Brake Nipples - Speed Bleeders And Brembo & Falcon Standard Brakes

[PhilMeUp]

Brake Nipples - Speed Bleeders and Brembo & Falcon standard brakes

A speed bleeder is a brake nipple that has a valve inside to prevent air getting in. To bleed brakes you normally put pressure on the brake fluid (ie push the brake pedal down or have a gadget that pushes brake fluid at the reservoir) and quickly undo and do up the nipple. A speed bleeder makes it easy because you can just undo it a bit and pump away as much as you want, without air getting back in. Very useful.

ie:

For a while now I've wanted to put speed bleeders on my taxi so that I could flush my brake fluid regularly and quickly, but didn't know exactly which ones to get.

Until just now I didn't realise that it's the base of the nipple that actually seals the brake fluid in. I wasn't sure previously whether it was the base or the nipple threads. Nup, it's the base, which means that the actual length of the brake nipple isn't particularly important.

I bought a set of 6/4 Brembo calipers for my taxi a few months ago but haven't been able to fit them yet because I'm still hunting for suitable wheels. Just about got that sorted out - I'm getting some BA XR8 18" rims restored at a wheel repair place because I couldn't find a complete set undamaged.

I'm tough on brakes and brake fluid in my taxi needs replacing fairly regularly. I asked around about speed bleeders for standard Falcon brakes a while ago but couldn't confirm which ones to get.

It just occurred to me to try a standard Falcon brake nipple on the Brembo calipers. It fits fine. The Falcon nipple is a bit longer than the Brembo one, but the thread is the same and it appears to form a seal inside the caliper.

Total length:

Brembo nipple: 28.7mm

Falcon nipple: 28.0mm

Distance from collar to base of nipple:

Brembo nipple: 14.5mm

Falcon nipple: 16.0mm

However, the base of the nipple (ie the bit that seals against the inside of the caliper) is a different diameter.

Brembo nipple: 8.0mm

Falcon nipple: 6.5mm

But, then I looked down the hole where the nipple goes and saw that there's only a small contact area between the nipple and caliper. It's actually a tad scary that our lives depend on such a small amount of metal contact.

The one to get appears to be the 639630: http://shop.rocketindustries.com.au/products/RU639630

So, conclusions:

1) the only two things that matter about a brake nipple are the thread and the contact patch at the end (ie that seals against the inside of the caliper). Everything else doesn't matter (within reason).

2) Brembo calipers and standard Falcon calipers can use the same nipples.

If this is all correct then I'll be buying one set of speed bleeders for my taxi (ie eight - two per Brembo caliper) and a set for my girlfriend's taxi (four - standard calipers).

Where they come from:

There appears to be two companies that make them: Speed Bleeder Products and Russell Performance.

Speed Bleeder Products: http://speedbleeder.com (part number is SB1010S)

Russell Performance: http://www.russellperformance.com/mc/speed/domestic.shtml

Russel Performance is owned by/is part of Edelbrock - http://www.edelbrock.com Their products are distributed in Australia by Rocket Industries. Any car accessory shop can order them in from Rocket.

If I've got any of this wrong and someone knows the correct info then please post it here ASAP.

Photos:

This is the standard Falcon nipple:

But, I didn't realise that there's actually a rubber collar that can be removed. I would assume that this is to keep dirt and grime out of the thread area.

Falcon nipple and Brembo nipple side by side, lined up at the bases. Also, notice the difference in the sizes of the holes that the brake fluid gets out through:

The two nipples, lined up at the collars:

The Brembo nipple in the caliper:

The Falcon nipple in the caliper:

The hole in the caliper where the nipple goes. You can see where the nipple seals up against the caliper:

The two nipples, side by side, showing the contact area on each one:

[Panda Eyes]

you know alot about nipples, mate!

[Ralph Wiggum]

Phil when you install the speed bleeders, wrap the threads in 1 or two turns of thread tape. the threads arent air tight when they are loosened and the bleed procedure will draw air back in when the pedal is released though the threads,

other than that the speed bleeders or any 1 way valve/1 man bleed kit works well. I use a vacum bleeder or a 1 man bleed and as long as the threads and sealed with thread tape they work well!

[XtRmn8]

Hmm this looks like something I could use

What are they worth for the pair?

[PhilMeUp]

  On 08/06/2011 at 9:16 PM, fordriver1 said:

you know alot about nipples, mate!

  On 09/06/2011 at 12:50 AM, XtRmn8 said:

Hmm this looks like something I could use :)What are they worth for the pair?

  Quote

you know alot about nipples, mate!

If there’s one thing that the internet is good for, it’s sitting up late at night studying nipples.

  Quote

Phil when you install the speed bleeders, wrap the threads in 1 or two turns of thread tape. the threads arent air tight when they are loosened and the bleed procedure will draw air back in when the pedal is released though the threads,

ie the same thread tape that plumbers use (ie get it from Bunnings)? Would applying lots of sealant to the threads be enough? http://speedbleeder.zoovy.com/product/THREADSEALANT/Sealant.html

  Quote

What are they worth for the pair?

They come in packets of two, so you’d need two packets for a normal car or four packets for a Brembo setup. A quick Google search shows that around $US10 a pair is common. I haven’t called anywhere for local pricing yet - will be doing that today.

http://www.jegs.com/I/Russell/799/639630/10002/-1

http://www.bizrate.com/automotive-parts/oid2249572860.html

Speedbleeder.com has them at $US7.00 - I think that’s per pair.

http://speedbleeder.zoovy.com/c=Uue1gF98wM13t4qTZ4OpAZlC2/product/SB1010S/SB1010S-Speed-Bleeder.html

[Dagabond]

Wouldn't the tape burn pretty darn quick given the extreme heat conditions a caliper is put through?

[Guest XR09]

Good point Dags

Use the pink hot water plumbers tape and you will be ok. Or Loktite 243 preferably.

[Ralph Wiggum]

The tape only needs to needs to seal while you have the bleeders open, so you just replace it each time you bleed.

You can also use grease, I doubt loctite sealants would hold up my much than thread tape?

[Guest XR09]

243 is heat oil and fluid resistant. It's for motors. The point of speed bleeders is to quickly bleed off some fluid. Pulling the bleeder out is contradicting the point of a speed bleeder.

[Ralph Wiggum]

So is using a sealant that will fail to seal after the nipple has been loosened. It's s parrallel thread remember.

Oh and FWIW I've not had issues with normal pfte White tape failing to seat due to heat