Brake Bleeder Screw is Leaking

[turbo99]

I noticed that some brake fluid was leaking out of one of the bleeder screws. The weird part is that when I tried to tighten it (Clockwise), it started to leak out even more. I think I may have stripped the threading when I re-bled the lines. Oops! It totally sucks. I need your help. What can I do to fix this problem? Can I go to a parts store and just buy a new bleeder screw? It's a Wilwood kit by the way. Here's a pic of it:

 

[swanny]

Pull the bleeder screw out, check the threads, replace if necessary and wrap the screw with some teflon tape. If the threads in the caliper itself are messed up you might have to re-tap them.

 

[turbo99]

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Pull the bleeder screw out, check the threads, replace if necessary and wrap the screw with some teflon tape. If the threads in the caliper itself are messed up you might have to re-tap them.

I'm sure the threads on the gold screw is fine. It's the small nipple screw. If anything else, I can just replace the entire 2-piece bleeder screw with a one piece one, right?

 

[turbo99]

Okay, I just replaced the two piece and the leak has stopped, kinda. It was leaking from the top before, but when I apply max pressure to the brakes, it now starts to leak out a little from the bottom of the gold screw. Dammit! What can I apply on the gold screw threads to make the seal tighter and leak-proof? RTV Silicone? Teflon tape? Remember, brake fluid is highly corrosive, so it has to be something that will be resistant to it. Please help.

 

[turbo99]

So is there anyone out there that recommend something I can use to apply on the threads to make a leak-proof seal????

 

[E_SolSi]

id call wilwood

 

[phyregod]

I know brake fluid will eat teflon tape.. You really should call wilwood..

Also, it sounds like you are over-tightening things. Brake bleeder screws don't have to be tight as all hell.. and making them extra-tight will cause a leak instead of seal it. I'd get a new set of bleeders from wilwood and torque them to spec. If you haven't damaged the seat inside the caliper, life should be good.

 

[turbo99]

I just called Wilwood. They recommended maybe putting a little bit of lock-tite. What do you think? I'll probably just order a new bleeder screw from them.

 

[swanny]

New screw + high temp loc-tite sounds like a good plan, now that I think about it teflon tape was a bad idea... lol sorry.

 

[phyregod]

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New screw + high temp loc-tite sounds like a good plan, now that I think about it teflon tape was a bad idea... lol sorry.

Loc-tite sounds like a really bad idea.. This is me guessing though, it would seem like brake fluid would break down the loc-tite, and if it didn't, your bleeders would be mad-stuck.

 

[cheese9988]

There is no dirt or anything else in the hole is there. It won't make a good seal if there is, just something else to check.

 

[turbo99]

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New screw + high temp loc-tite sounds like a good plan, now that I think about it teflon tape was a bad idea... lol sorry.

Loc-tite sounds like a really bad idea.. This is me guessing though, it would seem like brake fluid would break down the loc-tite, and if it didn't, your bleeders would be mad-stuck.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but it would only be applied to the gold screw where it connects to the caliper. See the pic for more details. I shouldn't really have to remove that ever, but using Loc-Tite is kinda scary if I do ever need to remove it for some reason. I did see a high temp thread sealer at a parts store. I might try that along with the replacement bleeder screw from Wilwood.