Spongy brakes, rusted brake bleeder valves on Ford Ranger 2009 FX4

Question

Ford Ranger 2009 FX4. 140K miles

So I got spongy brakes. Will not stop on a dime. I am trying to figure out my next plan of attack.

First check was the power brake booster. The booster works, however, when I was adjusting the rod to make it longer, I found a 2 inch O-ring inside of it. It was just hanging in there. It did not look stressed. Do you know what it is for and how important is it? If the booster is losing compression due to this, I can see this could be the issue.

Second check was to try to replace the brake fluid and bleed the brakes. The rear bleeder values are totally rusted in place. I have sprayed them down with liquid wrench, tried propane and MAP to heat them, and I have broken off an easy out in one of them. So I have one rear one just rusted in place (and I haven't tried anything with this one - afraid to) and one that has the easy out broken off in it AND it has split in half. The bleeder values are also stripped on the outside, therefore, I have to use gripper pliers to grab a hold. Is there a trick to heating these up and trying again? The alternative to this is to try and change the back plate (which will involve me draining the rear differential to pull the rear axles. I can do it but never have done it before. Hoping there is a simpler solution). I did try to heat these up with the pistons in place. Should I try to heat these up without the piston?

Third check is changing the rear drum brakes hardware and drum. These seem ok though they are worn. I picked up this truck two years ago and I know the shoes wasn't changed by the previous owner. Could worn out brake drums be contributing to my issue? With the bleeder value being rusted in, am I able to change the piston? If I remove the piston, could I use that back side to help remove the bleeder value?

Fourth check will be to change the calipers on the front end. Self explanatory. The front brakes have been bled. However, If these are gummed up how can I un-gum them or would replacing them be better?

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

Answer 1

Replace both rear wheel cylinders-since you have to pull the drums & shoes to do so you can replace the shoes while you're there if you like.Ensure you're using a line wrench (also called a flare nut wrench) to break the line loose from the wheel cylinder before you do anything else.
You DON'T have to replace the backing plates-the wheel cylinders unbolt from them.

From AllData one of several subscription services used by auto shops (I have access through my employer):

 1. Remove the brake shoes and linings.
2. Disconnect the brake tube-to-wheel cylinder fitting.    
-  To install, tighten to 18 Nm (159 lb-in).
3. Remove the 2 wheel cylinder bolts and the wheel cylinder.    
-  To install, tighten to 15 Nm (133 lb-in).
4. To install, reverse the removal procedure.    
-  Bleed the brake system.

You can get access yourself at alldatadiy.com for very little.

Comments

Second that you are vastly overestimating the work required to change wheel cylinders! It’s very simple. I’m going to add that if your brake shoes are fine you don’t actually need to remove them at all to do the wheel cylinders. You can pull the shoes apart enough to pop the old wheel cylinder out and the new one in. I’ve never had to actually disassemble drum brakes just to change wheel cylinders in my whole time in the trade.

Answer 2

Thanks guys. I just went and looked at rockauto's pictures of a wheel cylinder. I can see where both of you are coming from. I was only looking at the complete package and not the closeups of the cylinder. Looks like it could solve my bleeder value problem and maybe my spongy brakes (I hope).