Broken brake bleeder screw

[KJDevildog]

Hey all,

So a few weeks back I took my Jeep to the auto hobby shop here on Camp Pendleton and did the front brake pads. One of the "techs" there helped me bleed the brakes and was doing the bleeder screws while I operated the pedal.

The last few weeks I've noticed the brakes are very spongy so today I was going to rebleed them. Well, when I tried to loosen the bleeder screws they were so tight on the rear that the passenger side stripped completely, and the driver side sheared off completely.

Im supposed to go on a 3100 mile road trip tomorrow and all my tools are packed up and on their way to Japan.

All because I trusted some stupid kid to help me with my Jeep.

So, now I get to find a brake shop that will replace the bleeder screws on the rear and bleed the brakes for me before tomorrow.

any other advice?

 

[CactusJacked]

If air is in the line, you could loosen the banjo fitting and bleed it from there. If air is trapped inside the caliper, you're going to have to get the bleeder screw out. Vice grips on the rounded bleeder, an easy out on the snapped one, penetrating oil and a torch to heat them up should do the trick. Those who don't know how to do it right tend to say you can't use heat on a brake caliper, but yes yes you can. You don't want to "cook" the caliper, just aim to get the bleeder good and toasty. I've done it jillions of times with never a fail.