How to remove a broken nipple (valve stem core) from a tire pressure sensor valve?

DIY tubeless wheel repair - how to unscrew and remove the broken central part of the valve stem.

Hello everyone, in this short article I will show you how to remove a nipple with a broken grip using a special wrench from a tire pressure sensor valve. I didn't discover anything groundbreaking here, but hopefully my advice will help someone.

This situation happens quite often, as no one is immune to moisture, salt, and road chemicals, and unfortunately, human error can also come into play if some tire specialists are not skilled enough. If this happens on a regular valve stem, it's not a big deal, the cost of replacement is low, and it's easier to just replace it with a new valve stem and nipple.

However, if the nipple is broken inside the tire pressure sensor, replacing the sensor itself would be very expensive, and not every sensor will fit your car. The tire shop immediately suggested installing a repair kit for the sensor, but when they found out that the valve stem and sensor were all in one piece, they lost interest. When I asked if it was possible to remove the nipple, they said it was impossible and the sensor had to be replaced.

So, I decided to temporarily install a regular valve stem and try to remove the broken nipple myself, which turned out to be relatively simple.

Since the grip on the nipple was broken, you can forget about the standard key. To remove the nipple, I needed a Torx star socket size 15. The essence is simple: I pushed the locking rod of the nipple further with the star socket, and then inserted the Torx socket into the hole of this rod. Then, carefully trying not to turn the socket inside the body of the nipple, I unscrewed the broken nipple from the valve.

That's all there is to it. As they say, "fear has big eyes," and you can now put the sensor back in place.

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