Brake bleeder nipple thread size

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harrier

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 5, 2010
Messages
57
Anyone know offhand what the thread is on the brake bleeder nipples? I have to bleed the brakes, and I would love to put speed bleeders in to make it a one-man job.

Also, I have a Motiv power bleeder for my BMW, but I see no real way to connect it to the Nissan master cylinder. Anyone know if there is an adapter?

Thanks
 
Nissan Leaf bleeder nipple is m7x1.0

Installed Speedbleeders to make it easier to flush the brakes. Makes it dead simple to do.

Bleeders:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CPCOB6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Clear plastic line:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HE5DUG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

Use plastic drink bottle for receptacle.

I suspect there are not a lot of folks on this forum doing DIY, but it took a while for me to figure this out, and I want there to be something that will show up on google when the next guy like me searches!
 
harrier said:
Nissan Leaf bleeder nipple is m7x1.0

Installed Speedbleeders to make it easier to flush the brakes. Makes it dead simple to do.

Bleeders:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CPCOB6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Clear plastic line:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HE5DUG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

Use plastic drink bottle for receptacle.

I suspect there are not a lot of folks on this forum doing DIY, but it took a while for me to figure this out, and I want there to be something that will show up on google when the next guy like me searches!

I'm assuming this means that all 4 calipers use this size bleeder?

Thanks for blazing the trail. The manufacturer doesn't seem to have bothered with their application chart for over a decade. :roll:
 
2 things....

1) I have changed my brake fluid.. The stock nipples work fine with one turn to open... What you do need is a vacuum pump to make it a one man job. No pumping the brakes... You really do not need fancy nipples (which look like they will cost $45 for a set of 4??)

2) If you REALLY want to replace the brake valves, then take one out and take it with you to the auto parts store to find out the thread gauge...

Careful..... The front and back may be different.....
 
powersurge said:
2 things....

1) I have changed my brake fluid.. The stock nipples work fine with one turn to open...
I'm sure they do. I've done brake work on various cars. But I'd prefer to do this solo. I've done the "submerge the hose" trick, but I find bleeding is more effective when some pressure is built and relieved.
What you do need is a vacuum pump to make it a one man job. No pumping the brakes... You really do not need fancy nipples (which look like they will cost $45 for a set of 4??)
The vacuum methods can be problematic. I was hoping to use a pressure system but we seem to have an oddball reservoir and I didn't want to muck about trying to get some "universal adapter" to adapt :) EDIT: oh, and the price is for a set of 2, so not too bad...
2) If you REALLY want to replace the brake valves, then take one out and take it with you to the auto parts store to find out the thread gauge...

Careful..... The front and back may be different.....
Yeah but I'd rather avoid that if possible. A bit of cross-checking for alternative replacements suggests the 4 are identical. We'll see.
 
So an update for flushing my 2015 SV -- the bleeder screws are definitely different between front and rear. Could have told if I had just bothered to look :oops: ;)
Front are larger than 7mm. Since the bleeding sequence starts with the front wheels*, I didn't bother with any of the speed bleeders and just relied on the "submerged hose" method. I should have gotten a screw gauge so I could update the thread with the size of the front screws; sorry about that.

* -- so this is something to note; sequence is different depending on model year. Between 2014 and 2015 the bleeding sequence changed to Right Front, Left Front, Right Rear, Left Rear. In 2014 it was RR,LF,LR,RF Goes against traditional advice, but engineers must have had a reason for all this so I went with it.

Also, the service manual doesn't explicitly give a "flush" procedure. There's a "drain", a "refill" and a "bleed" procedure.

"Drain" doesn't specify a wheel sequence. It also starts with disconnect of the ABS, or IBU or 12V battery. Distinctly different from the specified "bleed" procedure, which says start the car in accessory mode (presumably with everything else connected). I didn't really want to go over the car twice, so I followed the "drain" procedure moving from wheel to wheel in the bleed sequence, and since it allowed me to develop pressure with the pedal I let it serve as the bleeding step. Had I ended with a soft pedal I would have gone through the bespoke bleed procedure using the time-tested "helper" method.

More specifically - drain procedure states close all doors and hatch; make sure "room lamp" is off, wait at least 3 minutes and then disconnect either the ABS actuator harness, the IBU, or the 12V battery. I went with the 12V battery. I assume this somehow allows proper fluid flush of the ABS, but the manual doesn't give up its reasons so easily.

I used this bleeder bottle, which is convenient. You could of course make your own with tubing and a gatorade bottle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W7F2GI/. I hung the bottle so that the tubing rose away from the bleeder screw before descending into the bottle. This gets any bubbles away from the screw opening so they're not pulled back into the caliper.

After slowly pumping each wheel enough times to get clean fluid out of the calipers, I turned the bleeder screws so that fluid could barely flow, and then did a few more pumps with the increased pressure to force out any remaining air. The brake boost was of course off with the car asleep, so you need some leg strength for this.

The fluid was about 2 1/2 years old. The difference in appearance was enough to know when the line was fully flushed. The old fluid looked like iced tea; the new fluid looks more like pale apple juice.

After a test drive the brakes felt fine; took the car to a road where I could do a number of high-performance stops and also exorcise the ABS. :mrgreen: :lol:

Ended up using just over a quart of fluid for the complete flush. There was plenty left if I had needed to re-bleed. FWIW, here's the fluid I chose https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07338GQM8/ Of course you can just go to the parts store and get the big bottle of Prestone DOT3 for cheap and still be fine.
 
I have been using this for years with good results.. on any car.

https://www.amazon.com/d/Brake-System-Bleeding-Tools/Mityvac-MITMV8020-MIT6820-Brake-Bleeding/B000FUMWTM


Brake Bleeding procedure order is the following:

(for all cars) drain the furthest from the master cylinder first, and then down from there.... SO:

First you suck out all the old fluid from the master cylinder with tubing or a turkey baster.

Then -

Drain -
1) Rear Right
2) Rear Left
3) Front Right
4) Front Left....

Remember to keep the master cylinder full with fluid as you do each wheel, or you will get air bubbles and need to start again!

good luck
 
FWIW...

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Nubo said:
So an update for flushing my 2015 SV -- the bleeder screws are definitely different between front and rear. Could have told if I had just bothered to look :oops: ;)
Any guesses as to the 2018 ? Look where, at the actual car, assuming wrench sizes are different if and only if thread size is different ?
 
RustyShackleford said:
Nubo said:
So an update for flushing my 2015 SV -- the bleeder screws are definitely different between front and rear. Could have told if I had just bothered to look :oops: ;)

Any guesses as to the 2018 ? Look where, at the actual car, assuming wrench sizes are different if and only if thread size is different ?

The nipples should be somewhere on the brake caliper; pretty easy to spot. May or may not have rubber caps on them. It was immediately apparent that the size of the bore it screws into was different from front to back. The wrenching nuts were also different size but I wouldn't take same size nuts as a guarantee that threads are the same.

powersurge's advice to remove and check the thread is sound if you really want to make sure before ordering replacements. I just didn't want to have to bleed the brakes as a prerequisite to getting a device to help me bleed the brakes (again) :lol:
 
Resurrecting this thread to post some part numbers. On a '13 SL I used the following

Front:
Edelbrock/Russell 639560
10mm x 1.0

Rear:
Edelbrock/Russell 639570
7mm x 1.0

Interestingly, the stock and replacement front bleeders used different size wrenches but the rears were the same.
 
Just bled the brakes on a 2013 Leaf S and the bleeder screws were 8mm -- rear and 10 mm -- front.

I have a Motiv pressure bleeder but they refuse to sell a compatible reservoir cap for Nissan, and have no plans to do so according to their support.

I purchased a Speedi Bleed kit with Nissan adapter C1000 and it makes this process very simple. I bled the brakes with the ignition off in the RR, LR, FR, FL wheel pattern. It helped me to jack up the RR wheel to get to the bleeder screw, which also made LR caliper accessible. Fronts were a little easier to get to but raising the FR was worth it. The entire operation took less than 30 minutes and the pedal feel is outstanding.

I cannot recommend the Speedi Bleed tool enough! It ships from Vancouver, BC but shipping was only 5 business days to the midwest.

https://www.speedibleed.com/k1000-nissan-brake-bleeder-kit.html

Hope this helps someone else!
 
X2 on the Speedibleed. I have a Motive but am switching my cap collection over to the speedibleed quick release system. I ordered the “pro” c1000 kit (for 2018 and up LEAF with two prong cap) and converted the tire pressure chuck setup over to a standard air fitting. I usually do this on the hoist in my shop with all tires removed so it is easier to just use shop air. I have caps for four different reservoir styles and do all bleeding/flushing via this method now. I converted our Highlander over to Bosch Dot 5.1 yesterday and will be doing same to our LEAF shortly.

Video coming…
 
Let me know if you want to sell your Motive adapters. I probably have whatever came with the pump unit but I'd love to be able to do the entire 'fleet' with the same pump.
 
I just adapted my motive bits to the SpeediBleed using a few extra 1/8" NPT quick release adapters. They sell them at SpeediBleed's site.

Btw, for a 2018 LEAF SL with electronic parking brake, the bleeder screw sizes are 10mm front and back. I have no need for the Speedbleed nipples as with a pressure bleeder they are redundant.

The reason you see some confusion on the rear bleeder size is that there are manual emergency brake versions (old school cables), electronic brake versions (motor driven, but uses cables) with the crazy hardware in the spare tire area, and electronic brake versions (newer) that have the actuators directly attached to the rear calipers. The newer ebrake system has the motor in a sealed housing directly actuating an internal "screw" that extends the caliper cup mechanically when the ebrake is applied. The latest design should be quite reliable as all the components are sealed.

That said, the internal actuator of the latest EPB design is sitting in brake fluid so yet another reason to flush the fluid at recommended intervals.
 
frocephus said:
Just bled the brakes on a 2013 Leaf S and the bleeder screws were 8mm -- rear and 10 mm -- front.

I have a Motiv pressure bleeder but they refuse to sell a compatible reservoir cap for Nissan, and have no plans to do so according to their support.

I purchased a Speedi Bleed kit with Nissan adapter C1000 and it makes this process very simple. I bled the brakes with the ignition off in the RR, LR, FR, FL wheel pattern. It helped me to jack up the RR wheel to get to the bleeder screw, which also made LR caliper accessible. Fronts were a little easier to get to but raising the FR was worth it. The entire operation took less than 30 minutes and the pedal feel is outstanding.

I cannot recommend the Speedi Bleed tool enough! It ships from Vancouver, BC but shipping was only 5 business days to the midwest.

https://www.speedibleed.com/k1000-nissan-brake-bleeder-kit.html

Hope this helps someone else!

Found this pressure cap for $20. Worked perfectly on my 2014 Leaf. I mentioned it in this thread: https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=624400

https://www.cosda.com.tw/brake-bleeder-adapter-for-nissan-sd-1209-6.html
 
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