Technical service yourself?

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Ebay or ECP just has alarm bells for me for service parts. Twice I've had to stand and argue in our local ECP that the part they gave me was not the right part, and decided they were completely useless as a company after that (first for getting their stock wrong, and second for staff that dont know about car parts)

I think "completely useless" is going a bit far but I have heard of similar issues through here. They are one of my "fall back when there's no-one else to go to" suppliers. I mentioned earlier in this thread about how my other two trade factors almost always quote cheaper prices and I've just experienced exactly this looking for a new N/S mirror for my boy's Astra. A couple of weeks ago I posted somewhere on our forum about how some brainless idiot stole the mirror from his O/S door (we're guessing it was an attempt to steal it as the whole thing was missing with no sign of "bits" on the ground. I'm pleased to report though that the little fixing aluminium posts sheared through so the bits he/she got away with would be of limited use) The new O/S mirror now looks so wonderful that he's decided to do the N/S one too because it has an aftermarket glass in it which has never really been a good fit and anyway the outer casing is cracked too. So I thought I'd have a ring round and look on eBay. eBay had some cheap options for used mirrors but the cheap ones were all listed with defects which I think would have been little better than the one he already has and the Good/As new used ones were not much cheaper than the new one we got from SRS. So then I rang my nearest "favoured" suppliers and two of them came in at roughly the same price - a few pence short or over £60 all in. The folks we are talking about in this thread quoted around £80 I also tried Halfords but they, very honestly, said they would just source from, probably, ECP anyway. I ordered from SRS again as they were the quote at just under the £60. By the way, I tried Vauxhall themselves just out of interest and was quoted well in excess of £200! Apparently the casing, drive motors and glass all come separately? Which sounds a bit strange to me but as they quoted £90 for the chassis/casing alone, I'd already decided it wasn't for me.

Absolutely agree on the plugs. The manufacturers spend literally millions on developing their engines so why should I think I know better than them? So, as long as we're talking standard engines here, just fit a plug which meets the manufacturer's spec. - Which today is very likely to have been made by NGK who supply the majority of manufacturers in the first place.

 

[John202020]

Ebay or ECP just has alarm bells for me for service parts. Twice I've had to stand and argue in our local ECP that the part they gave me was not the right part, and decided they were completely useless as a company after that (first for getting their stock wrong, and second for staff that dont know about car parts)

Generally not had an issue with Ebay as long as you do your own checking first, the only time we has a problem was after we triple checked, order, wrong parts turns out, Honda fitted "manual transmission " brakes to a auto(which should have different)

 

[vexorg]

By the way, I tried Vauxhall themselves just out of interest and was quoted well in excess of £200!

Vauxhall used to be good for parts. And they also had the trade club for parts. So if you were a member of a VBOA car club then you got huge discounts on parts.

Parts counters in dealers seem to be a dying thing. Many years ago, our local vauxhall had a brilliant woman on the parts counter, she knew most of the vaxuhall part numbers off the top of her head, knew exactly where they were on the shelf, grumpy as hell and had no time for being messed around. Hated evans halshaw that took over the branch, so would give even better discounts as she was disgusted by the RRP price of parts.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Vauxhall used to be good for parts. And they also had the trade club for parts. So if you were a member of a VBOA car club then you got huge discounts on parts.

Parts counters in dealers seem to be a dying thing. Many years ago, our local vauxhall had a brilliant woman on the parts counter, she knew most of the vaxuhall part numbers off the top of her head, knew exactly where they were on the shelf, grumpy as hell and had no time for being messed around. Hated evans halshaw that took over the branch, so would give even better discounts as she was disgusted by the RRP price of parts.

I've pretty much given up on Vauxhall main agent stores departments now, just getting them to answer the 'phone can be difficult. My boy's Astra is an '07 model which has been part of the "family fleet" for many years and I'd agree that their stores now a days don't seem to actually want to sell you anything! I've had some real bargains from Autovaux - a few years ago we rebuilt the VVT pulleys, solenoid actuators, timing belt kit etc for roughly half what Vauxhall wanted for those parts. I tend to just default to them now but we wanted the mirror in a hurry because he's hoping to take the family off down south for a wee holiday soon.

Edit. Ps. I too have been "lucky" with eBay. I do check out the seller's website pretty carefully before committing to purchase though.

 

[vexorg]

Dealers in general seems to be fashion showrooms now rather than want to deal with any oily bits.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Dealers in general seems to be fashion showrooms now rather than want to deal with any oily bits.

Yup. The salesmen seem to know almost nothing about the cars which is of interest to me but they do know a lot about stuff like how to access "interesting features" involving the infotainment system!

 

[500Singh]

Thanks for all the help guys, appreciated

Is it really necessary to be changing the brake fluid every two years as part of the service though as according to fiat service schedule? I understand what you guys have said about moisture getting in over time and affecting the operation but the fiat service schedule is based on doing 8/9k miles a year which our 500 doesn’t do at all. My other cars (german) don’t have to have the brake fluid changed in the same time schedule as the Fiat according to their manufacturer schedules, which is why I find it a bit excessive. So should I still be doing it every 2 years we’ve though the mileage isn’t done?

Thanks

 

[John202020]

Thanks for all the help guys, appreciated

Is it really necessary to be changing the brake fluid every two years as part of the service though as according to fiat service schedule? I understand what you guys have said about moisture getting in over time and affecting the operation but the fiat service schedule is based on doing 8/9k miles a year which our 500 doesn’t do at all. My other cars (german) don’t have to have the brake fluid changed in the same time schedule as the Fiat according to their manufacturer schedules, which is why I find it a bit excessive. So should I still be doing it every 2 years we’ve though the mileage isn’t done?

Thanks

Well yes and possibly no
You could leave it longer and it will be OK but partly its if you do it every two years then there's little chance of contamination therefore parts last longer but also the bleed valves are moved so if you left it 4 years it's quite possible you'd snap off the screw as its rusted in place due to no movement over time, then you have a much harder job replacing calipers or wheel cylinders.
I often thought it a bit excessive when Honda replaced parts I didn't think needed like bolts(new bolts on the brake calipers not 6 year old ones chewed up ) or drain plugs now I understand why it's so they come apart easily in the future
It also depends on how long you're keeping the car if some time then change it

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Thanks for all the help guys, appreciated

Is it really necessary to be changing the brake fluid every two years as part of the service though as according to fiat service schedule? I understand what you guys have said about moisture getting in over time and affecting the operation but the fiat service schedule is based on doing 8/9k miles a year which our 500 doesn’t do at all. My other cars (german) don’t have to have the brake fluid changed in the same time schedule as the Fiat according to their manufacturer schedules, which is why I find it a bit excessive. So should I still be doing it every 2 years we’ve though the mileage isn’t done?

Thanks

I have a SEAT Ibiza and have owned a number of VAG products over the years. My belief is that they (VAG) recommend the first brake fluid change is done at year 3 and then every 2 years thereafter? Certainly that seems to be the recommendation up here. In my opinion age is the biggest factor here, not mileage?

The trouble is there's a lot of variables involved in trying to predict when the fluid may have absorbed enough moisture for it to have a significant effect. For instance - How often is the reservoir cap removed? Was it removed on a damp rainy day or a very dry sunny summer's day? If it's been topped up was it topped up from a brand new sealed container or a previously opened, part used, one? - You get the idea?

Whether you ever experience a driving problem due to this also part of the problem. Having worked in and around the motor trade for much of my life, I can tell you that I've seen many cars with pretty dodgy looking, very dark coloured, brake fluid in their reservoirs but most are driving around the town without crashing because their brake calipers do not get hot enough to boil the water content. Then, maybe, off they go on holiday and perhaps, on a sweltering hot day, have to do an emergency stop from high speed on the motorway or perhaps descend a very steep long hill (I remember my old Ford Anglia with it's drum brakes, on holiday, fully laden with self, wife, kids, and other holiday gear really struggling with brake fade going down the hill into Lynmouth North Devon. Brake fade, of course, is a quite different problem to having water in the fluid, but having very little braking available with a steep hill in front is terrifying. Luckily we were early on that day and traffic was not heavy so I got away with it) Our workshop would always recommend that "dirty looking" fluid be flushed and renewed but then another problem raises it's head which is that many vehicles with contaminated fluid will be older so there's always a risk the bleed nipples will shear due to being seized in their threads. If you mention this to the customer and warn them of the cost implication many will choose not to do it. In my opinion there are a lot of older "time bombs" running around out there and although the majority are never going to have an "incident" it might just be you who gets "unlucky".

From the mechanic's point of view I would want to change it anyway because of it's potential to cause corrosion of cylinder/caliper pistons and other components in the braking system - ABS unit's ain't cheap!

I have to plead guilt to having been just a little less than "holy" in my own approach to this in the past, especially when a nipple has broken off but not started leaking - which is often what happens when a nipple snaps off - and, due to lack of money, I've not replaced the caliper/cylinder and run on with the old fluid in the system until I've either found a good used caliper or saved enough for a new one.

Today though folks, Hallelujah salvation is to hand! because you can buy a brake fluid tester which tests the fluid itself for water content! There are two types. The cheaper ones pass a current between two electrodes immersed in the fluid and measure the electrical resistance. They have been criticized because not all fluids have the same resistance when new but I believe the better tools allow a calibration to be made in new fluid before you use it to check the used fluid. Trouble is you probably won't know what brand of fluid is in your reservoir so how do you know you're calibration in that bottle of new fluid you've bought is going to be valid for the fluid in your reservoir? However I doubt if the difference between brands is going to be a large one? So I still think they are a good idea - but buy a "known" branded tool.

The better option - in my opinion - are the tools which heat the brake fluid to the point at which it boils. This will vary depending on the moisture content. I believe this type of tool is considerably more accurate and is not dependent on the resistance of the fluid because it directly checks the boiling point rather than trying to "guess" what the boiling point may be due to the electrical resistance of the fluid. This is the one I bought and I have to say it seems to be working very well:





You simply connect those "frighteningly" thick leads to the car's battery, dunk the probe in and out of the fluid a few times to stabilize the probe temperature, and then keep it there while you press the big red button. When it's happy, it gives a readout of actual boiling point of the fluid which you compare to the chart in the second picture. (The written instructions give much more detail) It's also suggested that if there's any doubt that fresh fluid may have been recently added to the reservoir that fluid is taken from the N/S front wheel, using the syringe and decanted to the wee cup where the tester is used in the same way to obtain a boiling point figure.

Of course you need to be aware that the fluid in the reservoir may very well have been topped up at some time so if you use any type of tester in the reservoir the reading obtained may not be reflecting what's in the components at the "business" end of the system! One of the big advantages of doing your own service and repair work is, of course, that you will know though!

So, if you don't have some way of ascertaining the degree of degradation of the fluid the best you can do is guess how long the average vehicle takes to end up with significant amounts of moisture in the fluid and the manufacturer's seem to be mostly of the opinion that two to three years is what they're prepared to risk recommending. Thus the widely adopted recommendation to completely renew fluid at this sort of interval.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Well yes and possibly no
You could leave it longer and it will be OK but partly its if you do it every two years then there's little chance of contamination therefore parts last longer but also the bleed valves are moved so if you left it 4 years it's quite possible you'd snap off the screw as its rusted in place due to no movement over time, then you have a much harder job replacing calipers or wheel cylinders.
I often thought it a bit excessive when Honda replaced parts I didn't think needed like bolts(new bolts on the brake calipers not 6 year old ones chewed up ) or drain plugs now I understand why it's so they come apart easily in the future
It also depends on how long you're keeping the car if some time then change it

Great point on the bleed nipples John. Every car that is owned in our family gets it's bleed nipples slackened shortly after purchase while it's still "young" and certainly by the first time I service it and a goodly dab of antiseize smeared around the threads. I seem to completely avoid shearing nipples by doing this

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Further to the above posts about brake fluid, it set me to thinking about ways round bleeding when you snap a nipple off on an otherwise "good" caliper or cylinder.

I've heard people saying you can do it by slackening the union/tube nut where it enters the caliper? Although you might be lucky, mostly this won't get the job done because the inlet to the caliper is usually not at the top so the air cannot escape - and anyway, if the bleed nipple snapped due to corrosion you may well have big problems trying to slacken the pipe union.

I've had considerable success "slipping" the piston in these sort of situations. To do this on a caliper first push the piston fully back into the caliper housing. This is an excellent place to be starting from anyway because if it won't push back easily you may be needing a new caliper or to remove and carefully check and clean the existing piston. Assuming it pushes back satisfactorily, you'll then be able to remove the rubber dust bellows and pump the brake pedal until the piston comes right out of it's housing. Now pinch the flex hose to stop further fluid escaping and empty the fluid in the caliper into a waste container. I like to carefully check the piston sides for damage to the chromed finish - it'll rust quickly and jam up soon if the surface is damaged, even if you clean it up with something like emery. Then I take the rubber "O" ring seal out and check it and clean up it's groove and the cylinder bore - which is often rusty just on it's outer rim so can jam the piston. If everything's looking good then a wee smear of rubber lube on the seal and back into it's groove with it.

