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Replacement brake nipples. Stainless or Titanium?

maldren

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Joined
7 Oct 2016
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1,741
About to bite the bullet and bleed the brakes!

I plan to replace the nipples as a preventative measure. I was looking at stainless but saw there are titanium parts on the market too. Anyone tried them? Is this a sensible upgrade or silly bling?
 
I've just bought some titanium one's from big red on Ebay. . I've not fitted them yet... But my theory was they have better corrosion resistance than steel.. :dont know: and after the hassle I've had with my nipples corrosion resistance is important to me :lol:
 
Some Ebay nipples talk about being for Brembo calipers and look longer than others, the pictures of the titanium nipples look shorter but they do say they suit the Brembo calipers, interested to see how you get on.
 
I have just fitted one whilst doing my pads they seem good.. They are almost comically light..
They come in a pretty box too..

20171017_142158.jpg
 
The lights going now but here's a quick pic..

20171017_173545.jpg
 
Looks good, mind I can't see the weight saving making much difference, I wonder whether ELA has fitted them!?!?!?
 
maldren said:
Looks good, mind I can't see the weight saving making much difference, I wonder whether ELA has fitted them!?!?!?

:lol: I ment when you screw them in it feels like they are made of plastic or something it's really quite bizarre.... No I cant imagine it having any great effect even if it is unsprung weight... :lol: Indeed ELA is the man to answer this question.. :?: :thumb:
 
I installed stainless nipples last year - I'm too tight to buy the titanium ones. Came to bleed the brakes this week after 12 months of them being in there and they were still like brand new. Freed up nicely no issues
 
Buying Stainless isn't tight, it's sensible. Tight is looking on Ebay and finding that HEL nipples look good and a good price and then looking at the HEL website and finding that the nipples are cheaper directly from them,
£1.99 each duly ordered.
 
I finally got round to starting the job today.

On every caliper, the inner nipples freed easily but the outer nipples were solid. Not sure if it's corrosion or a gorilla tightening them. I've given them a good soak in Plus Gas and I'll try again in a day or two and replace the fluid too.

The problem as I see it is that if I snap a nipple, the caliper will have to come off. Will I then need to have a dealer to drain/fill the system?
 
Can't see why you'd need a dealer to fill the system, should just be able to bleed through as normal. I'd be more concerned about the brake line fittings and/or the caliper bolts if the caliper has to come off as often the brake hoses can be awkward to remove without damaging the pipes and likewise the caliper bolt threads can become damaged upon removal. On that note if you're removing the calipers couldn't you clamp the hoses if they're going to be replaced anyway? I think a member on here had trouble with the pipes etc just recently after snapping some bleed nipples.

What are you using to remove the nipples - I wonder if the percussive shock of an impact gun on low torque might be better to rotate them rather than applying force by hand which may put sideways pressure on the fitting causing it to snap (?)

Do you know when the last time the bleed nipples were removed (ie last fluid change?).

Seems to be quite a few issues on these cars with basic stuff like bolts and fittings etc, turns a 5 minute job into a nightmare!

Good luck :thumb:
 
Thanks X51,
I thought that refilling an empty system is an issue with the anti-lock system, not an issue when bleeding but could be an issue with calipers off?

I haven't tried the impact gun yet, that's the next port of call after the soak with Plus Gas. If I need to, and I'm not too worried about getting the Calipers off, there's bound to be a point between flexible pipes and calipers that I can separate.

I've only had the car for a year and a half, the calipers have been painted relatively recently and the nipples look very good as does the rest of the pipework but like everyone else, I don't want to be getting broken nipples drilled out!
 
I'm going to buy the titanium ones, for the sake of 19.99 it's a no brainier just to change them
 
G3BML said:
I'm going to buy the titanium ones, for the sake of 19.99 it's a no brainier just to change them
Is that for all 8?

I've bought some stainless HEL ones as mentioned above, £1.99 each inc postage (£15.92 a set) - didn't realise titanium would be that cheap but I guess not worth worrying about in all reality :thumbs:
 
maldren said:
Thanks X51,
I thought that refilling an empty system is an issue with the anti-lock system, not an issue when bleeding but could be an issue with calipers off?

I haven't tried the impact gun yet, that's the next port of call after the soak with Plus Gas. If I need to, and I'm not too worried about getting the Calipers off, there's bound to be a point between flexible pipes and calipers that I can separate.

I've only had the car for a year and a half, the calipers have been painted relatively recently and the nipples look very good as does the rest of the pipework but like everyone else, I don't want to be getting broken nipples drilled out!

Couldn't you clamp the hoses? You shouldn't need to drain the system and if you keep the reservoir full you won't introduce any air upstream so the ABS pump etc should be fine, just bleed as normal. I think I've seen other methods of sealing off the reservoir lid too, eg using a cap from a pressure bleeder. Having said that it's probably worth replacing the hoses though if the calipers are off I guess :thumb:

My comment about the pipes and hoses was based on a recent thread on here, guy had a similar age 996 and I think he had trouble with siezed fittings on the brake lines. Hopefully you'll get the bleed nipples off without any problems though! :thumbs:
 

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