Am I Screwed? (no pun intended).

Was trying to undo the rear passenger drum bleeder screw and the damn thing snapped clean off.

I knew they were stuck good, I soaked them in PB Blaster overnight, came out this morning and started twisting, thought it was giving, actually got excited for a moment..then SNAP!

I started the engine to get the brake booster going and stomped on the brake pedal as hard as possible 10-20 times, went and looked and saw no visible brake fluid leakage.

Should It be safe to drive?

And what are my options? Can I use a screw out to try to get the rest of the screw out of the drum?

 

If it's not leaking then it's safe, but if it starts leaking later you might not know it until it's too late.

You can try a screw extractor ("easy out"), but you should first apply mechanical shock to what remains of the bleeder. Which is to say, bash it with a hammer. Well, not bash, really; rap firmly but not destructively.

The best bet is to buy a new wheel cylinder.

 

Yes, it would be fine. When the bleeder is screwed all the way in, the port is closed. However, you really out to use an extractor bit to get that out. They screw in reverse threading and as clean as easy as you can imagine it'll pull right out. I have a set of Snap-On extractors and taps. They are the best and easiest to use. Well worth the $60 I paid. Harbor Freight sells them for like $10, but I was always afraid to break off a cheap extractor bit and make it worse.

 

Holy expletive! I just searched and the set is now up to $120. That's double the price in 12 years. But still worth it to me.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....roup_ID=675450

 

Replacing wheel cylinder... pretty cheap and less work than extracting!

 

Admittedly, I have not ever serviced drum brakes before, only Disc's.

I feel like a noob for asking this, but where exactly is the wheel cylinder? How is it accessed? and what does it cost to replace?

The Bleeder screw was on the back of the drum just above the axle shaft.

 

Yea just change wheel cylinder...i did mine they were only $10.99each

 

i ussually weld a small nut onto the broken screw. the heat makes it turn right out!

 

Gotta get your wheels and drums off. The wheel cylinder is on the top in the center. You can get a brake tool/pliers fairly cheap. Don't take both sides apart at the same time so you will have a reference to put the other back together by. You may not have to take them completely apart. The shoes may pull far enough apart to get the cylinder out.

 

If replacing the wheel cyl. just hope the line come lose without breaking, or youll be replacing that too. Its not hard to do, just sucks if the line breaks and your not prepared for it to.