Bleed nipple seepage....

[Sharpy]

Sounds painful I know... and another question, apologies!

I have been bleeding the front brake and I have noticed that it keep weeping, I dont want to tighten the bleed nipple anymore for fear of snapping it but I was wondering if this is normal?  (I am guessing not) and what, if anything I can do to fix it!

Cheers

Sharpy

[Bryanj]

Sounds like the seat is damaged, either another calliper(same as 500) or a "repair kit" that I have imported some of from the USA where you drill out and tap to 1/8 NPT screw in the brass insert which comes with a new nipple that seats inside the insert.

Several people on here have used them, pm me if you are interested

[PatM]

Firstly, it shouldnt weep. Follow Brian's advice for a permanent solution- but maybe have a peek at whats preventing the nipple seating. The drilling has a very acute angle in the casting at the bottom- you might be able to clear the depression by introducing a sharp drill-bit that clears the treads (in other words doesn't touch them) - I cant offer a size to suggest- and also, you might want to emery-cloth the nipple end itself. Its bad practice, but...some PTFE tape might just seal the threads, but careful with anything to do with brakes- as they are not the best on the 400/4 as we all know- and don't attract the attention of the MOT tester..dare I suggest.

[Sharpy]

Cheers chaps... somewhat frustratingly this is a "re-conditioned" unit but is now well out of any warranty as I have taken so long to get to this point.

I will take the nipple out and see if there is anything preventing it from seating and see if I can tidy anything up I might also just  clean the threads as well, its a really tiny amount but appreciate anything from the brakes is pretty bad!!

Might give a bit of PTFE a go as well... might be just enough.

Cheers

Sharpy 

[ka-ja]

Hi,
     I would be careful of using ptfe tape on any form of oil,in 50 yrs. in engineering, I have seen many instances of ptfe breaking down when used on hydraulic and lube oil systems, its really best to find the root cause and try to cure that. It would be handy if you or someone you know can grind up a drill with a sharp angle to match the original seat angle and try to clean the seat, then try with a new bleed nipple with some copperslip on the threads to help re-seating,
     

[Sharpy]

Thanks Ka-Ja.  My plan is to see if I can avoid PTFE anyway, it will be a temp last resort if everything else fails!

[Sharpy]

tentatively saying "good news"... cleaned the threads, swept the seating with an ear bud, tried again... Seems to have stopped my painful nipple seepage.... No PTFE in sight... Which is nice! 

Cheers for the help,

Sharpy