Brake bleeder valve leaking

dastrups

dastrups

Well-Known Member
My front passenger brake bleeder valve is leaking where it threads in. I have it nice and snug but I never overtightened it so it shouldn’t be damaged. Brand new caliper setup from DF. Noticed the problem from the very moment I first went to bleed the brakes and it was leaking out of the threaded location. Also noted that the leaking out by the threads was dark brown rather than clear. Brake fluid was nice and clean somehow when I was bleeding it. Any recommendations?
 
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Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
You might be able to use Teflon taoe to stop the leak. As far as the color, I'm not sure if the supplied calipers are new or rebuilt so maybe rebuilt and not cleaned very well?
 
OptimizePrime

OptimizePrime

Goblin Guru
I had brake fluid leaks for a very long time, either at the valve or the line fitting. For the fronts, in my experience you can just go tighter without a real fear of stripping it out. The rear valves are fairly easy to strip out so be very careful there.
 
jamesm

jamesm

Goblin Guru
Several folks have had to tighten, loosen, and retighten those bleeders several times to get the seat and seal completely.
 
KSLunsfo

KSLunsfo

Well-Known Member
jamesm said:
Several folks have had to tighten, loosen, and retighten those bleeders several times to get the seat and seal completely.
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I have a hard line - braided line connection that's always wet. There's never enough to actually drip down, but enough to make a wet spot maybe half the size of a pinky finger nail... perhaps I need to try this. I have already tightened it considerably.
 
dastrups

dastrups

Well-Known Member
Ross said:
Interesting find. It will help bleed the brakes, but the fundamental problem of seating at the bottom of the threads is still the same for this bleeder as it is for the stock one. If fluid can get past the base seat, it will go past the threads and out.
View attachment 23649
Click to expand...
True true. I may just start with a new bleeder valve and some Teflon tape and try the back and forth to get it worn in.
 
Waterdriver

Waterdriver

Goblin Guru
Re-seating the bleeder screw a few times to bed the bleeder valve to caliper as mentioned might work.
Teflon tape is used to seal a tapered pipe thread and this isn't the case here.
Something in seat areas is preventing it from sealing together.

Take the bleeder screw out, check the seat. It should be a smooth, tapered surface. No pits or gouges. Visually check the seat in the caliper. Make sure there's no debris in there to not let the bleeder face seat. (Lint from a rag, thread flashing, etc) Also check for any imperfections in the seat.
Chuck the bleeder screw up in drill with the seat facing out and use a scotch brite pad to clean/polish the bleeder screw seat.
Flush/clean the bleeder screw with brake cleaner and reassemble.
 
dastrups

dastrups

Well-Known Member
Waterdriver said:
Re-seating the bleeder screw a few times to bed the bleeder valve to caliper as mentioned might work.
Teflon tape is used to seal a tapered pipe thread and this isn't the case here.
Something in seat areas is preventing it from sealing together.

Take the bleeder screw out, check the seat. It should be a smooth, tapered surface. No pits or gouges. Visually check the seat in the caliper. Make sure there's no debris in there to not let the bleeder face seat. (Lint from a rag, thread flashing, etc) Also check for any imperfections in the seat.
Chuck the bleeder screw up in drill with the seat facing out and use a scotch brite pad to clean/polish the bleeder screw seat.
Flush/clean the bleeder screw with brake cleaner and reassemble.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this. I will try tonight. Great advice. Learning a lot from all of you.
 
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