jleonard71

I painted my calipers this weekend, and I decided to go ahead and swap out the bleeder screws for some "Earl's Solo-Bleed" screws so I can bleed the brakes by myself, and as I was putting in the last one the head snapped right off as I was tightening it. I wasn't over torquing it or anything, the screw was still turning when it broke off. So what can I do? Will I need to buy a whole new caliper? Or is there any way to get it out?? I tried grabbing the part that is stuck in the caliper and with some pliers and tried to turn it, but no dice. I sure hope I don't need a new caliper, that would SUCK!

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

Pretty easy to take out if you have the proper tools to do the job.

You need a reverse screw extractor.

This should do the trick. Since the bleeder screw already has a hole in it you don't need to drill a hole to put the extractor bit into it.

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...llow&cId=PDIO1

obby

iTrader: (9)

damm that suck. GL on taking it out bro.

jleonard71

The problem with using the reverse screw extractor is that the self-bleeder screw isn't hollow in the middle like a regular bleeder screw. It has a plunger which extends down the middle of the screw, so I would need to somehow drill that out first to be able to use an extractor.



The good news is that I tried the brakes and it isn't leaking any fluid, so it must have broken off when the plunger was in the "closed" position. But being that I took the screw out, would that have allowed air into the lines which would need to be bled out right away? Or would it be safe to drive around like this until I have the time to fix it?

jleonard71

After doing a little reseach online it seems like my options are:

A) Use a broken screw extractor (which may not work in this case because of what I described above)
B) Take it to a machine shop and have them drill out the entire thing with a drill press, most likely stripping the threads in the caliper as well, and then just have them re-thread the hole in the caliper for the next size larger bleeder screw.
C) Just leave it as-is and be unable to bleed the front drivers side brake line ever again.
D) Buy a rebuilt caliper for just $150 here: http://www.theautopartsshop.com/auto...iper+2008.html

streetx

iTrader: (4)

worth a shot

try using a vice grip to clamp down really hard on it. then try unscrewing

jleonard71

I thought of doing that, but it seems like the metal is very soft (aluminum??) and I wouldn't want to deform the screw by clamping on it with vice grips becuase that would make it even hard to get out with a reverse drill bit. I think I'll try the reverse bit first and see if I can even do with the plunger in there, and if not then I'll try the vice grips.

tenspeed

iTrader: (1)

Option E: go to the old time hardware store and buy a left handed drill bit.

It should back out as soon as the flukes bite into the metal.

jleonard71

Tried that, but being that the bleeder has a sort of plunger which sticks out of it, I can't get a reverse drill bit in there. Still haven't found a way to get it out yet. Tried the reverse bit, tried the vice grips, and next I'm going to try cutting two small slots in the edges with a grinder and try to "unscrew" it.

It's a shame I didn't buy the Speed Bleeders, because as part of their warranty they will remove a broken bleeder screw at no charge if you send the caliper in to them.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

They don't need to be any tighter than about 80 in-lbs. The center is brass so it will drill like butter, and it will come out like nothing ever happened. Your scenarios for repair are pretty over dramatized. If you lived in ATL, I'd have you bring it by the house and you'd be on your way with a new piece in 20 minutes - the longest part of the job being getting the car raised and the wheel off...

Slotting it and using a flat blade screw driver might work just fine too if there is material above the surface of the caliper.

Saying you'll warranty a broken bleeder means you know they're going to break. I've not had that problem with Earl's solobleeds on all three cars in my garage or the IS350 I traded for my F.

jleonard71

I would LOVE to see you get this thing out in 20 minutes! I just spent over an hour with 3 different "reverse bit" kits, and no luck. The screw was extremely tight when I put it in, which is what I'm guessing caused it to break because it snapped off before I even had it in all the way. I know I didn't cross-thread it because I backed it out half way through screwing it in and looked at the threads and they were fine, so I put it back in and kept going. And I didn't over-torque it because I didn't even get to that point, it broke before it was even all the way in.

The next thing I was going to try was to take a 9mm drill bit (it's a 10mm screw) and drill out the center completely and then hopefully the remaining walls of the screw will be thin enough that I use a screw driver to deform the thing and pry it out, and hopefully I won't mess up the threads in the process. I'm afraid of doing that though because I don't want to lose the little "plunger" end inside the caliper, and I also don't want to get any metal shavings inside of it. So that has me hesitant to go that route.

THIS SUCKS! Damn you Earl's Solo Bleeders!!

ming15237

iTrader: (3)

Just post a picture of this thing and let the "professionals" tell you how to get it out. This is NOT that big of a deal.

jleonard71

This is where I'm at right now. I tried vice grips, but there wasn't enough sticking out of the caliper to grab onto. Then I tried cutting two slots in it with a hacksaw so I could "unscrew" it, but that didn't work because it's very soft and the metal just crumpled when I tried to turn it. Then I tried the screw extractor - started with a small one, then moved one step larger, then moved up to the largest one, and no luck with any of them. I tried it with a drill, and my drill started smoking because it wouldn't turn - and it's a pretty high powered drill (corded, not battery). Also tried using a long wrench on the end of the bit (it has a square end) and put a good amount of torque on it, tried hitting it with a hammer, and it still didn't budge.

As you can see I have drilled out the center plunger, and I would say I'm about 2/3 of the way through the entire screw. One thing I don't want to do is end up drilling all the way through and have metal shavings or the end of the plunger fall inside of the caliper, because having pieces of metal floating around in there can't be good.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Didn't you say it wasn't leaking, but you knew you wouldn't be able to bleed it or take it out again? That means it is fully seated over the bleed hole and fully tightened. If it weren't, it would leak like a sieve. So, you can't say it isn't tight, and you can't say you didn't overtighten it and break it, because if it were the slightest bit loose, the plunger would leak fluid as soon as you push on the brake pedal.

If I were you at this point, I'd take it to a machine shop and have them do the extraction. They have the tools and experience to get this done without damaging the threads. I've seen a lot worse. I used to work in a motorcycle machine shop doing cylinder heads, and people with bikes often seem to have more strength than sense when tightening things on bike engines. I've done a lot of this.

baurkika

check out this link: http://www.speedbleeder.com/News.htm
found under this thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...oken-help.html