Where can I buy the u-shaped spring steel tool that is used to hold the proportioning valve open while brakes are being bleed. What do you use if you don't have the special tool? What procedure do you use to bleed brakes?

 

'never heard of such a tool. I've got prop valves in my Stangs (Granada swap on the 68 and an SSBC kit on the 65) and have had no problems bleeding the systems.

Start your bleeding procedure at the right rear, then left rear, right front, and finally the left front. Don't let the MC run dry or else ya gotta start all over again. Get a Mityvac bleeder if you're going it alone or get the wife, girlfriend, kid, or pal to follow your explicit instructions.. "pump", "hold", "push", etc....

 

I know the tool he's talking about. You have a Haynes repair manual don't you? When I was reading about brakes, it mentions this steel spring looking thing that says it's used to hold something on the proportioning valve while it's being bled. I haven't seen a tool like this anywhere, and not sure why Haynes mentioned this. They act like everyone has one lying around. I've heard you can use some vice grips to accomplish the same function as this "tool". Kind of looks like a money clip or something that has a little notch taken out of the side that slips over the rod thing on the valve to hold it open.

 

Factory manual shows picture and describes its use. I have not been able to get vise grips positioned right to hold valve open.

 

The tool is to pull the metering valve pin out. When you step on the brake pedal, the proportioning valve must delay fluid going to the front brakes, to give the rear brake shoes time to travel forward (with drum brakes, the shoes rest a set distance from the drums, while with disc brakes, the pads ride the rotors at all times). This is the metering valve's job. Pulling the pin out compresses the metering valve so that fluid can flow directly to the front brakes when bleeding. If you don't do it, you risk compressing air and trapping it in the metering valve when you bleed the front brakes, even if you see clean fluid coming out of the front bleeders.

I've never seen the Ford tool in person, but I've just used a stack of C-clips to hold it out. Use whatever works.