my bleed nipples are snapped off! Carina

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 2 Jun 2005 15:27
my bleed nipples are snapped off! Carina - sean31
While changing the brake shoes on my Carina e recently i noticed both bleed nipples were snapped.

While i was careful changing shoes and did not need to bleed after at sometime i will have to.

Is the nipple an integral part of the wheel cylinder? ie, can it be removed to a bench to dismantle?

If so what is the alternative to drilling it out? are them EZZI outs any good?

Any suggestions very welcome.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 2 Jun 2005 16:12
my bleed nipples are snapped off! Carina - turbo11
Not familiar with the Carina but i expect like most vehicles the bleed nipples just screw straight into the caliper.Wonder how they broke- never come across that before.May be some rock ape over tightened them!(10ft.lb.usually sufficient)or they were badly corroded in.
Drilling them out is really your LAST option,as the risk of damaging the area where the nipple seats is high and also contamination.I have used easy outs many times.As long as they get a good enough "bite" in the object you are trying to remove they will work.Warming the surrounding area also helps but you will have to be careful not to overheat the piston seals.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 2 Jun 2005 16:16
my bleed nipples are snapped off! Carina - solara
why dont you replace the whole slave cylinder? Will save you time and effort. Dont know about toyota, but on my car they are only 10-15 quid each.

PS If your nipples are corroded in, your brake hose connections will probably be in a similar state. Be prepared to change the connecting flared brake hose pipes.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 2 Jun 2005 17:33
my bleed nipples are snapped off! Carina - sean31
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 2 Jun 2005 19:38
my bleed nipples are snapped off! Carina - Peter D
If car seven years old seals are starting to seap now so best option is to change the cylinders, use 'Plus Gas' on the pipes and fittings once a week for 3 or 4 weeks before starting the job and do not do it on a Sunday as replacement pipes are very difficult to come be after 12pm on Sundays. Regards Peter
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Jun 2005 09:50
my bleed nipples are snapped off! Carina - Cliff Pope
In my experience it is impossible to get them out, and as others have said, not worth the trouble.
But you don't have to bleed from the nipple necessarily. At a push you can sometimes just loosen the hose joint at the caliper. It's messier, but I've known it work for small quantities of air.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Jun 2005 22:02
my bleed nipples are snapped off! Carina - sean31
Thats exactly what i did, changed the two cylinders complete.

Makes the job easier ok , thats if the flared nut (bell mouth?) comes without a struggle.

I found that if you give it an initial"twist" with a vice grips and ease it the rest of the way with the appropriate spanner(10mm), and plenty of WD40,they come off quiet easily.


Seems a shame really as the pistons and bores were in excellent condition on the old ones.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide