# R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper



## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

So I recently purchased a used R32 brake kit. When I tried to unscrew the bleed valve, it broke off in the caliper.

























Here is what I plan to do:
- pb-blaster/wd-40 overnight
- drill out the rest of the screw
- thorough clean with brake/carb cleaner
- re-tap threads as necessary (M7x1.0 I think)
- fluid flush without bleed screw in place
- fluid flush with new bleed screw in place
Sound good?
What do you folks think about that rust?



_Modified by phatvw at 5:33 PM 12-19-2006_


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## Mohudsolo (Feb 25, 2004)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

Try an e-z-out after drilling it out some. Be very careful to not drill down into the surface that seals the screw. It broke because it got bent in shipping. Look at the pics and you can see it was bent over some and that is the type of damage I've seen from shipping when a part is not well protected.
If you don't mind possibly damaging the paint, consider some heat too. It really helps break up rust when you hit parts like that with a torch, but it may burn the paint off.


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Mohudsolo)*

You're right the whole screw is bent over. Definitely shipping.
As long as I can get this thing out I'm in the clear. New speed bleeder screws are only $13/pair.


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## Gaki (Oct 15, 2000)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

I would try not to drill too much and risk the shavings getting in there.
I'd try the pb blaster and ez out first


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## Banditt007 (Oct 23, 2002)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Gaki)*

i say no matter what you do to get that thing out, pop out both pistons with compressed air and put on new piston o rings, and dust boots. not only will the caliper be as good as new, but you can also get any stuff that fell into the caliper out while you are in there and inspect the bore of the caliper. its very very easy to do, and parts should be cheap. like $10 or under for the whole caliper.


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Banditt007)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Banditt007* »_i say no matter what you do to get that thing out, pop out both pistons with compressed air and put on new piston o rings, and dust boots. not only will the caliper be as good as new, but you can also get any stuff that fell into the caliper out while you are in there and inspect the bore of the caliper. its very very easy to do, and parts should be cheap. like $10 or under for the whole caliper.

Good idea. When you say compressed air, do you mean hook up the brake hose to a pressure source to pop the pistons out? I've never gone that far in depth with a brake job. I gather the most important thing is to not scratch the bore right? Other than that its just replacing the rubber bits?
edit: a caliper overhaul kit from my local VW dealer is $48.14. I'm not sure what that comes with or if its for one or both calipers.


_Modified by phatvw at 11:35 PM 12-19-2006_


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## Banditt007 (Oct 23, 2002)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

yeah its seriously so easy.
you need a compressed air blower nozzle, with a rubber tip end on it. then you make sure that the bleeder screw is tightened, so the only other way fluid (and now compressed air) could enter is where the brake line screws in. so you take a good size rag and stuff it where the brake pads would be to prevent the pistons from flying out like a rocket and messing up the surface, as well as it keeps the brake fluid splashing/spray down to a min. THen just hit the compressed air and the pistons pop right out.
next clean out the inside of the caliper and apply a light film of 'caliper grease' (most times the same grease you can use on the slide pins is also the assembly grease) on the entire bore. make sure the bore is not pitted/rusty ect ect. Install the new piston o ring which is seated in a groove in the bore. make sure that surface has the same grease on it. Then you slide the new dust boot over the piston from back to front. and have a bit of the boot where it clicks into the caliper, sticking off the back of the piston. get the boot to seat in the caliper groove it fits in (right infront of the groove where the piston o ring goes), and just press the piston in, make sure it goes in straight. sometimes you can do this by hand sometimes you need a c-clamp. it should push it slowly with firm thumb pressure. as you do this make sure the boot is sliding on the piston(help it along) until it snaps in the groove on the outside of the piston.
For a caliper rebuild kit to cost that much, it prob includes slide pins/their boots, and grease, as well as the dust boots and piston o rings. For the girling 54 calipers that i rebuilt (single piston) 2 dust boots and 2 piston o rings cost $5. for one side it was $6 for the 2 slide pin boots and new bolts.
As for doing this on a 2 piston r32 caliper the only different suggestion i have is to put something infront of the pistons so they come out evenly with the compressed air. if one pops out and the other is in there still you will have a hell of a time trying to get the other one out. for whatever reason its almost impossible to pull the pistons out with something like vice grips unless they are 90% of the way out already.
Once you start tearing the caliper down its super self explainitory, and you basically have a new caliper! sweet








PS also make sure the caliper piston, like the bore, is not rusted, pitted ect. sometimes surface rust/roughness can be removed with some WD-40 and 0000 steel wool. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
PPS: You could use a small c clamp/wood clamp and hold one piston in the caliper. hit the compressed air, pop the other piston out, rebuild that, assembly and then move the clamp to the newly rebuilt one to hold it in so the compressed air only pops out the soon-to-be-rebuilt piston. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 


_Modified by Banditt007 at 9:07 AM 12-20-2006_


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Banditt007)*

Bandit, thanks a ton for the tips.
Unfortunately, the rebuild kit only comes with the boots and o-ring seals, and its one kit per caliper. So that would be $100 for both calipers! I don't know why is so expensive - maybe because there are so few R32's and Audi TT 3.2L's out there.

BTW the applicable speed bleeder model number for the R32 caliper is: SB7100 (M7x1.0, 35mm total length) which is the same one used on many Porsche applications. It also costs half the OEM bleed screw: http://www.speedbleeder.com/size.htm
Here are all the oem replacement parts for the caliper:
caliper seals: 8d0698471 $48.14 (1 kit per caliper)
guide bushings: 8d0698647 $27.58 (1 kit per caliper)
guide pins: 251615219 $17.24 (2 per caliper)
bleed screw: 8d0615273 $14.04 (1 per caliper)



_Modified by phatvw at 9:28 AM 12-20-2006_


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## Banditt007 (Oct 23, 2002)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

phat, dosent some BMW run the same calipers as the r32 (front?) if so maybe the caliper rebuild kit for that would be cheaper just since its not a 'limited production' kind of thing. Then again it is a BMW. 
Or is the r32 the only car that runs those calipers?


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## NOVAdub (Jul 28, 2003)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Banditt007)*

When I was considering R32 brakes I had raceshopper check for pads and I want to say they told me it was a 745iL that it shares calipers with. Im not 100% on that though.


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## fat biker (Feb 16, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

I think the root cause of the broken screw is that the screw was seized in the hole.
Anything you can do to free the screw is in your favor.
I'm not convinced that drilling the screw is the best way to go.
One thing I found in trying to remove screws that were rusted in place was that often by trying to tighten the screw just a tiny bit before trying to loosen it often helped.
Which type of easy-out?
I have seen two types, the "reverse screw" and "tapered". I would think that the tapered style might be the way to go as it would allow the tightening I mentioned.
Here's what I'd do;
find an easy out that fits
spray repeatedly with kroil or pb blaster
pound the tapered easy out into the screw
heat with a torch
"tighten" the easy out just a touch
try to remove it
luck,
fat biker


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (NOVAdub)*

Here is the pad template from Hawk:








The same pads are used on the following cars:
Audi TT 3.2L
BMW Z8/750iL
Chrysler Crossfire SRT6
Mercedes E55AMG/E500 4Matic/Most S-series
Volkswagen R32
The calipers on the VW/Audi are manufactured by ATE. Since the other cars are of German origin, I'm going to assume they are ATE calipers as well. I'll hit a Chrysler dealer first...



_Modified by phatvw at 1:04 PM 12-20-2006_


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

Tried a spiral screw extractor from sears and it sheared right off inside the hole.








Apparently the bits are very hard and brittle, so no chance of drilling that out. Doh!
Time to look into Electrical-Discharge Machining I guess.
Last resort: a brand new caliper costs ~$250 at the dealer.


_Modified by phatvw at 1:52 AM 12-21-2006_


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## GTIspirit (Dec 13, 2002)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (fat biker)*


_Quote, originally posted by *fat biker* »_I think the root cause of the broken screw is that the screw was seized in the hole.
Anything you can do to free the screw is in your favor.
I'm not convinced that drilling the screw is the best way to go.


Good luck. I had the same thing happen to me on a rear caliper and I ended up having to buy a rebuilt rear caliper. I must not be using EZ outs the right way, because I've never had any luck with them. They _always_ break on me. And because they're hardened, you don't have any warning before they snap like a piece of glass. And if the EZ out breaks off in the bleed screw you're double screwed......


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## traffic (Sep 23, 2003)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *phatvw* »_Tried a spiral screw extractor from sears and it sheared right off inside the hole.








Apparently the bits are very hard and brittle, so no chance of drilling that out. Doh!
Time to look into Electrical-Discharge Machining I guess.
Last resort: a brand new caliper costs ~$250 at the dealer.


DOH!!!