Now completely empty the master cylinder reservoir with a syringe or whatever you prefer to use and refill with new fluid. Don't worry about air getting into the system, as long as that clamp is still on the flex pipe this can't happen. Back down to the caliper now and slacken the flex hose clamp. Usually the fluid will start to flow under gravity but you might need to gently pump the brake pedal - remember not to go more than half a full stroke on the pedal to avoid damage to the master cylinder seals. Don't pump the pedal to the floor so as to avoid running the seals into a part of the cylinder where they normally won't run as this will sometimes ruin them (half way to the floor is recommended). Mostly you'll find it takes about enough fluid to fill the caliper once to run new fluid down to the caliper, so once the caliper bore is full of fluid clamp the pipe off again and empty the caliper. If you're really short on fluid you can let it fill to maybe half way, empty out and then see if new fluid is coming in when you take the clamp off. If you're going to run more fluid than just one caliper full then recheck the reservoir level. However the idea is not to end up with a full reservoir after running new fluid to the caliper. You'll see why in a minute.

So now we should have new fluid, with no air in it, from the master cylinder right through to this caliper. and a master cylinder reservoir that's probably about half, or slightly less, full of fluid. Now hold the caliper with the bore facing upwards, like a cup, and fill it with new brake fluid right until it's over the sealing ring. Make sure the piston is somewhere that you can get your hands on it quickly and that it's clean - I would sit it on some blue paper towel or clean rag - and release the flex hose clamp. Fluid will slowly start to flow into the caliper from the flex hose so if there's a wee bit of air in the pipe between where you had the hose clamp and where the drilling enters the cylinder bore it'll have a chance to escape into the bore and bubble to the top. Now take your nice clean piston and push it into the bore. It will displace fluid which will spill out until the end of the piston enters the ring seal so some fluid will dribble out as you do this, but that's a good thing because it's ensuring no air can enter the caliper bore.

Now push the piston right back down to the bottom of the caliper bore which will push the new fluid you just topped the caliper bore up with, back up into the master cylinder reservoir. This shouldn't overflow it because you filled the reservoir before you ran a caliper's worth of the new fluid through to the caliper which you subsequently emptied into your waste container. Now all you need to do is replace the dust bellows and fit the caliper back onto it's carrier bracket. Caliper bled out without needing to use the bleed nipple.

If you're not actually doing a complete fluid flush then you can do a variation of this procedure to simply do a bleed:- Remove the caliper from it's carrier bracket, push the piston fully home and remove the dust bellows. Now pump the piston back out until it starts to leak fluid around it's edges (half strokes remember - I put a wooden block on the floor under the pedal to limit travel). Hold the caliper at about 45 degrees to encourage any air to exit round the uppermost edge of the piston - you can encourage this further by holding the lower edge of the piston back with your thumb so it "coggles" slightly in the bore leaving a small gap at the top for the air to exit past the piston. Once all the air has been expelled simply push the piston back into it's bore and put the bellows back on. It's much easier to do this on sliding calipers with only one piston but you can achieve the same on twin caliper pistons by doing one piston at a time - because when you're doing one the other will be "upside down" so it's trapped air can't escape. Although I remember one I did where the fluid entered one side and then went through the body drillings which were at such an angle that it chased the air in front of it through to the other side so actually I got a good pedal after "slip bleeding" just the one side!

Wheel cylinders can be done in much the same way, although they tend to be much cheaper to buy so why bother, just renew the cylinder with the broken nipple? However if you must. Ok, we've got a cylinder with a snapped nipple and think there's air inside it? Before doing anything else remove the drum and peel back the dust rubbers on both ends of the cylinder and take a look. Is it nice and clean with no signs of weeping fluid and other crud? If so then carry on but if in any doubt then renew the cylinder. Now remove the brake shoes and put a catch tray of some sort under it all because we're going to make a bit of a mess. You're going to need a helper to pump the brake pedal - remember half pumps only - Now check whether one end of the cylinder is higher than the other. If it's not you'll have to arrange for this by raising or lowering the car by jack (use stands too please) One end of the cylinder needs to be a little - or a lot if possible - higher than the other because air goes uphill!

