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Brake Bleeder Wrenches

M

Maui

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 16, 2012
Messages
2,863
Location
Upstate NY
I have sheared bleeder screws off before, and it has almost always been followed by prolonged episodes of profuse swearing. I HATE IT when that happens!
 
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T

tak1313

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
651
Schurkey said:
No need to be "terrified". The most-common broken bleeder screws are on drum brake wheel cylinders not disc brake calipers. And of those, old Fords seem to have the smallest, weakest bleeder screws.

WHEN you break one--and you will, someday, if you work on enough brake systems--you merely replace the wheel cylinder or caliper. It might be possible to extract the broken bleeder screw and then replace it with a new one...but it's hardly worth the trouble.

Bleeder screws break. The female threads and the seat are rarely damaged. But the wheel cylinder/caliper may be damaged from the old, contaminated fluid.

IF you break something, go to any parts store in America and get a "rebuilt" or new wheel cylinder/caliper. Don't keep this sort of "emergency part" in stock.
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Agree - when I first started wrenching, I was terrified of snapping screws, bolts, bleeders, etc. but then as it happens, you realize it's not that big of a deal (unless you break a bolt in a block THEN break the extractor (hardened) in the block too.

On stuff like calipers/cylinders, they're so cheap now days and easy to come by that it's not worth the effort/time to try and get the bleeder out (and potentially snap the extractor in the bleeder). Just get another one and you know everything about the caliper is "fresh" including all the seals and piston(s). Plus you never know if a tiny shard of metal will end up in an internal crevice within the caliper when you extract that will rear it's head some time later. Whether you extract or put new/rebuilt (I would always buy new, but everybody's financials are different) you have to bleed anyway.
 
D

Dakotadadv8

Well-known member
Joined
May 30, 2021
Messages
1,483
Wolley said:
Trucks with drum brakes you definitely need one. The bleeder is in narrow space between the backing plate and the leaf springs. A regular box end with an angle you can't get on the bleeder square. An open end would work if the stuff is new but any rust and age good luck.
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Agree used a regular combination wrench was tricky on a 18 year old truck in the rust belt.
 
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F

F-22

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 23, 2022
Messages
1,830
Wamsutta said:
Am I the only guy here brave enough to use a 12-point wrench on a bleeder screw? :bounce:
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Think it's still better than a flare nut wrench or an open end wrench. Unless it's really rusty and rounded, the 12 point performs just the same as a 6 point.

I always used a regular 12 point combo wrench for them until I got my USAG set of the Mac RBRT/Facom anti slip design. Now I use those 6 point ends because I have them and trust them.

Very rarely have I stripped the head. If it's stuck, the bleeder head will just snap away anyway.
 
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