Brake Bleeder Screw

[john at westcoastgarage.net]

> Have tapped the screw on the left front, but the screw on the right front
> is
> rounded out, I think the mechanic used vice-grips and screwed it back
> without replacing the bleeder screw. Should bleeder screws be kept in
> inventory by mechanics just in case they have to be changed out? I'll look
> around for brake bleeder screws.
>
> Max

If I kept stock of all the parts people need because they failed to
properly maintain their cars, my 2400 square feet of shop space would be
so full of uncatalogued spare bits and pieces I would have no place to
work.  Adding them to my inventory and putting them all onto shelves would
take all my time.  I cant afford to forsee every little thing.  (I would
have to stock probably 30-40 different bleeder screws, not counting the
crap they use on "reman" calipers!) The solution to this is to flush your
brake system every 2 years, as every competent brake tech will tell you
(as well as the auto manufacturers) and coat the bleeder screw threads
with antiseize.  That guy may have used crude techniques, but maybe that's
all he had to work with, and he got the car back on the road safely and
with a minimum of expense and downtime.  Far more frequently than we'd
like, we are faced with customers who value "cheap and quick" over "done
right".

John