tape for brake line fittings?

[Ginger]

That, and if it melts you've got 2 more problems:

1.Contaminates in your brake fluid.
2. A seal that's no longer tight at the bleeder. As you add teflon tape it takes fewer rotations (or fractions of rotations) to reach a given torque. If that tape melts or burns (really, I'm taking bets on it melting rather than becoming a wick) and you do not add torque at the same time your bleeder bolt will not be as tight as it was with the tape. Since you cannot add torque to the bleeders while you're melting off tape, because you're driving, I would worry about actually LOSING fluid during driving. Since the bleeders use tapered threads, and the tape would help negate the taper, I think this would be a serious safety concern.

As Mike said, track brakes get seriously hotter than street car brakes. I would think at the temperatures track brakes see this could be of a concern where on a street car they would not.

[Ginger]

DJ - are you talking about teflon, or teflon tape?

[Mike]

I have used it on multiple cars without issue :?

imma guess my brakes get a bit warmer than yours ever have been.

How bout me I got a fatass 3100lb car and there is a little bit of teflon on my speed bleeders?

Hell I was throwing flames at summit off my brakes (loctite literally burning off) they were so hot.

cookie? i wouldn't have said the same thing to you, quit being so defensive over everything. fwiw, the weight of your car has nothing to do with how hot your brakes get. it only has to do with how easily they get there.

all, good discussion. i've decided this likely isn't a good idea.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.plasticservices.com/MoldingAcces/tapes.htm">http://www.plasticservices.com/MoldingAcces/tapes.htm</a><!-- m --> lists the temp range of teflon tape as max 600F. i've found other sites that say 500 and 550 as well. that is a bit too close to/under the dry boiling point of your typical dot4 brake fluid (superblue is like 535?) for me to think it's a good idea.

[JustinG]

i just installed speed bleeders on my car, and out of the package the bleeders had what looked like a very very small amount of black RTV on them.....i haven't had any leaks thus far. But im not sure how it would hold up on track.

[white_2kgt]

i just installed speed bleeders on my car, and out of the package the bleeders had what looked like a very very small amount of black RTV on them.....i haven't had any leaks thus far. But im not sure how it would hold up on track.

It last about 2-3 weekends, at least mine did. As I said like 20 post ago, RTV super black, yes it will hold up.

[Dave]

I personally have never used anything to aid sealing on my brakes. I don't like the idea of something that could get in and contaminate the fluid, or worse, work its way into the caliper and block up a passage somehow (yeah, probably being anal, but give it the opportunity).

If I were you Mike, I'd spend $20 and get a set of brand new nipples and replace all your old ones. Over time, yours may have stretched from being overtightened (unknowingly) and thus the distance in the valley of the tapers would be larger and more prone to leaking. A new nipple will eliminate the chance of this and, even if it doesn't fix the problem, possibly give some peice of mind.

[ScottyB]

nipples....over time, yours may have stretched from being overtightened (unknowingly)

i'm so immature

[Andy]

I personally have never used anything to aid sealing on my brakes. I don't like the idea of something that could get in and contaminate the fluid, or worse, work its way into the caliper and block up a passage somehow (yeah, probably being anal, but give it the opportunity).

If I were you Mike, I'd spend $20 and get a set of brand new nipples and replace all your old ones. Over time, yours may have stretched from being overtightened (unknowingly) and thus the distance in the valley of the tapers would be larger and more prone to leaking. A new nipple will eliminate the chance of this and, even if it doesn't fix the problem, possibly give some peice of mind.

Holy shit. The first rational post in this thread. Very good, Dave.
Yes Mike, stop being a cheap ass and buy some new bleeders.
Also, for the speedbleeder users, you guys are going to spring a leak or snap one off inside your caliper. It's inevitable.

[ScottyB]

so speedbleeders really are that bad? i've heard they aren't always the hot ticket but i had been considering them myself.....

edit: sorry if i'm hijacking

[Andy]

I thought they were a great idea too. I bought 6 of them. 4 for brakes, 1 for the clutch and 1 as a backup. I bleed my brakes before every track weekend so I guess it got more use than the average car but after 2 bleedings, it started to leak so I had to crank on them harder. After the 4th use, I snapped one off inside the caliper. It was a big pain in the ass.

*edit* Also, using a looped clear plastic tube works great.

[Mike]

+1 against speedbleeders. heard far too many horror stories.

[D_Eclipse9916]

+1 against speedbleeders. heard far too many horror stories.

I wasnt getting defense, dont know where you got that from. I was saying my fat ass car that constantly gets temps up fast on brakes hasnt had a problem, doesnt mean its necessarily right or wrong.

As for speedbleeders, I have heard horror stories like you guys. However, my wilwoods came with em and 99% of the stories (not saying you guys and hell it might happen to me) is that somebody overcranked them. I trust with all the history wilwood has had in racing, that they wouldnt have put them in if they were as horrible as andy may say.

[white_2kgt]

I ran the same set of speed bleeders for 4 years, NEVER had a single problem with them.

[Maengelito]

I ran the same set of speed bleeders for 4 years, NEVER had a single problem with them.

however, if you use a gatorade bottle to catch the used brake fluid, then you could run into potential problems :lol: