Anyone have any solutions for what to do with a caliper or wheel cylinder where you know it needs bled, but you can't get the bleeder out, rusted securely in place and rounded off?

I know you're thinking penetrating lubricant, vice grips etc. All that fails, what can you do to bleed them? Just working on the assumption that they truly can not be bled through the bleeder screw.

I came up with the idea of using a vacuum pump hooked up so that you bubble the air through fluid as you pump it out, but when you let off the vacuum the fluid is sucked back in. However, the guy I was working with is convinced it won't work because the pisons don't seal tightly to the cylinder without pressure.

Obviously this isn't third-gen specific, but I did encounter it on a thirdgen so that's close enough

 

you could bleed them through the master cylinder.

 

Replace the caliper.

 

You can try lightly heating them with a propane torch, oxy/acetelene is too hot but if your careful a small propane torch can work without melting the seals inside..... next step replacement

 

j dezzy, I don't know how you mean.
Apeiron, I know that's the normal answer, my point is, is there any way to avoid that? especially on drums where there's more of work to r&r the wheel cylinder, compared with a caliper.

B Rhrodes, how does heating help? Force air out via expansion, or something like that?

 

Heating it with a torch might help you get the bleeder free. There's no way to bleed it without opening the bleeder.