Brake work

I replaced a split brake line on a 1994 Camry over the weekend. Looking
at the set makes me glad to see that my stainless, (non-loosening for
over 4 years now), brake lines are not necessarily just for a cosmetic
effect.

This makes me want to replace any original brake lines after they are
about 10 to 12 years old, maybe 15 at the most.
I would have replaced all four on this car, but it is not to be around
much longer and Toyota wants $72.00 each for that little rubber hose.

It would have been an easy repair, but the gorilla that worked on the
brakes last time put a huge amount of torque on the bleeder valves, so
they snapped off and laughed at all efforts to remove them with a screw
extractor.

One more reason I like to do this sort of thing myself.

This happened at a shop that I would have previously recommended, but
apparently they let the "new guy" finish off the bleeding part of the
brake repair that day.

Pat

pws > wrote:

> It would have been an easy repair, but the gorilla that worked on
> the brakes last time put a huge amount of torque on the bleeder
> valves, so they snapped off and laughed at all efforts to remove
> them with a screw extractor.

We used to run into that guy at the shop, he really put the torque on
oil filters! There were a couple that required cutting off the can
(messy!) and using an air chisel to remove the mounting plate.

Bleeder valves were often stuck, they may come out without breaking if
you're very careful and take plenty of time, the secret is to use lots
of force to untwist w/o any sideways force, not always easy to do.



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XS11E wrote:

> Bleeder valves were often stuck, they may come out without breaking if
> you're very careful and take plenty of time, the secret is to use lots
> of force to untwist w/o any sideways force, not always easy to do.

The first one may have come out with some sideways force, but I used
break-free solvent and was very careful with the second one, and it
still snapped off.

The person who did this may have tightened them enough to weaken the
metal too, as they seemed to snap off with very little effort from a
short wrench.

Luckily the car has rear drums, which puts the bleeder valves in a
position where it is hard to put too much force on them, so they came free.

Just 2 rebuilt front calipers this time, which were only a little more
in total cost than the single brake line hose from the Toyota stealership.

Fun stuff.......

Pat

"XS11E" > wrote in message
. ..

> Bleeder valves were often stuck, they may come out without breaking if
> you're very careful and take plenty of time, the secret is to use lots
> of force to untwist w/o any sideways force, not always easy to do.

I use a T- handle and socket to loosen stuck bleeder screws to avoid that
sideways force.
Sometimes they still snap off.

"Chas Hurst" > wrote:

>
> "XS11E" > wrote in message
> . ..
>
>> Bleeder valves were often stuck, they may come out without
>> breaking if you're very careful and take plenty of time, the
>> secret is to use lots of force to untwist w/o any sideways force,
>> not always easy to do.
>
> I use a T- handle and socket to loosen stuck bleeder screws to
> avoid that sideways force.

That's the best way but there isn't always room to do that.

> Sometimes they still snap off.

Sounds to me like you failed to make the proper blood sacrifice before
trying to turn the screw..... ;-)



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"XS11E" > wrote in message
.. .
>>
> That's the best way but there isn't always room to do that.
>
I've removed calipers to get a shot at the bleeder. And if the bleeder snaps
off, it's already out of the car-ready for a repair kit bleeder or an
exchange rebuilt.