Brake Bleed Nipple Sheared!

[gus-lopez]

fit a new O-ring, or is it a more major job?

On the transit it isn't an O ring but a shaped conical seal that sits on the end of pipe and flare. If the metal pipe comes out ,leaving the seal inside, if you do not remove it before pushing the pipe in it can push the seal inside. It certainly does at the master cylinder end. Hope you manage to seal it OK?

 

[Lenny HB]

My bonnet must be smaller as I can only get my head and one arm in

Googlebot has an Exsis much more room under the bonnet than yours Steve. The whole bonnet lifts off.

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

On the transit it isn't an O ring but a shaped conical seal that sits on the end of pipe and flare.

I presume the Ducato is different to the Transit. Googlebot were yours O-rings when you changed them or were the ones you ordered from Amazon specific seals for the Ducato. I presumed it was just a selection boxes of O-rings you bought.

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

Googlebot has an Exsis much more room under the bonnet than yours Steve. The whole bonnet lifts off.

I thought I wasn’t going mad Lenny, doing anything on mine is like one handed brain surgery through a letter box! What Hymer should have done is let the whole front hinge forward like a lorry. At least it would be possible to fill the fluids without using an eye-dropper!

 

[Lenny HB]

I thought I wasn’t going mad Lenny, doing anything on mine is like one handed brain surgery through a letter box! What Hymer should have done is let the whole front hinge forward like a lorry. At least it would be possible to fill the fluids without using an eye-dropper!

Yours has got loads of space compared to mine.

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[OldAgeTravellers]

Yours has got loads of space compared to mine.

Is this another form of “Willie Waving”

 

[rambo]

allways crack the nips then turn them backwards and forwards as you take them out adding lube of your choice.realy u want to take caliper off then put it in vice and do a proper job with the rite gear dont go banging torx bits in thats ruff .if your asking how to get a broken nip out that is basic mechanics may be you should get some one to do it for you.this is brakes after all good luck

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

allways crack the nips then turn them backwards and forwards as you take them out adding lube of your choice.realy u want to take caliper off then put it in vice and do a proper job with the rite gear dont go banging torx bits in thats ruff .if your asking how to get a broken nip out that is basic mechanics may be you should get some one to do it for you.this is brakes after all good luck

Thanks for your input. That particular nipple just snapped off with very little force, the other three undid fine. But It’s still well sealed so will not affect the performance of the braking system and I finished off the bleeding by loosening the brake pipe. In two or three years when I need to do it again I will be prepared with the right gear to hand or else too old at 79 to be doing it myself and let a garage have the job if I am still motor-homing then. My questions above are really to poach the experience of others who have already trodden the path and have a vehicle maintenance background, my Engineering career in x-ray optical physics morphed into a different direction over 50 years ago.

 

[Googlebot]

I presume the Ducato is different to the Transit. Googlebot were yours O-rings when you changed them or were the ones you ordered from Amazon specific seals for the Ducato. I presumed it was just a selection boxes of O-rings you bought.

I never checked, mine have sealed okay so far. I would be tempted to clean and put some silicone lube on the old seals after checking them.

Any generic o ring kit will do I would have thought.

 

[Googlebot]

Googlebot The whole bonnet lifts off.

Then a clumsy oaf (me) drops it and chips the fibreglass.

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[OldAgeTravellers]

So, just some feedback for completeness. After buying more brake fluid, I tried bleeding the clutch again, being careful not to pull the pipe too far out. I am using a home-made pressure bleed system using a spare tyre to pressurise the fluid reservoir. It was bleeding fine, then suddenly a blast of continuous bubbles. All seemed OK, the fluid reservoir was at the max mark. I filled the reservoir to the brim and it bled again, then suddenly another stream of bubbles. Very confusing. it seems that the inlet for the clutch fluid is exactly at the max mark. So, as long as I keep the fluid above that mark, it will bleed fine. At least I didn't need to change the O-rings on the bleed device.
I must now investigate how the fluid reservoir is made, as at the max mark, there is no spare fluid available, especially as I had the van set level, and it usually sits nose down when driving.
Still, thanks to all for the help on here, the job is done and the hydraulic fluid has been changed.
I took very good care to clean the new disks with white spirit, then Meths, then Brake cleaner to ensure there was no protective coating, but the braking is not as good as I would have liked, but I suppose the pads have to bed in to the new disks for a few miles. Very careful driving, avoiding emergency stops required.
Thanks to everybody who has chipped in with good advice it certainly helped. But I don't like the clutch bleeding method, but it does avoid snapped nipples.
Anybody got an old Bosch fluid reservoir to see where the clutch inlet actually is?

