No Brake Pedal! Prop valve!?

[HighwayJunkie]

Okay, my car came into my ownership with the brake light on the dash on.
I replaced the rotors and pads in the front because they were warped.
I refilled the master and my rear brake line started leaking SO... I replaced the rear brake line.
Now the pedal goes to the floor, I can still stop its just spongey, the master is good and I have no leaks anywhere else.
The brake light on the dash is still ON! and I have no brake fluid in rear when bled.

So, what is this brake check valve or proportioning* valve I keep hearing about? It shuts the rear off with loss of pressure? How can I reset it and where is it located?! Thanks

 

[pontiacgp]

first off if your master went dry you may need to bench bleed the master....for the proportioning valve there is a brass button that needs to be pushed, it may be covered by a rubber boot...I had trouble resetting mine once but backing up the car and hitting the brakes hard the valve reset itself. I could actually hear the valve click...

 

[HighwayJunkie]

first off if your master went dry you may need to bench bleed the master....for the proportioning valve there is a brass button that needs to be pushed, it may be covered by a rubber boot...I had trouble resetting mine once but backing up the car and hitting the brakes hard the valve reset itself. I could actually hear the valve click...

Okay pardon my stupid question BUT how do you bench bleed the master? I don't think it ever went dry. I am new to this stuff. I will check the prop valve tomorrow thanks for your help!

 

[Bonnewagon]

Bench bleeding is removing the two master cylinder lines and screwing some short sections of brake line in that go right back into the open master, UNDER the fluid level. Then when you press the brake pedal down you pump fluid back in without air getting into the system. Supposed to be done on a bench vise but if you make sure the lines stay under the fluid you're OK. Then when no more bubbles are seen, replace the car's brake lines and bleed the whole system, RR,LR,RF,LF in that order.

 

[HighwayJunkie]

Bench bleeding is removing the two master cylinder lines and screwing some short sections of brake line in that go right back into the open master, UNDER the fluid level. Then when you press the brake pedal down you pump fluid back in without air getting into the system. Supposed to be done on a bench vise but if you make sure the lines stay under the fluid you're OK. Then when no more bubbles are seen, replace the car's brake lines and bleed the whole system, RR,LR,RF,LF in that order.

AWESOME! Thank you so much, I love this site!

 

[DRIVEN]

It can be done even easier than that. You don't even need to take the lines off at the master cylinder (or remove it). Have someone in the driver's seat to push the pedal while you crack the lines loose at the master cylinder. It is very inportant that you don't release the pedal while any part of the system is open (loosened fittings) or you will suck air in. DO NOT LET THE MASTER CYLINDER RUN DRY! Do the one closest to the firewall first. Push pedal. Loosen the fitting. When the pedal hits the floor tighten the fitting. Release the pedal. Repeat the process until no more air comes out around the fitting. DO NOT LET THE MASTER CYLINDER RUN DRY! Then repeat the process for the forward fitting. DO NOT LET THE MASTER CYLINDER RUN DRY! Once that is done you will need to bleed each corner at the wheels. DO NOT LET THE MASTER CYLINDER RUN DRY! This process can be a little messy but you can just hose the brake fluid off. Keep it off painted surfaces. This isn't really a job you can do by yourself but with a helper and a quart of brake fluid it should only take about a half hour. Good luck.

 

[pontiacgp]

Driven, that method is alot harder and much longer than doing a proper bench bleed and it doesn`t always work...it's much easier to do it right by getting the fittings and pump the pedal till there are no air bubbles and you don`t need any help. I have speed bleeders on my brakes and with them it`s one man job and they do great at getting all the air out of the lines

 

[DRIVEN]

It's the same thing as a bench bleed except you need a helper but you don't have to remove it from the car,. He didn't mention speed bleeders so I can only assume he has a helper. Even doing a "proper" bench bleed still requires that the temporary brake lines be removed. Either way the 4 corners need to be bled. Same end result - just trying to save some work.

 

[pontiacgp]

It is not the same thing as bench bleeding the master as you cannot ascertain you have removed all the air from the master. With the lines feeding back into the reservoir it is quicker than opening and closing the lines over and over until you think you have all the air out. With the fluid been fed into the reservoir it's easy to see when there are no air bubble in the fluid.

I don't understand why you would even want to take a short cut with brakes to begin with. Perhaps your smarter then most but when I goggle to bench bleed the master cylinder no one suggests any other method than what Bonne described in his post.

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&source=hp&q ... 2b7fae5837

 

[Bonnewagon]

Should have added what driven said- another name for brake fluid is PAINT REMOVER. Ask me how I know. 😢