Bleeding brakes 83 ranger

[83Ranger4wd]

Sup,
I just replaced some leaking lines on my ranger and now want to bleed the brakes.
the front have the bleed valves with nipples but i dont know how to loosen the rear valves.
can the rear be swapped to the nipple style??
Thanks

 

[Mark_88]

The rear brakes should be drums...and the brake cylinders on each drum should have bleeders on them...if they don't...you need to either install the bleeders or replace the cylinders with new ones that have the bleeders...

Not sure why they wouldn't have bleeders though...unless they broke off...the brakes need to be bled and you can't pull the bleeders out after bleeding the lines because that would introduce air into the system...

 

[83Ranger4wd]

yes they are drums, they have what i think is a bleeder on them. i can see the thread and there is a hole on the top. not sure if they are a different style than the front or maybe broken and worn.

sorry im probably not explaining this very well haha!!

 

[Mark_88]

Not a problem...a picture is worth a thousand worms...

Most rear brake bleeders that I've encountered are rusted beyond function...an older vehicle is usually due for new brake cylinders and they are quite easy to change...as long as the backing plate is not totally disintegrated just two bolts and pop it off...

You might want to clean up the backing plate and throw some rust paint on it before installing the new hardware...if you go that route...then apply some brake grease to the contact points and you should be good for another five years...a bit of maintenance goes a long way with these trucks...

 

[Insanejughead]

Agreed with Mark!


Drum brakes are a piece of cake (except for dealing with the springs, sometimes) and the wheel cylinders are even simpler.

If you can get the original bleeder screws out, then you may be able to go with new bleeder screws and save yourself some work, but if the truck has been unchecked in over a decade, I would recommend giving them a good look-over like Mark described.

 

[83Ranger4wd]

that's good to know, im going to see how much they are today.
Thanks

 

[adsm08]

The wheel cylinder bleeders should be in the back side of the wheel cylinder, directly above where the line goes in.

If there is nothing there, your bleeders are broken off and new wheel cylinders will be required.