Trying to bleed rear brakes- special tool?

[Steve Bakken]

Trying to bleed the rear drums on the '78 barn find/project Cutlass my son and I just picked up but for the life of me I can't get any socket to fit onto the bleeder. Does anyone know what size this is or if it requires a special thin walled socket? It's just a standard 7.5" rear end

 

[jetsetw31]

8mm or a 5/16 long 1/4 socket. I hope that helps.
T

 

[pontiacgp]

8mm or a 5/16 long 1/4 socket. I hope that helps.
T

and it needs to be a 6 point

 

[Rktpwrd]

What these guys said ^^^^
Just finished bleeding the rear brakes on my newly acquired 8.5 rearend (which has the same style of bleeder as the 7.5's).
The bleeder is recessed, so you can't get a wrench and hose on there to bleed them as you would with other styles. The 5/16" 6 point deep socket will fit on there, but you may have to work it on gently if it's rusty. Then just bleed them conventially, but the fluid will have to dribble out and run down the backing plate so just make sure you've got something underneath to catch it.
When you're done, make sure to pop the drums off, and clean everything up with a liberal amount of brake clean.

 

[Bonnewagon]

That car's 38 years old. You might want to change out the wheel cylinders for new ones. Make sure you get the stupid retaining clips too.

 

[Longroof79]

That car's 38 years old. You might want to change out the wheel cylinders for new ones. Make sure you get the stupid retaining clips too.

Those retaining clips are the most asinine things they ever made. If anything, find the replacement bolt-on clips and lose those stupid clip-ons. I know I should do that to mine.

Also, invest in a pair of speed bleeders. They'll made brake bleeding a lot easier.

If I recall correctly, I use a small ratcheting tool with a hole in the center for inserting a small piece of hose thru it.