Bleeder valve

[tcslr]

I’ll be rebuilding the brake wheel cylinders. The system will need to be bled and I believe the recommendation is start at the rear right wheel. The manual talks about a bleeder valve ( and tube) in the tool kit. I don’t have either. 
can someone send a picture of the original bleeder valve or offer a suggestion?

thanks in advance. It’s for my ‘29 75.

tom

[Sasha39]

Hi Tom,

Not clear about what you are asking, but here is what your Bleeder Valve should look like, you should have one screwed into each of your 4 wheel cylinders, as far as a tube is concerned any tube will do as long as it fit tight over the nipple at the end of the valve (screw) and is long enough to drain the Brake fluid into a container.

Yes start at the furthest wheel cylinder and work your way to the nearest to the Master cylinder, hope this might help you.

 

[hwellens]

I think what they mean is to hook a rubber hose to the end of the bleeder screw and put the hose in a jar. That way you will not have brake fluid squirting all over the place when opening the valve to bleed when the brake pedal is pressed down.

[31plymouth]

This is an original bleeder.  I don't know if the bleeder hose is available.  The outside screw is removed and the hose threaded into where the outside screw was threaded into the larger bleeder valve.  You keep the master cylinder full and loosen the bleeder valve to let air and fluid into the hose( someone pushing the brake down slowly) and into a jar  . Keep the hose in a jar with some fluid in it so you dont let air back into it when you close it.   There are plenty of videos on how to do the bleeding. I did not have much sucesss with the one man vacuum pump.

You can replace the older valves with the newer one piece type.

[31plymouth]

Just saw how bad the pictures are

[JACK M]

First step would be to take the bleeder out and be sure it is not plugged up.

my method is easiest with two people.

Snug all the bleeders and start as suggested at the furthest wheel.

open that valve, step down on the pedal, close the valve, release the pedal.

wait a few seconds then repeat until you get clean fluid with no bubbles. (check that the M/C has fluid often)

Then move to the next farthest wheel and do it again (it wont take as many pumps).

etcetera, etcetera.

 

I see some guys want to pump the pedal up before they open the valve. My opinion is not to do that.

[ply33]

31plymouth's photos, however blurry, show the setup if using the original bleeder screws. The original “Wheel cylinder bleeder screw”, part 77671, is drilled and tapped for a “Bleeder screw dust cap”, part 123291 (there is also a “Bleeder screw dust cap lock washer”, part 120380). Turns out that 123291 is simply a “1⁄4-28x5⁄16 Cad plated steel hexagon head cap screw” and 120380 is a “1⁄4 Cad plated steel lockwasher (standard)”.

 

I made an adaptor with a 1/4-28 bolt (“hexagon head cap screw” using the parts book lingo) and some metal tubing by drilling a hole down the middle of the bolt then pressing the tubing into the hole.

 

Or, alternatively, you can replace the original bleed screws with something like part 1263929 which was used on the P15 era cars and is readily available at places like NAPA https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/UBP11410?impressionRank=1&keywordInput=up+11410

[ply33]

Also, like 31plymouth, I have never had much success using a one man vacuum bleeder. What has worked very nicely for me was making a pressure bleeder. For my car the reservoir is built into the master cylinder and the vent tube on top of it is a standard pipe thread, so I made an adaptor that replaces the vent. The 1929 uses a remote reservoir so my solution won’t directly work but maybe there is some other way of rigging a pressure bleeder on it.

[tcslr]

Thanks to all. The original manual said install the bleeder nipple (hose attached) to the bleeder valve. It is listed in the ‘tools’.

 

I was just wondering what the original bleeder nipple looked like.

 

I appreciate the photos from mr 31plymouth and the procedure from mr JACK M.

 

and all others. I’ll be removing and having Apple Hydraulics rebuild. They did my master cylinder and did a nice job. My mistake was not doing the wheel cylinders at the same time. So I had problems on the recent Vintage Tour - what a bummer but my fault. 

[tcslr]

My 75 is very much an original car.  I pulled the wheel cylinders for re-build - they badly need it.  and found an interesting thing... the front wheel cylinders bleeder is different than the rear.  see this picture.  the 3/8" open bleeder in the front cylinder and the rear removed.

Why was it done that way?

Is it POSSIBLE to get two bleeders like the rears for installation on front? it looks a better idea

[32plywood]

check your front to see if it is threaded in side the open hole -- if so that should be the correct one for your car ----- the one you have out is a later valve..I had my wheel cylinders done with sleeves and when the came back they all had the later style valves. I had to call them and they sent the old ones back to me.    You can get the later valves and most auto parts stores.

 

Edited July 30, 2021 by 32plywood
added more info (see edit history)

[ply33]

13 hours ago, tcslr said:

My 75 is very much an original car.  I pulled the wheel cylinders for re-build - they badly need it.  and found an interesting thing... the front wheel cylinders bleeder is different than the rear.  see this picture.  the 3/8" open bleeder in the front cylinder and the rear removed.

Why was it done that way?

Is it POSSIBLE to get two bleeders like the rears for installation on front? it looks a better idea

 

If you want the more modern style bleeder valve like the one you have out, you should be able to get them from any good auto supply store. But they are not authentic for your car. The one you show still in the wheel cylinder is the correct one.

 

13 hours ago, 32plywood said:

check your front to see if it is threaded in side the open hole -- if so that should be the correct one for your car ----- the one you have out is a later valve..I had my wheel cylinders done with sleeves and when the came back they all had the later style valves. I had to call them and they sent the old ones back to me.    You can get the later valves and most auto parts stores.

 

This is correct.

 

If you want the original style and cannot find a source, you can take a modern one and modify it. Remove the hose bib part then drill out the center to the correct diameter and tap it for 1/4-28. You will then, of course, need to make an equivalent to the original bleeding hose/tool. As I mentioned in an earlier reply, you can make one from a short 1/4-28 bolt and metal tubing.

 

For myself, I went with the original style. I don’t have to bleed the brakes very often and it is almost no additional effort to remove the 1/4-28 bolts (dust caps), install the bleeder adaptor then bleed the cylinder. I will admit that I changed out most of the grease fittings for the more modern style as it makes doing a chassis lube a much easier process and I do a chassis lube much more often than I bleed the brakes. I have kept the original grease fittings so they can be re-installed if/when I want to.

[tcslr]

Thanks!