How to Remove Seized Stuck Brake Bleeders Every Time! 

I removed 2 brake bleeders that most would consider impossible in this video. This method works time after time for me. You can see a link to all of the tools used in the description above. Here is the starter set for the extractors I used: amzn.to/2W5tQGl It comes with the case so you can add the 5 larger sizes later.

Over the years I've learned a lot of tricks for removing stuck bleeders and bolts. You just added a few new tricks to my list! Thank you!

You're a real gentleman sir and you know a thing or two - I'm never too old to learn and I just learned something very useful from you ! All the very best.

Followed your advice (including breaking off the drill bit) and it totally worked. Saved me about two weeks time and $250 replacing an obscure, hard to find and expensive old Alfa Romeo caliper. Thanks!

I want to thank you for showing me how to save my two front calibers that had rusty bleeder screws. I had purchased new ones but hadn’t installed. Everything worked just as you said. I’m returning the new calibers Monday. 👌🏾

Excellent system... worked exactly as shown with a seized screw I was fighting with. Thanks for sharing.

Tom, worked like a charm and saved me big bucks after my mechanic said it couldn't be done. You ROCK!!

I have this problem.before with my chevy. I used brake fluid which cuts up the rust real good. And I used a vice grips worked it back and forth slow.... but this method works great as well

I have started using anti seize on just about every bolt and nut subject to rusting. So far, no failures. On a side note, I really wish I had bought an impact driver much sooner! My son borrowed mine for a project at his house and I thought it was a goner but he soon returned it and got his own. Edit: I got a can of MAP gas awhile back. I'm too old to wait around for the propane!

Thanks for the help. It watched your video and I removed a front caliper bleeder that was frozen, rusty and rounded off- 2001 Dodge truck- It worked great, you are very helpful.

Learn something new everyday. Thanks for the video, had to watch twice to understand the purpose of breaking off the drill bit.

Wish I would've seen this before my last 4 caliper change. Well done man.

Thanks for the vid and advice I’m in this exact situation and am gonna give it a try in the morning but without the rounded bolt sockets. Wish me luck!

What a great video. Thanks mate. It is fantastic that you took the time to make it.

Thanks for the video, I didn't drill into the bolts but heat + impact driver + bolt extractor socket = success! I did have to hammer on a smaller socket onto one of the bleeder screws, and that also successfully came right off!

Excellent video. For any seized, rusty bolt or nut, like exhaust system bolts, I always try to spray some PB Blaster the day before, then use heat and an impact the next day. People think an impact, including an air impact, will break a bolt but the opposite is true. Applying torque with a bigger, longer wrench will wring off a bolt, but using an impact is like tapping a wrench with a hammer. It shocks the bolt loose.

You might try using the TIP of the blue flame. That IS the hottest portion of your torch area. May cut your heating time in half.

Thanks for the video. I was able to slip a drill into the bleeder screw without removing the rear wheel cylinders and also the front calipers. No drilling or snapping off the drill. Just found one the bearly slipped in and heated it up. All four were locked up and this worked great. I didn't even have to replace any of the bleeder screws 👍

I use a 50/50 mix of ATF and a acetone on all rusty bolts and leaders and zero fittings. Works better than any thing you can buy at a store in a can. An Old timer mechanic taught me that trick. Spray it brown with that and let it sit an hour, then remove the bolt. Work every time

I usually do everything on here except the drill bit down the centre,that really must make a major difference,great video!

Very good video! I am about to work on my son's pickup and this video has given me some hope. Much appreciated!!

Excellent tutorial. Thanks

Used your method and it worked fine, well after a little time, thanks again buddy 👍🍻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Good job. Thank you

Using your methods thanks

I’ve always thought about the temperature shock, and I’ve used just water for it… but the duster can?! Brilliant!!! I will definitely try it.

Never saw the broken drill bit method. Glad I saw this as I'm about to go thru bleeder removals soon.

You explain it much better than the average RU-vidr.👍❤️🇨🇦

Bingo!! Thanks for the advice, great video! 😎

Excellent tutorial!

