The moment I snapped a valve stem at 7am on a Tuesday

I was bleeding brakes on my buddy's 2005 F-150 in my driveway last Thursday. Front passenger bleeder was seized solid, so I put a little too much muscle on it and snapped the whole thing off flush with the caliper. Had to drill it out with a left-handed bit and it took me almost 2 hours to get the broken piece out. Anyone else deal with seized bleeders on older Ford trucks?

2 comments

2 Comments

michaeljones29d agoMost Upvoted

That 2005 F-150 is a common one for that. I've had two of them. First one the rear passenger bleeder snapped on me. Had to use an easy-out and torch combo. The heat cycling on those calipers just fuses everything together over time. If I see a rusty bleeder now I soak it in PB Blaster the day before and give it a few light taps with a hammer first. Sometimes that shock breaks the corrosion loose. Still snapped one on my 2006 though. Those Ford calipers from that era just love to seize up.

simon_sanchez5829d ago

Why buy quality tools when snapping stuff off makes the job more memorable, right?