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## Banditt007 (Oct 23, 2002)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (GTIspirit)*

i'll just say thats been my expereince with those things too, they break everytime, w/o warning as was said above. however the splined rod type extractors i have had good luck with as long as the piece that is in there isnt stuck too badly.


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Banditt007)*

This type?








I almost got that one but it looked like the smallest available size was too big.
This sucks. BTW the Chrysler brake bits appear to be even more expensive than the VW. $380 for a caliper.


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## vr6mitch (Apr 8, 2006)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

i have used this type to get out many a broken bleeder. apply some heat via oxy/acetylene torch, small butane torch, or heat gun mabye andd that should def. loosen it up. tap in one of those bad boys and carefullly turn your way to freedom.
good luck

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Mohudsolo (Feb 25, 2004)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (vr6mitch)*

I've also found the square type extractors are much more durable than the spiral ones. Heat is generally the key with any screw or bolt into metal that can take some heat. You MIGHT be able to break the now broken extractor into smaller bits that will come out since they are so brittle. Any idea what a rebuilt caliper is from an autoparts store? If the dealer wants $380 a rebuilt should be way less, assuming there are any in the pipeline available that is. Aren't limited production parts great fun?


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Mohudsolo)*

Ugh. Every extractor just keeps taking more metal off the inside of the bleed screw. the edges are still lodged in there and it looks like the threads are totally trashed. I think this caliper is a lost cause. Even if I can drill out all the metal, the threads would have to be re-tapped to a larger size and there is still no guarantee of having a solid seal at the bottom.


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## Banditt007 (Oct 23, 2002)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

maybe this is totally off the wall but i've had luck drilling things like this out until basically just the outter wall/threads of the (in this case bleeder screw) are in the threads in the caliper. then get in there with a pick and the threads from the screw will kind of be able to be pryed out.


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Banditt007)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Banditt007* »_maybe this is totally off the wall but i've had luck drilling things like this out until basically just the outter wall/threads of the (in this case bleeder screw) are in the threads in the caliper. then get in there with a pick and the threads from the screw will kind of be able to be pryed out.

Yeah I was thinking of exactly that but the threads are still going to be messed up and without good threads the seal might not hold. I don't want to take chances with the bleed screw loosening up at 135MPH!!!


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## Banditt007 (Oct 23, 2002)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

haha yeah seriously. perhaps try that and a tap that is one MM larger but the same thread pitch than what the car comes with and pick up a bleeder for that







that should work good.


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Banditt007)*

Ended up ordering a brand new caliper. $278 with tax


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## Gaki (Oct 15, 2000)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

ah man,
no refunds from the place you got it from??


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Gaki)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Gaki* »_ah man,
no refunds from the place you got it from??

Private sale. I requested that he refund me part of the cost of the new caliper. We'll see...


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## Ryan Sickles (Mar 10, 2005)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

You do know that you can just drill a slightly larger hole... clean out the shavings in the caliper by taking it apart... then any automotive store should have different size bleed screws. All you gotta' do is take it to a machine shop and have them tap the caliper with the appropriate size threading.


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Ryan Sickles)*

Yes I know. However this caliper will easily see speeds of 135mph+ on the race track. Don't want to take any chances.

How bout I sell this caliper to you for $50 and you can re-build it and re-sell it for as much as you like










_Modified by phatvw at 5:45 PM 1-5-2007_


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## Ryan Sickles (Mar 10, 2005)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*

Ultimately, if done correctly, a larger bleed screw would be just as safe if not safer... and the shop would probably charge $20-25 to tap new threads, and the cost of a larger bleeder is like $3-4. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Ryan Sickles (Mar 10, 2005)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (phatvw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *phatvw* »_How bout I sell this caliper to you for $50 and you can re-build it and re-sell it for as much as you like









No one is going to want a single caliper... but if you pay me $50 I'll happily do it for you since I've got the resources...


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: R32 front bleeder screw broke off inside caliper (Ryan Sickles)*

Two problems. There is limited space for a bigger size. The next size up is M8. If that works ok. M10 will most likely not work.
And the bottom of the hole still has to be machined properly to mate with the bottom of the bleed screw. That is the part I'm most worried about. And even if that is done correctly, to ensure no contamination, a full caliper seal rebuild kit will need to be re-installed. It all adds up pretty quick with no guarantee.
caliper seals: 8d0698471 $48.14 (1 kit per caliper)
bleed screw: 8d0615273 $14.04 (1 per caliper)
labour ???



_Modified by phatvw at 8:10 PM 1-5-2007_


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