NICE TRICK, I'M GOING TOO USE THIS METHOD

Cheers buddy, I will definitely be having a go at your method tomorrow, many thanks from Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🍻👍

best video on topic by far!

Good work Tom!

Got a 2003 hummer h2 with 2 stuck bleeders and a broken one. Praying this will fix my problems👍🏼

Good job sir, this is my problem for now

Great video, beautiful tutorial, Thanks. I believe this technique is a winner.👍

Amazing method thank you

That sacrificial drill bit tip is new to me. Thanks!

Awesome. I have a stuck one on my rear drum brake. I'll leave it alone for now, but you provided great info. The impact seems to work much better than manually ramping up the torque for crusty bolts.

Here's the deal. If you were to look at the base of brake bleeders and hydraulic fluid controll valves, you will see that they have a tapered angular seat. They seal by the design of this seat....NOT by being torqued in place. People believe that it is a high pressure safety issue, so it must be very tight. But it is not true. Just a simple finger tight on the wrench will be more than enough to keep it sealed / in place. For hydraulic jacks ect. the slotted end of the bar is there to keep you from getting under the load, or down in the mud when you turn the valve. But people use it to over tighten the valve , This ruins the seat so it has to be tightened more and more untill it finally fails. This misconception is the number one cause of bleeders sticking. I close mine at 1 pound pressure, and they have never stuck or leaked. The angled wedge affect of the seat works so well to keep them in place, that it causes them to need much more torque to remove them then was used to install them.

Logically your next video should be how to remove the bleeder from the socket! LOL! Great tips, I will use it, thanks

Ok I'm going to have to give this a try. Every trick I know failed me today and broke on bleeder. This works whole new trick to my inventory.

Great job thank for the tip.

Good concepts on that removal, definitely will follow thru with this in the morning

Great job!

Great technique....I have to get myself a set of extractors like that....good one Prepper....CHEERS

Thank you need to do this on one of my 4x4's . Will save me many dollars

This helped me out, thank you.

You can buy that auto freeze spray to cool after heating up a part ..Thats a neat idea to put a drill bit to strengthen the bleed screw before trying to remove it with the impact wrench. If your calliper is aluminium, you can't heat it with a torch, you need an electric heat inveterter. I'm liking using an electric wrench more on hub bearings, lower balljoints and tye rod ends etc..Really helpful tool

Great idea

Great tip 👍 thanks for sharing

Thanks for this video!

Brilliant. Thank you.

That's a great trick using a drill bit, I hadn't thought of that and I keep breaking the damn bleeders in the caliper !

That “find the hole”comment sold me brother. Subscribed.

You're a pro...thanks bro

Great job thanks for the removal tips .

Great Job !

Nice tip! 👍

Thankyou. Great tricks

That was fantastic!!

Just stumbled onto your channel as I have a snapped bleeder on my Midget. Unfortunately it is the rear drum, so can’t put it on a bench and will have to use an internal extractor but if the right side is the same I’m going to follow this trick. I keep my little car going from the shop manual and you tube.

I find a few drops of acetone mixed with automatic transmission fluid or other thin oil applied to the bleeder the night before tryig to remove it in the first place does wonders in reducing the chance of it getting stuck. Many times better than my old stand-by of WD-40.

The tip of the flame is the hottest. And by the way, WD40 is indeed flammable. We use it rather than either in a carburetor for starting engines since it has some lubricating properties. But it's a great starting fluid. But good video.

Whatever works is a good way. I've worked on some as bad as the second one (no hex left) and this always works: 1. Clean away rust with small densely bristled wire brush. 2.spray with pb blaster or another good penetrating oil (by the way, you saw no oil on the threads because if it did make it in there it was burned away). 3. Penetrating oil works while I pull caliper. 4. Heat mainly the caliper body around the screw (tip of inner flame is hottest part) for about 30 seconds if you are not replacing piston seals (longer and you risk melting them). 5. Remove with vice grips. If it will not turn at first attempt, heat a second time. As soon as it comes out I quench with water to save piston seals. This always works for me. No drill bit and no air duster. Just alter the heating depending on size of caliper and how far bleed screw is from piston. Better to spray again a couple times over a half hour and try again than to risk putting in a caliper with melted piston seals.

