My 1997, always lived in Michigan, GMC van needs a master cylinder. Before picking one up I wanted to see if any of the bleeders would break loose. 3 of the 4 opened up with no problem. 1 disintegrated as soon as pressure was applied. Around here, thats as solid of a victory as you can hope for!
That's amazing. For the whole first part of my mechanical life (spent in Michigan) I thought vice grips were the appropriate tool for brake bleeding.
Nice! 
The trick with the bleeders is to go buy new ones, then remove the old by hammering a undersized 12 point socket over them. They're soft steel so it forms a nice spline, and the beating tends to break em loose.
mazdeuce wrote: That's amazing. For the whole first part of my mechanical life (spent in Michigan) I thought vice grips were the appropriate tool for brake bleeding.
Truth
I want one of those vans....
Same thing just happened to me, bleeding the brakes on my 1991 Silverado. I'm in Florida and the truck has spent it's whole life in the south so I can't blame it on Michigan. Damn 5/16" bleed screw. Oh well, if I don't ever get it out at least calipers are less than $20 at advanceozone.. Nice van! Hey, when did I make Half dork? Cool!
My cousin is a mechanic and he moved from Chicago to Las Vegas. He said it is the greatest feeling ever getting under a 15 yr old car and having everything rust free and easy to break loose. I wish I knew what that was like. 
My dad has the same van, different color. He has always been a van guy, specifically Chevy. His has 170k on it, and he wants to buy a new one when it hits 200k. I told him he'd better hurry before they stop making them! (secretly, I'd love to see him get a Freightliner or Ford Transit)
Stop making vans?? Did I miss something?
I've been in Michigan 20 years and never had a brake nipple shear off on me.
cwh wrote: Stop making vans?? Did I miss something?
Full size vans as Americans know it. GM is the last hold out. The future is tall euro vans. ChryCo was the first, replacing the ram van with the sprinter and now the fiat. Ford brought over the transit and dropped the E-series.
I don't think there is a tall van in GM's world line-up. Current model is 20yrs old in '16! I'd like to see a them keep with a "traditional" van though.
In reply to Gearheadotaku:
They have a Vauxall which is every bit as ugly as the other Euro vans but I hope they can resist the urge to bring it here.
The new style vans are way more user friendly with a much better use of space. I welcome them.
Adrian_Thompson wrote: I've been in Michigan 20 years and never had a brake nipple shear off on me.
You're lucky. The problem occurs more often when you are replacing rotted brake lines while laying in the snow or a muddy driveway.
logdog wrote: The new style vans are way more user friendly with a much better use of space. I welcome them.
I like the look of the vans, but I wonder about the durability of the underpinnings. The suspension design in my E150 is a throw back from the 60s, but it's also 7K shy of 400K miles of curbs, pot holes, crappy job sites and general abuse. Total ball joints used = 8, it's on its second set.
I looked under a Transit the other day. It looked kind of wimpy.
In reply to Toyman01:
I'm sure they're plenty durable, Europe's roads aren't all they're cracked up to be, these "new" vans are all proven designs over there.
I miss some things about Michigan. Road salt/vehicle rust is right up there with mosquitos and the weather in February on the list of things I don't miss about living in Michigan.
Type Q wrote: I miss some things about Michigan. Road salt/vehicle rust is right up there with mosquitos and the weather in February on the list of things I don't miss about living in Michigan.
QFT.
In reply to Kenny_McCormic:
Every older Sprinter I see looks terrible. I've never seen a modern vehicle rust so badly.
Kenny_McCormic wrote: In reply to Toyman01: I'm sure they're plenty durable, Europe's roads aren't all they're cracked up to be, these "new" vans are all proven designs over there.
I reasonably certain as well, but I know the old design is outstanding. If they suck, it won't take long for the construction community to shun them like a leper.
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