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Caliper bleeder not sealing well
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 7:03 pm
by Ted928
The bleeders are new but the caliper cylinders are old and the port's sealing surface does not appear to be very smooth. It there a tool that I can use to clean-up the sealing surface? I think the angle is 45 degrees.
Re: Caliper bleeder not sealing well
Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 9:34 pm
by redroadster
Maybe a drill bit ,with a very slow drill press needed
Re: Caliper bleeder not sealing well
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:53 pm
by Gregs672000
Outside of my wheel house as they say... I might consider contacting a company or shop that specializes in brakes or rebuilding... certainly they would know... it's a matter of making "friends" with someone who is willing to take the little bit of time and not looking to "make $" on sharing the info. I've also had success walking into such places with the part in hand and asking "how can I fix this?" Sometimes if they're not super busy and you're friendly enough they will take it on and help you right away. They may charge you or not (brakes do carry some liability considerations I suppose) but a $20 and a big "thank you" used to go a long ways... nothing to lose! It builds their reputation as a friendly shop, and word of mouth is valuable when it's good. I have referred thousands of dollars of customers to shops that have done me right.
Otherwise, you may see what you can make up using an old fitting and maybe some valve lapping compound (liquid sandpaper) and use that to polish and debur the seating surface. The fitting needs to be what would normally fit in for the correct angle and depth I'd imagine... again, a guess as I have NO experience or expertise and you don't want to have compound left over, so careful cleaning to remove all the compound should be part of the process. A pic of what you're seeing or working on may help us help you.
Re: Caliper bleeder not sealing well
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 7:23 pm
by Ted928
I can't find a specialty tool, so I will try this in the Spring

Re: Caliper bleeder not sealing well
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 8:11 pm
by polkadot
probably not helpful to your situation, but when i was doing my calipers i thought the mating surface looked pretty mangled until i realized there was a missing check ball in one of them. after replacing it with a random steel ball they closed up tight
-Daniel
RB0031B.jpg
Re: Caliper bleeder not sealing well
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 9:07 pm
by Ted928
That is a possibility, but I don't think my model is supposed to have a ball. In the Spring I will flush away the DOT5 and start fresh with DOT3. I will sand the seats and ensure the best seat matches with the bleeder; I think the piping is more forgiving to seal with damaged seats. I'll report back in two months.
Re: Caliper bleeder not sealing well
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 10:04 am
by drieseck
Ted92 Likely you have already looked through the Tech wiki, but incase you missed this (by Curtis I think) is a good photo example of my situation. As you know the 2 different surfaces either-end of the casting are critical. I used a pick to clean the 45 convex (coming toward you), then, used a Dremel as you show with a wire brush tip vs stone. The casting are tough, but if the tip of the 45 is damaged (or ground down) it will be toast.
brakecylinder description.pdf