[slavrenz]

I decided to bleed the brakes today on my '10 Escape XLT - it's only about a year old, but I go based on mileage (every 30k miles), and based on the test strips I have, the fluid wasn't in perfect shape, either.

Anyways, the bleeding itself is straightforward - I was lucky enough to get my wife to be my "pedal-pusher", while I did the rear wheels - each bleeder can be opened with a 9mm box wrench. It's when I got to the front wheels that things got difficult.

The bleeder screws are slightly larger than the back ones, and a 9mm wrench was too small. Unfortunately, a 10mm wrench was too big, so I thought, "weird - maybe it's an imperial unit wrench". Well, a 5/16" wrench was too small, a 3/8" wrench was close to fitting, but it ended up rounding some of the edges of the bleeder.

So, ultimately, I ended up using a locking pliers to get the bleeder open, but not before I proceeded to round off the bleeders. Next time I do the bleeding, I'm going to need to be sure to replace the bleeder screws, but I wanted people to be forewarned that apparently there are no standard wrench sizes that fit these bleeders, so be prepared...

 

[slavrenz]

Now, that is very peculiar.
On my 2004 V6 Maverick all four wheel bleeders are 10mm.And all the cars I've owned myself since...the Big Deluge had the same size all around.

Yeah, I know. I'm just ticked off because I ended up stripping the bleeder screws on what is basically a brand new car. If anyone else has better luck, I'd love to hear about it, but I could only get a 9mm wrench to fit the back bleeders (which, even amongst cars with metric fasteners, is still a weird size), and I could not get any wrench to fit squarely on the front bleeders (9mm too small, 10mm too big, 5/16" too small, 3/8" too big).

 

[slavrenz]

I don't think they have the '10 listed, but these are real time savers. I use them on my Datsun 660Z ( lay: ) for frequent bleeding since I use a performance fluid that is highly hygroscopic.

http://www.speedbleeder.com/

Yeah, I think I'll get those next time. I've always been hesistant to trust that spring and ball to keep air from getting in though...

 

[slavrenz]

Thanks for the heads up! This same thing happened to me!

Rant time!

I have an '08 XLT v6 4x4, and I just bled (well, 90% of the way) the brakes. I ran in to the same issue you did. I managed to get the rear drums bled with a 3/8" and the front right with the same. However, I rounded the front left and couldn't ever get it open. GD it, Ford! On that cursed front left, I tried an 8mm box (too small,) 9mm hose fitting wrench, (too small) 10mm box (too big) 5/16" box (too small) and 3/8" box (just a hair too big!) And double poo on me, I don't have a pair of vice grips! I guess I'll have to get a pair tomorrow when I get the mystery size 9mm hex head socket so I can change the dang brake pads. Why doesn't any auto part store carry that elusive 9mm? They all have 5 piece kits with 7, 8, and 10mm, and 1/4" and 3/8". Grrrr! Oh well, live and learn.

/rant

PS I wish I could "agree" with or give props to the initial post.

Do you have an O'Reilly Auto Parts near you? They sell individual sockets, and I'm fairly certain the one here carries 9mm sockets. You just gotta spring for a full set, man :yes: