Drive shaft flange bolts not cooperating!! Brake bleeding issues as well.

[Usudno]

I began installing my driveshaft yesterday. Pulled the plug on my differential, filled it with fluid, plugged her back up. Then onto the drive shaft. I got it in place and the 4 bolts started fairly easily. After about halfway into the threads the bolts are binding. An impact wont budget them (cordless 20v) I'm not sure if I should go with the pneumatic impact or should these bolts be going in easier??

Onto the brake bleeding.
I filled the reservoir.
Used the hand held vacuum pump one man deal. It pulls a vacuum off of the passenger rear bleeder but when i open the bleeder screw i get no fluid. I have checked all of my connections and they all seem tight. I'll have someone else go over them if its possible that could be the problem.

Any help with this or my driveshaft issue would be greatly appreciated!

[GoDadGo]

I began installing my driveshaft yesterday. Pulled the plug on my differential, filled it with fluid, plugged her back up. Then onto the drive shaft. I got it in place and the 4 bolts started fairly easily. After about halfway into the threads the bolts are binding. An impact wont budget them (cordless 20v) I'm not sure if I should go with the pneumatic impact or should these bolts be going in easier??

Onto the brake bleeding.
I filled the reservoir.
Used the hand held vacuum pump one man deal. It pulls a vacuum off of the passenger rear bleeder but when i open the bleeder screw i get no fluid. I have checked all of my connections and they all seem tight. I'll have someone else go over them if its possible that could be the problem.

Any help with this or my driveshaft issue would be greatly appreciated!

1. The drive shaft bolts, at least on my car, had a sealant on them to stop them from backing out. The bind in my case was by design.

2. Regarding the brake bleeding, try a basic gravity bleed starting with the right front, then left and then on to the rear.

3. Start with the longest run first for each M/C and only crack or open one caliper to bleed at a time.

4. Just know that it takes some time, but it does work.

5. After you do your initial bleed, then try your pump or standard pedal bleed process.

6. Also, you will want to raise the front end when gravity bleeding so that the Master Cylinders are below your reservoirs.

Good Luck & Hope This Helps!

[CraigS]

You are scaring me on the drive shaft bolts. Yes new ones have that dry loctite stuff on them but I can't imagine that would stop a 20V impact gun. Any possibility that they are mismatched metric vs fractional? I only ask because the newer Fords are largely metric and I am not real up on when the changes happened but it seemed very gradual in my very limited Ford experience. A lot of years had both on one car.

[Usudno]

The bleeding is done. The bolts are not. They threaded in by hand easily Craig. It's 3/4 of the way through that it bound up. I'm going to back them out and possibly pass a tap to clean out the threads. I'll update my progress.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Found the easiest way to bleed the system is with a power bleeder.

[GFX2043mtu]

Power bleeders work by far the best if you seal the bleader threads with teflon tape. Your problem is that when you loosen the screw and use your hand pump you are pulling air around the threads and through the bleeder and not putting a vacuum of any significance on the system. Which is why it doesn't work. Put 5-6 wraps of teflon tape on all the bleeder screws and try it again. You should start with the farthest caliper in the system and work forward. I like to bleed all the calipers then pump the the pedal several times and do it once more for good measure. The first time you go to bleed the system it may take the vacuum pump a minute to pull fluid as it has to draw it through all the lines, so don't think after 10-20 seconds that it is not working. Good luck.

[Usudno]

Brakes are bled and drive shaft bolts installed. The problem with the bolts was the thread locker. I took a torch to them and ran the die on it. They went right in.

[CraigS]

Good deal. Did you use a liquid thread locker then?

[Usudno]

Yes I did