seized bleeder on front caliper

[Richard Zahra]

I was bleeding the brakes yesterday and when I came to open the bleeder on the drivers side front caliper, I found that it is seized and would break off if I tried to force it open. Does anyone see any problems if I had to heat the bleeder as it sits installed in the car? Thanks.

 

[Chalky]

Seem to recall brake fluid is flammable.

 

[roverp480]

Hot air gun should be OK

 

[unstable load]

Make a mixture of 50:50 ATF and thinners and use it as a penetrant, let it soak and then use the heat gun.

 

[harveyp6]

For the amount of effort involved in removing it, especially as you've got to bleed it anyway, remove the caliper, weld a nut on to the bleed nipple, then while it's still hot, quench it and the nipple should unscrew.

 

[Richard Zahra]

I managed to remove the seized bleeder! I went shopping with my wife last Friday and found a small gas burner used in the kitchen to brown off some desert. It has a small but powerful flame and uses lighter fluid. The next morning I put the car over the pit , cleaned the area around the bleeder, placed a wet cloth around the caliper body and heated the bleeder gently . Once it had reached a high enough temperature ( I used an infrared thermometer until I saw a reading of 140 deg C) I cooled the bleeder with another wet cloth until the sizzling stopped and then sprayed penetrating oil hoping that the final cooling would actually "suck" in the oil. Whatever happened the bleeder came undone. I removed it , coated the thread with copper grease and re-installed. I then bled the caliper. All seems fine. Thanks for all your replies and suggestions.