Broken Coolant Bleeder screw! 90 240sx KA24E

[S133P3R]

thanks you all for reading my first post! ****NOOB ahead***I drive a 1990 240sx ka24e, stock except for coilovers (working mans project) which has recently started overheating. I am going to be replacing the therm and H2O pump this week but i have one problem.... my coolant bleeder screw is snapped off below the surrounding intake manifold. has anyone ever tapped one out? and what do i use to replace the bleeder once it is out?

also i have been reading (and searching) posts about bleeding your coolant thru an open radiator cap on an incline, would this work if my bleedr is broken? or does that need to be open too (thread unclear)?

any info would be much appreciated and thanks for reading......

[slow40]

did it get cross threaded or what? that screw is not really easy to break, especially with what it's for and where it's at. how did you do it? anyway, you can get a tool from a local parts store that backs broken or stripped out, excuse my ignorance but i can't remember what it's called. it's a bit that goes into a power drill. man i feel stupid.

[S133P3R]

Thanks for the info there. The screw was broken when i acquired the vehicle and seems to have been possibly over-tightened, but its below the surrounding metal. I saw the a "tap kit" at sears to get the screw out. I have been driving with no problems for a year now. I know the coolant needs to be flushed, but i cant do that unless I fix the screw.... still leaves one question unanswered.....

Does anyone know if bleeding the system with the screw closed and the radiator cap open only (on incline) will work?

[positron1]

Bleeding it like that will work.

[onosqv]

You can tap it out, but there's the chance that the threads are already screwed or you can make matters worse & a leak will start occurring.

I've actually hardly ever bled my coolant w/ the bleeder screw when I had a sohc - it just takes a few more minutes of bubbling; they have the Prestone coolant bleeding kits that help out a lot (clamps a funnel onto your radiator fill neck).

If you don't plan on bleeding your coolant all the time, and there are no leaks coming from that screw, I'd just do it the radiator incline way.