OK. I can vouch that the brakes on my 2000 Grand Cherokee are for light duty use only. My front rotors are plenty warped and have been for some time.

(I've seen this before on my 2001 Saturn. Great car, lousy rotors. One turnpike slow-down from 80mph (not even hard braking) and the rotors were toast at 12000 miles. One upgrade to heavy duty rotors and pads and I was back in business.)

SO I started a brake job on the GC and I attempted to unscrew the bleeder valve. I ended up using plenty of spray penetrant and heat but to no avail. I snapped the bleeder valve and after a few hours of trying to extract what was left of it, I broke down and bought a new caliper.

BUT!! The bleeder valve in this NEW caliper is also pretty well tight in there and doesn't feel like it's going anywhere anytime soon. Is this a joke? Is there some other way to bleed the brakes that I am not familiar with.

The other thing is...The bolt which holds the hose to the caliper (and has a passage for fluid through it)...Does this need to be oriented so the hole faces the hose?? How am I supposed to get it tightened up to the caliper if it is facing the other direction.

Help (and commiseration) is much appreciated.

well are you sure your turning it the right way?

No the hole in the bolt does not have to line up with the hole in the hose. just make sure you put 1 of the copper washers on each side of the hose (1 betweent the bolt head and the hose, and 1 between the hose and the calipr) then tighten it up.

Thank you for the reply. Could it be a left-hand bleeder valve screw? Maybe I have to check this out again. I am new to this board, and new to internet forums in general.

I look forward to contributing to it as much as I can where I know what I'm talking about.

use a six point socket on the bleeder screw so It can't be stripped. Also some heat on the bleeder screw from a propane torch usually works. You shouldn't have to heat up the new screw.

OK. I was a little gun-shy over stripping the new screw, but I went home and gave it a little push and it worked.

I can confirm it's not a left-hand thread.

I did put a small, small dab of anti-seize on the threads of the bleeder screw.

To get the pads in on the other side, I squozed the piston back into the caliper with a c-clamp, while keeping an eye on the fill level in the reservoir - cap off.

Front brakes will get a similar attitude adjustment this weekend.

Thanks all for the good advice and encouragement.