeder/fastener, then you *still* have to make that trip to the parts store - only now it is a couple or more hours later - time which might have been spent effecting the complete repair.

BTW - There are "repair" bleeders available that require you to drill the hole to a specified oversize. The part then "taps" its own threads into the wheel cylinder/caliper, and the new bleeder screw is threaded into that self-tapping boss.

If I had a situation such as an irreplaceable antique brake cylinder, or a two-week, special order part, I would go the replacement bleeder route, never even considering the use of an "easy out."

My past experience and observations tell me that the odds are against "easy out" success in the majority of cases - with the single exception I mentioned above.

Bob Paulin - R.A.C.E. Chassis Analysis Services

Reply to
Bob Paulin

"Bob Paulin" wrote in message news:01c365d1$439033c0$d69ac3d8@race...

Bob, I tend to agree with your above thinking. However, there is one particular situation where I have had fantastic success in using an EZ-Out where it was so much smaller than the original bolt. This situation is where you have the opportunity to heat the broken off stud, or actually where you can heat the body containing the threads holding the stud. I've had numerous "do-it-yourselfers who had gotten an air impact wrench for Christmas" bring me that old v-8 Chevrolet where they had rung off--get this: USUALLY BOTH, before they realized it was in 'forward' : starter bolts which hold the starter to the bell-housing & where the bolts screw vertically into the bell-hsng.. I think it ALWAYS happened such the bolts sheared off up inside the bell-housing hole, which eliminated ANY hope of using vice grips. I took my time years ago and modified--and still have them--several varying length cap-screws the same size as the originals bolts. Cut off the threaded end to where the end would barely butt up against the end of the broken stud, and where the head of the modified cap-screw fit flush against the bottom of the b-housing. I drilled a 1/8 hole as close to the center of the cap-screw as possible w/ just a center punch and drill press. Using this modded cap-screw as a guide, I'd run my

1/8 drill thru the 'centered' hole, the bit supported by the modded cap-screw, and into the rung-off end of the starter bolts. Then heated bell-housing w/acetylene. Then used EZ-out with a slight tap from a small hammer to 'set' it into the drilled & broken starter bolt--and usually with a small 1/4 inch drive socket & ratchet that would snugly grasp the square end of the EZ out, it'd bring that sucker right out! NOW! I have to be honest about the "rest of the story". No, I did not figure out this procedure; rather a gentleman, the closest friend I ever had, & obviously whose mechanical skills I admired to the utmost, removed the first and only one I ever rung off, with a similar tool I watched him make in a matter of just a few minutes. Needless to say, I had made my own set within the next 24 hours--2, one being a tad longer. Actually, if it is a little shorter than the 'hole', it'll still work fine. But if it's too long, it would not offer much help. Hopefully, this bit of info will save others countless hours in repairing those 'stupid' mistakes we all make from time to time. My friend's name: Sam Gandy, the best self-taught "mechanical engineer" I've ever met. Maybe interesting also, he was a quiet, humble person of small stature but great wisdom who never ventured far from his country birthplace in SC. When he was approx. 65 years old, and I was about 30, my daughters wanted to go to Charlotte, NC, to the circus. Who did I invite to go? And who had never been to one? And who agreed to go with us? And who had the most fun?--it'd be a toss-up, with my having a slight edge, as I had a very admirable companion along and he may not have!!! Happy weekend, sdlomi
Reply to
sdlomi

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