Brake bleed screw problem

mazzaratty

I attempted to bleed my rear brake this evening because it felt spongy following a crash a few days ago. When I went to test the brake it was still spongy... I had a look screw and oil was seeping out when I pressed the brake, so I tried to tighten it. I realised the screw wouldn't tighten so I removed it. The thread had been stripped completely!

I'm not sure where I went wrong, it is the first time this brake has been bled. I didn't use a bleed kit, I just use a bleed pipe, unscrew the nipple, press the brake, tighten nipple, release brake etc.... and this method has worked perfectly before (i'm not mechanically minded)

Must I have over-tightened the screw? Also, will this mean I'll need to get a new brake caliper or is there a cheeky quick fix I can try?

02gf74

over tightening the bleed screw would have stripped the thread - they need to be done up a little bit more than finger tight.

calliper is toast - either you retap the hole and use larger diameter bleed screw M8 (M6 being standard screw size) assuming the conical taper on the end is the same angle - or try to fit a helicoil - not sure that would work.

The Rookie

Would almost certainly be cheaper to replace the caliper.

Also learn how to bleed it properly, the way you are doing it is using the bleed nipple more than you should and will increase the chances of a problem.