Bleeding GMC K3500 Rear drum Brakes

[Charkmapman]

Looking for tool to use to open and close rear drum brake bleeder easily. There is limited space between bleeder and springs. PIA. There has got to be a better way. Was told SnapON had a specialty tool for this. I have not been able to track it down. If I have to fabricate tool thats OK. Thanks in advance.

 

[b454rat]

I used a wrench...

 

[JDGMC]

Removing the wheels provides easier access. especially if the bleeders are rusty as you need to be aligned on that bleeder or it will snap.

 

[grampadirt]

Yup it's a tight fit and you're gonna make a mess,fact of life.IIRC I use a small wrench,a tube and an old empty bottle of DosXX with a wire wrapped around it's neck to hold it upright.Not a fun job.

 

[Schurkey]

I was surprised at the difference in access between my K1500 axle (11.x rear drums) and my 8-lug K2500 (13" drums.)

So, yeah, you have very little clearance. I don't know of any "special tools" to deal with this aside from normal/ordinary wrenches and generic bleeder-screw tools.

The absolute best way to deal with those bleeder screws, is to replace the wheel cylinders. New cylinders = new bleeder screws = not seized, no chance of breaking 'em off. And unless you've already examined them, there's a reasonably-good chance the wheel cylinders are leaking already.

'Course, that does leave you with having to unscrew the brake tubes from the cylinder. Or from the brake hose.

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You can kinda expect to need to replace the tubes along the axle, between the brake hose assembly and the wheel cylinders. Common issue. I've replaced those tubes along the axle on both of my GMT400s...and lots of other vehicles.

Don't get me wrong, you should try to free-up the bleeder screws any way you can. But there's a really-good chance that they're gonna break, and that there's a chain-reaction of failure leading from that. You need to go into this expecting the worst even if you hope for the best.

 

[GoToGuy]

Your kidding right. Did you look in the snap on catalog , " snapon.com ?
Bleeder wrenches, Lilse , KD, Snap on, Duralast, etc. All the tool manufacturers have them. This one I first purchased in 1974, K-D, all the big four manufacturers make this one the same thing in Sae and metric. I still have it , it's easy to use.

 

[evilunclegrimace]

Your kidding right. Did you look in the snap on catalog , " snapon.com ?
Bleeder wrenches, Lilse , KD, Snap on, Duralast, etc. All the tool manufacturers have them. This one I first purchased in 1974, K-D, all the big four manufacturers make this one the same thing in Sae and metric. I still have it , it's easy to use.

That is not going to fit on a K3500. I have the Snap-On tool in my box. I will get a number and post it in a few.

 

[evilunclegrimace]

Snap-on S6110A double off-set 8-10 MM box wrench.

 

[evilunclegrimace]

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Pic from E bay

 

[Road Trip]

Looking for tool to use to open and close rear drum brake bleeder easily. There is limited space between bleeder and springs. PIA. There has got to be a better way. Was told SnapON had a specialty tool for this. I have not been able to track it down. If I have to fabricate tool thats OK. Thanks in advance.

When I was working on the 13" rear drum brakes on my C2500, I was surprised by just
how tight it was between the backing plate and the leaf springs. No exaggeration, the
working clearance was ~2"? Look how close the drum is to the leaf spring:

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Given this, everything Schurkey said in reply #5 is the truth. (Fortunately the wheel cylinders
are priced affordably. See attached.) I was lucky in the fact that the PO had replaced all the
original brake line with NiCopp, and by using a suitable flare nut wrench I was able to disconnect
those lines sans mechanical drama.

But if you have aged stock/stock replacement lines into vintage wheel cylinders you need to
plan for replacing everything. You are right, it's tight confines back there -- felt like I working
on an old hotrod where 5 lbs of brakes/suspension was stuffed into a 2 lb bag. :0)

Right-sized flare nut wrench for the lines...and a little luck. Or the perfect excuse to refresh the
brake lines, I guess.