 

[Landy Andy]

So, just some feedback for completeness. After buying more brake fluid, I tried bleeding the clutch again, being careful not to pull the pipe too far out. I am using a home-made pressure bleed system using a spare tyre to pressurise the fluid reservoir. It was bleeding fine, then suddenly a blast of continuous bubbles. All seemed OK, the fluid reservoir was at the max mark. I filled the reservoir to the brim and it bled again, then suddenly another stream of bubbles. Very confusing. it seems that the inlet for the clutch fluid is exactly at the max mark. So, as long as I keep the fluid above that mark, it will bleed fine. At least I didn't need to change the O-rings on the bleed device.
I must now investigate how the fluid reservoir is made, as at the max mark, there is no spare fluid available, especially as I had the van set level, and it usually sits nose down when driving.
Still, thanks to all for the help on here, the job is done and the hydraulic fluid has been changed.
I took very good care to clean the new disks with white spirit, then Meths, then Brake cleaner to ensure there was no protective coating, but the braking is not as good as I would have liked, but I suppose the pads have to bed in to the new disks for a few miles. Very careful driving, avoiding emergency stops required.
Thanks to everybody who has chipped in with good advice it certainly helped. But I don't like the clutch bleeding method, but it does avoid snapped nipples.
Anybody got an old Bosch fluid reservoir to see where the clutch inlet actually is?

So you did get away for the weekend??..

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

So you did get away for the weekend??..

No unfortunately, by the time I had finished there wasn’t the time to get the van packed. It wasn’t important, just a venue we like. There will be another time. Thanks for your input.

 

[PhilG]

A great lesson in leaving things that are working just fine, well alone.

Every major brake issue i have had, has been caused by 'fluid changes just to be safe' . Master Cyl seal failure on my Ranger, due to mechanic pushing pads back too far and then banging the pedal to the floor in one hit when bleeding it, and ABS pump on a Vivaro, due to something similar that they couldnt fix.

A 5 minute job is only one snapped bolt away from being a 3 day job.

 

[Wildbill]

When that happens I usually just Chang the calliper as easy out never seems to work for me and risk metal bits in the brake system.
Won’t brake the bank to get new one
But I would normally Chang both sides
WB

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[Googlebot]

A great lesson in leaving things that are working just fine, well alone.

Every major brake issue i have had, has been caused by 'fluid changes just to be safe' . Master Cyl seal failure on my Ranger, due to mechanic pushing pads back too far and then banging the pedal to the floor in one hit when bleeding it, and ABS pump on a Vivaro, due to something similar that they couldnt fix.

A 5 minute job is only one snapped bolt away from being a 3 day job.

I disagree here I am afraid.

Lots of 20 year old motorhomes, 20 year old brake fluid isn’t going to be great…..

If it needs sorting, sort it properly.

 

[PhilG]

I disagree here I am afraid.

Lots of 20 year old motorhomes, 20 year old brake fluid isn’t going to be great…..

If it needs sorting, sort it properly.

Is it going to be any different to 19 1/2 year old brake fluid?

Or could it only be 10 years old, because it was changed but you didnt know.

Your sentiment is correct, but as someone that has lots of old stuff on his fleet , 'if it isnt broken, dont fix it', has served me better than ' i really ought to change that just in case'.

On the subject of brake fluid, unless you are properly abusing it, and getting it really hot , it doesnt deteriorate at any noticable rate, with the main problems being moisture absorbsion, which can cause corrosion but the reality of that in MH applications is pretty low, compared to other issues like pad wear.

You are more likely to suffer problems running pads too low, than you are from not changing the fluid.

Which reminds me i have a squeaky brake to look at ...

Obviously buying all the kit to remove a broken bleed nipple beforehand, will almost certainly guarantee you neve need to use one.

 

[Oldrat]

Around town yes.

But consider descending a very long steep hill when your brakes will most likely get very hot.

Quite possibly enough to boil the contaminated brake fluid.