Pre filling brake lines???
- Thread starter Doug Chahoy
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Mines a 2 quart plastic jug and a flat aluminum rubber lined cover with J hooks and chains. Do I need to have the engine running and/or the brake pedal pushed in when filling the lines?
I hope you guys will excuse my ignorance on this subject, but they don’t sell (that I know of) a book called Brake Systems For DUMMIES. This is my first go round with a project like this.
hope you don't mind some of us having fun with the subject.......even with experience I always learn something new so don't worry about not knowing everything about everything.... go to 1:10
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When filling a dry system I like to bench bleed the master then hook up the entire system and let it gravity bleed with all the bleeders open and keep the master topped off while I keep an eye on all the bleeder valves. And once they all have a good steady flow close each one up and after all 4 are closed bleed as normal starting with the farthest from the master cylinder.
How long have you had that ? Too late to return it ? Thats the bleeder that I had the problem with. The J hooks and chain didnt work too well as far as sealing things up. My only advice is if you really want to try it make sure you have EVERYTHING thats painted nice under the hood and frame tightly covered in case the fluid pushes out and runs all over the place.
I borrowed this one from a friend and its great. It uses vacuum instead of pressure. I used it for both cars and if I had more to do I would own one. Much easier and no mess. You hook up the air line, put the clear tube on the bleeder, move the lever and the air sucks the fluid through the lines. You can see when the fluid comes out of the bleeder without bubbles.
If youre bleeding brakes alone this works well.
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I just finished bleeding my system with the Motive Power bleeder in 10 minutes by myself. I tightened the rubber lined aluminum plate over a full master really tight . No problems. To me it’s worth the price. And I have enough service books for GM to know to only use DOT 3 . Now it’s on to shock relocation and hooking up the Ebrake. Thanx to everyone for the advice
The absolute best way to bleed brakes is thru pumping the brake pedal.
To do this alone, fill the master cylinder which has already been bench bleed with fluid. You should start with the brake that is farthest from the master cylinder. So, the order is: passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front, driver front.
--Connect a clear tube to the fluid adjuster on the brake cylinder or caliper, then insert the other end of the tube into a glass jar that is half filled with clean brake fluid. IMPORTANT: Make sure this end of the tube stays submerged at all times.
--Release the brake fluid adjuster to allow fluid to drain when you pump the brake pedal. Continue pumping until no bubbles come out of the tube...best to be able to watch for bubbles, if possible. The reason for the tube in the jar is when you let off of the brake pedal, fluid will get drawn back into the lines. Keeping the end submerged does NOT let any air back into the line. Once you are done pumping, go back to the brake you were bleeding and tighten the valve.
--Next, go to the other wheel--in the order and repeat the process. As you do each wheel, be sure to refill the master cylinder reservoir.
--You may need to do this a few times, but as you progress, you will notice the sponginess in the pedal going away.
As long as the fluid in the jar is clean and clear, you can reuse it to fill the master cylinder reservoir. Be sure to properly dispose of any brake fluid. As others have stated, brake fluid is very corrosive and will destroy any painted surface!
To do this alone, fill the master cylinder which has already been bench bleed with fluid. You should start with the brake that is farthest from the master cylinder. So, the order is: passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front, driver front.
--Connect a clear tube to the fluid adjuster on the brake cylinder or caliper, then insert the other end of the tube into a glass jar that is half filled with clean brake fluid. IMPORTANT: Make sure this end of the tube stays submerged at all times.
--Release the brake fluid adjuster to allow fluid to drain when you pump the brake pedal. Continue pumping until no bubbles come out of the tube...best to be able to watch for bubbles, if possible. The reason for the tube in the jar is when you let off of the brake pedal, fluid will get drawn back into the lines. Keeping the end submerged does NOT let any air back into the line. Once you are done pumping, go back to the brake you were bleeding and tighten the valve.
--Next, go to the other wheel--in the order and repeat the process. As you do each wheel, be sure to refill the master cylinder reservoir.
--You may need to do this a few times, but as you progress, you will notice the sponginess in the pedal going away.
As long as the fluid in the jar is clean and clear, you can reuse it to fill the master cylinder reservoir. Be sure to properly dispose of any brake fluid. As others have stated, brake fluid is very corrosive and will destroy any painted surface!
I built my own pressure bleeder for about $20. I used a Home Depot garden sprayer, some fittings and an extra master cylinder cap with a hole drilled in it for the fittings to pass through. This was for my ‘99 Silverado with a screw on cap. A snap type cap will need to be secured down. It is meant to be filled with fluid to self feed the master, but that only worked twice before starting to leak fluid. Now I just use it to pressurize the fluid in the master and keep an eye on the fluid level. Then I just screw on the cap, put a little pressure to it by pumping the sprayer and go to each wheel and crack open the bleeders in turn. It works great and I have never even had to refill the master while bleeding. Now for all new lines, I would gravity bleed first to not use up all of the fluid in the master and need to refill while pressure bleeding. Since I usually work alone, this absolutely works great. You can look up how to build the pressure bleeder on YouTube for anyone not having one yet.
I kept the spray bottle between 12-15 PSI as per video. It kept the master full the whole time.
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