Get your helper installed in the car and explain they are to only pump the pedal when asked and then only slowly and gently. Check the M/C reservoir is full and then remove the dust seal on the higher end of the cylinder so you can see the piston clearly. Now gently try pushing the piston on the lower end of the cylinder into the cylinder bore. The piston on the other, higher, end should start to come out. Support it with your other hand so it doesn't just fly out onto the ground - there's often a spring between the two pistons, but it's not very strong - As the piston emerges you'll see the black rubber seal start to become visible and if you tilt the piston slightly down as this emerges you'll create a small gap at the top between the seal and the cylinder wall. Now tell your helper to start gently pushing the pedal down while you hold the piston back and down slightly so the fluid and any air exits at the top of the gap between the seal and cylinder. When the pedal has reached the bottom of it's half stroke - wooden block? - Make sure you hold the piston with it's seal against the end of the cylinder as the pedal is returned for another stroke, otherwise air may be drawn back in. I like to say to my helper "Push gently now and tell me when the pedal is down - stop and hold in place if I say so". Then when they say "down now" I know I have to make sure the piston seal is sealing off the end of the cylinder when I can say "Ok, pedal up now" and so we carry on. I find most cars you can get at least half a dozen pump strokes before checking reservoir level some do considerably more. Check after 6 strokes and then you'll have a good idea how much it's using to go those 6 strokes and can go for more if it seems doable. DON'T LET THE FLUID LEVEL RUN TOO LOW or you'll be doing it all over again to get rid of the air you've just drawn into the master cyl. I usually get my helper to do the top up so I can keep hanging on to the pistons. You'll see and hear the air spitting out if there is any. When you're done just push that piston back into it's bore, replace the dust seal, brake shoes and drum and try the pedal.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS try the brake pedal before moving the car whenever you've been working on brakes! It's a terrifying experience when you're rolling towards the garage doors, workshop wall or even worse, the T junction at the end of the road and the pedal goes to the floor. Sometimes you've just about got time to think "Oh damn - or other expletive - I never pumped those damned pads out did I"

 

[vexorg]

They recommend 2 years, but 3 to 4 years will be fine too. Depends how bored you are.

 

[Ralf S.]

I tend to do my own cars every couple of years.. but generally I go by how dark the fluid looks.

And any time I change the pads, I'll also bleed the system, so I'm not sure I follow a strict schedule.

On the other hand... when my sister turns up for something and I notice that it was me who last bled her brakes, and that was 5 years ago... then do it.. but it doesn't seem to cause any ill effects.

I'd say if the fluid is clean, then don't panic.... but on the other hand, get a tube the right size and a milk bottle... it takes about half an hour to bleed all the brakes, including a cup of tea during the operation.


Ralf S.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I tend to do my own cars every couple of years.. but generally I go by how dark the fluid looks.

And any time I change the pads, I'll also bleed the system, so I'm not sure I follow a strict schedule.

On the other hand... when my sister turns up for something and I notice that it was me who last bled her brakes, and that was 5 years ago... then do it.. but it doesn't seem to cause any ill effects.

I'd say if the fluid is clean, then don't panic.... but on the other hand, get a tube the right size and a milk bottle... it takes about half an hour to bleed all the brakes, including a cup of tea during the operation.


Ralf S.

Hi Ralf. Can I ask if one of the main reasons why you bleed them when fitting new pads is because you slacken the nipple before pressing the piston back into the caliper thus running the fluid out of the caliper so avoiding forcing old fluid and, perhaps, contaminants like rubber residue, back into the system where it can cause damage to ABS and master cylinders etc? So, because you've got the nipple slackened anyway, you just carry on and do a wee bleed while you're about it?

I'm asking because I got a bit obsessed with this a few years ago and always tried to slacken nipples before returning caliper pistons. However it's a bit of a messy job and every now and then I'd break a nipple so I started only doing it on the newer cars where the nipples are less likely to break. I then started to "worry" about it - I'm one of this world's great worriers I'm afraid - because it's the older cars which are more likely to have contaminants in their systems! So, I started asking around the garages where I know people well enough for them not to take offence and also give me an honest answer. I was slightly surprised to find absolutely not one of them said they slacken the nipples unless bleeding is required! So I then asked if they thought there was a risk with system contamination due to doing this but everyone thought it was an Ok thing to do. Of late (probably for the last 18 months roughly) I've tended to just push the piston back and let the fluid return to the reservoir and I must say I've so far had no problems either with these cars or the older ones I historically did this with where I judged the nipple breaking was too great a risk.