Cool video, Merry Christmas

Great video thanks

Great informative video!

I tried this today with one change: instead of snapping off a bit I found a steel nail of the same diameter and just hack sawed it off in its place and used a pair of ice cubes instead of the inverted keyboard cleaner. It worked like a charm. Thank you.

Learned something new

This man is a legend. Bingo!

That drill bit trick is genius. I’ll have to remember that

Great vid. Thanks.

Thank you You’re a lifesaver brother 🙏

Great video !! 🤗

You're a lifesaver

thank you !!!

Very nice!!

Good video

Great advise! Thanks for taking the time to produce this video. Do you have any tips on broken exhaust studs in an aluminum cylinder head?

cool wish i known of you yesterday

Brilliant idea to plug the hole. great price on those bits too. if they're any good that's a deal.

I replace brakes usually for long term. I have not replaced pads on a used caliper and wore out the pads before the caliper seizes. I replace with loaded calipers and rotors when needed but, have found it foolhardy to replace pads on used calipers. Good video on technics for rusted bolts ..

Amazing video!!!! Got a new subscriber! Looking forward to see what else u have posted that may help

AWESOME......good info....MOPAR 4 EVR.

I tried this 3-4 times using a MAP torch and using ballistol cooling spray. What finally got it loose was heating the outside area for 3 minutes and I sprayed WD40 on it while it was still hot. Maybe use some different penetrating fluid that isn't flammable. Maybe it was the combined effort of several tries. Mine was completely rounded and gripping it with a knipex cobra it took almost no effort to get it out.

This method obviously is good I have to get me some small drill bits

You've done this before. :) Great tip Tom. I hope you had a great Christmas.

Genius

This guy is good very informative, 5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

great video... now i want to try this lol

Ill share my technique with you. Ive had 100% success with it. You need a micro torch or one of those torch lighters...which is what i use. A can of kroil oil or the seafoam creeping oil. Clean the bleeder area. Heat the bleeder screw. Just heat it . don't have to go crazy. Little shot of lube where it threads in. More is not better. Equivalent of a few drops. You will see it get sucked in. I dont know...do that maybe a dozen or more times. Heat... basically just warm it up.,..lube. Try to loosen it. Alot of times it will break loose. Don't try will full so that you break it. If it doesn't break loose ...leave it sit overnight or all day. Try it again. No need to reheat it. I have never had one not come out. I have used the heat and let the fluid suck in for years. Yes sometimes it takes patience...alot of times it works immediately. Just sharing with you because thise that post up on RU-vid have saved my butt many many times. ✌️🇺🇸

Suggestion from Nottingham UK … the patient approach … spray loosening oil on the bleeder day after day before you try any extraction technique so it gets the chance to loosen the rust which is holding the screw.

I enjoyed your video and love your attitude but did you know the hottest part of the flame from your torch is at the tip of the inner cone? Also true Mapp Gas isn't made anymore but they have a substitute called Map-Pro Gas but it is only slightly hotter than Propane by about 120 degrees. Much more expensive with accessories. Thanks for sharing this with other Weekend Warriors~!

FYI the hottest part of an LP flame is the tip of the blue flame.

great video. is that a regular cheap propane torch? have u thought about putting crazy glue around drill bit so it all bonds to bledder screw? might get that last 2% of cases?

I have a kit that does the same thing except it uses rod not a drill bit.

Great video… isn’t the flame too close to the bleeder screw? Wouldn’t you would want it at the tip (blue area) of the flame?

I've worked on a broken bleeder for over an hour only to find out a remanufactured caliper was $28. This is good in an emergency or for an expensive or unavailable part but I've found it's always best to get a replacement quote before you put more labor into something than it's worth