Corolla E120 Brake Bleed Screws

[angryengineer]

Dear Forum,

I would like to know the specifics of my Toyota's OEM brake bleed screws so as I could source stainless steel versions of them elsewhere. Useful information would be the Toyota part number, the thread size, the length, the with, etc

My car is a 2005 Corolla 1.4 D4D saloon having run 150,000 miles. It has been serviced regularly.

I've decided to flush the existing brake fluid with A.T.E. branded DOT 5.1 brake fluid, so I have purchased 1.5L of it for my mechanic to do this job.

I have read that brake bleed screws can and do fail due to the long term corrosive effects of the caustic brake fluid they are in constant contact with.

My Toyota dealer quoted £21.52 inc. VAT for a set of four new OEM brake bleed screws. Now, if these were made from a stainless steel I might have purchased them. However, I believe they are made from a plain carbon steel galvanized with a covering of zinc. Given the exorbitant price quoted, in my opinion this is a poor quality solution offered by Toyota.

If you could provide this information requested it would be most helpful 🙂.

[oldcodger]

10 hours ago, angryengineer said:

Dear Forum,

I would like to know the specifics of my Toyota's OEM brake bleed screws so as I could source stainless steel versions of them elsewhere. Useful information would be the Toyota part number, the thread size, the length, the with, etc

My car is a 2005 Corolla 1.4 D4D saloon having run 150,000 miles. It has been serviced regularly.

I've decided to flush the existing brake fluid with A.T.E. branded DOT 5.1 brake fluid, so I have purchased 1.5L of it for my mechanic to do this job.

I have read that brake bleed screws can and do fail due to the long term corrosive effects of the caustic brake fluid they are in constant contact with.

My Toyota dealer quoted £21.52 inc. VAT for a set of four new OEM brake bleed screws. Now, if these were made from a stainless steel I might have purchased them. However, I believe they are made from a plain carbon steel galvanized with a covering of zinc. Given the exorbitant price quoted, in my opinion this is a poor quality solution offered by Toyota.

If you could provide this information requested it would be most helpful 🙂.

Hi,

Well everyone has their own choice of part suppliers, but think as long as its one of the big brand names you cannot go far wrong, its more when you buy unbranded cheapies from the usual online sites.

From previous posts many folk buy their oil filter from Toyota as it used to be well under a tenner,

Have you seen Toyotas online shop  ?   -  http://www.ebaystores.co.uk/ToyotaOfficialStore?_fsub=4563093012&_nkw=Corolla+&submit=Search&LH_TitleDesc=1

When I refurbished my calipers the other year there was no sign of any  internal corrosion on the bleed screws and have never read about such problems.

Being as your original (?) Toyota ones have lasted 14 years wonder why you think Toyotas  are so poor or why the existing ones are internally corroded ??

They can corrode a bit externally, but I apply a bit of grease over them after a service and always give the threads a bit of penetrating fluid before attempting to unscrew.

[Longcock]

Slowly pour boiling water over the bleed niples it helps a lot and if spanner slips use mole grips 

[APS]

I agree with previous comments. I've not seen this being a big issue. Of course, over time water and salt works its way down the threads and can make things stick. The key is usually to use a proper tool to loosen the nipple. Don't use open ring keys - you will round them off. Using a hexagonal socket and ratchet handle usually does the job. Even for pretty well seized nipples. If you are a bit paranoid about preventing future corrosion you can paint some (not a lot) underbody protection around the base of the nipple to seal the threads.