What do all the rest of you do?

 

[John202020]

The smart person replaces the bleed valves every time you replace the fluid given their modest cost?

 

[Ralf S.]

Hi Ralf. Can I ask if one of the main reasons why you bleed them when fitting new pads is because you slacken the nipple before pressing the piston back into the caliper thus running the fluid out of the caliper so avoiding forcing old fluid and, perhaps, contaminants like rubber residue, back into the system where it can cause damage to ABS and master cylinders etc? So, because you've got the nipple slackened anyway, you just carry on and do a wee bleed while you're about it?

I'm asking because I got a bit obsessed with this a few years ago and always tried to slacken nipples before returning caliper pistons. However it's a bit of a messy job and every now and then I'd break a nipple so I started only doing it on the newer cars where the nipples are less likely to break. I then started to "worry" about it - I'm one of this world's great worriers I'm afraid - because it's the older cars which are more likely to have contaminants in their systems! So, I started asking around the garages where I know people well enough for them not to take offence and also give me an honest answer. I was slightly surprised to find absolutely not one of them said they slacken the nipples unless bleeding is required! So I then asked if they thought there was a risk with system contamination due to doing this but everyone thought it was an Ok thing to do. Of late (probably for the last 18 months roughly) I've tended to just push the piston back and let the fluid return to the reservoir and I must say I've so far had no problems either with these cars or the older ones I historically did this with where I judged the nipple breaking was too great a risk.

What do all the rest of you do?

It's 80% laziness and 20% technical..

I have to take the wheels off to change the pads anyway, so it's a good opportunity to clean everything up, re-grease the pins and the sliders etc. and then finally bleed it while I'm covered in brake dust/dirt already and have access to the caliper.

I occasionally bleed the brakes without removing the wheels but 8 times out of 10 the container will get pulled over by the plastic tube etc. and makes a mess everywhere.

My only other thought, apart from it's simpler once the wheel is off, is that winding the caliper in will push dirty (I call it "burnt") fluid back into the system, including any air bubbles that were lodged in some nook up till then that might now make a bid for freedom and rise up into the ABS unit. ABS units are a proper PITA to bleed properly (you need a solenoid actuator.. so basically it's a garage job) so best to avoid any risk to it.

I replace all my nipples as soon as they look even vaguely rusted/rounded. I have a bag of spares in most of the family's cars' sizes... but for the Stilo (work-horse that it was) I fitted stainless nipples, which solve all nipple problems forever.

Nipples rust because moisture creeps down the first few threads. The best remedy I've found is to stick some Blue Hylomar on the thread (since I always have some in the garage and it doesn't harden like silicone sealant does, once it's open)... then wipe off any excess. The blue goo keeps the threads clean, so the nipple won't seize.. but the hex' part still corrodes and can round off with even mild undoing... so I went to stocking up with new nipples in the "consumables" cupboard.



Ralf S.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

It's 80% laziness and 20% technical..

I have to take the wheels off to change the pads anyway, so it's a good opportunity to clean everything up, re-grease the pins and the sliders etc. and then finally bleed it while I'm covered in brake dust/dirt already and have access to the caliper.

I occasionally bleed the brakes without removing the wheels but 8 times out of 10 the container will get pulled over by the plastic tube etc. and makes a mess everywhere.

My only other thought, apart from it's simpler once the wheel is off, is that winding the caliper in will push dirty (I call it "burnt") fluid back into the system, including any air bubbles that were lodged in some nook up till then that might now make a bid for freedom and rise up into the ABS unit. ABS units are a proper PITA to bleed properly (you need a solenoid actuator.. so basically it's a garage job) so best to avoid any risk to it.

I replace all my nipples as soon as they look even vaguely rusted/rounded. I have a bag of spares in most of the family's cars' sizes... but for the Stilo (work-horse that it was) I fitted stainless nipples, which solve all nipple problems forever.

Nipples rust because moisture creeps down the first few threads. The best remedy I've found is to stick some Blue Hylomar on the thread (since I always have some in the garage and it doesn't harden like silicone sealant does, once it's open)... then wipe off any excess. The blue goo keeps the threads clean, so the nipple won't seize.. but the hex' part still corrodes and can round off with even mild undoing... so I went to stocking up with new nipples in the "consumables" cupboard.



Ralf S.

I never thought of using hylomar in this way. I like the idea of it though and I too have an old tube or two of the stuff in my sealants box which have not found a use recently.