AP Caliper seized bleed nipples

A few weeks back I got a local garage to change my discs and pads all round to brembo max discs and pagid pads, front pads were squealing so bit the bullet and got some ferodo ds2500 which same garage fitted today. I asked to do the brake fluid whilst in too. Picked it up and he said the bleed nipples are stuck, if he forces them they will snap. He said the only way to do it is to buy 2 new calipers, or pull the brake lines off where they join the caliper and pump out the fluid which will be very messy and not something he wants to get involved in (not sure how easy or hard this is). He said there is no way he is touching my car again as the brakes are "a nightmare" and a "stupid design", he was glad to see the back of me. I said I'll take it to Seat and he said they will just tell you to buy new calipers. So I have no idea what to do now! The brake fluid desperately needs changing but it looks like it is going to be impossible.

cupra.al said:

i can understand his concern but at the same time they sound a bit foolish too,im pretty sure seat wouldnt say buy new calipers as that just dont make any sense if the nipples did snap you could use an extractor to remove the stuck part and if need be re thread the caliper and either use new bigger nipples or use a helicoil.
the tools required arent really advanced but i can understand why some garages wouldnt want to do the job as its kind of heading into engineering territory.
for your brakes to squeal the first time round to me just doesnt say a lot for the garage in the first place in my opinion.

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I think basically it's a small independent garage and there is only one mechanic there at the moment as the other, who is a family friend, is off long term sick, and so taking on such a time consuming job on his own is meaning he can't work on other cars. I might take it to seat and explain the situation to them as I am sure it's something they have seen before.

vroomtshh said:

The problem is that the steel bleed nipples corrode to the alloy caliper body, and if you get them out, you'll almost certainly strip the soft aluminium thread. You could then helicoil it, but he's right, its a crappy job, and the calipers are bad for it. The corrosion under the sliders is a nightmare on them too

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Yeh I think they are corroded in. When he did the discs and pads it took him over 3 hours and he had to drill the pins out, it's exactly what he said, hard metal parts going in to a very soft metal caliper is a recipe for disaster.
What about the other option he suggested about disconnecting the brake line and pumping the fluid out? Would that be difficult? He said it would be very messy.

Sprogpole said:

Good quality penetrating fluid overnight then put some more on in the morning.
Give the nipple a sharp tap straight down to shock the corrosion loose.
You could always heat um up with a blow torch.

If they do snap, put some new callipers on and repair the damaged set in your own time and sell them on to get some of your cash back.

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Good call, might try this.