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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 11:17 AM
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Default problems bleeding brakes

1969 corvette L46

I am having trouble bleeding my brakes..

I have been using the mityvac and it is sucking fluid out of 3 of the 4 brake locations... nothing from the driver's rear.

So I opened up the bleeder and pumped the pedal .. still nothing at all from either of the rear brakes.


When I open up the bleeder on the fronts I get a good stream.


Any ideas as far as trouble shooting .. I have checked the connections and they are tight.

Thanks for your input.
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 11:49 AM
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When you pump the brakes with the rear bleeders open, is the pedal going to the floor or close to it? Is the fluid going down in the master cylinder?
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 12:20 PM
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Open one rear at a time

1) pump more (does the fluid go down any?)
2) clogged (pinched) line going to to the rear. Have you inspected?
3) bad regulator
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 01:09 PM
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Originally Posted by CA-Legal-Vette
When you pump the brakes with the rear bleeders open, is the pedal going to the floor or close to it? Is the fluid going down in the master cylinder?
OK.. Both bleeders open .. when pumping the brake pedal the only action I see is in the forward bay of the master cylinder ... fluid does not go down and nothing out of the bleeders.

Pedal is going to the floor.
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 01:22 PM
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bad flex hose(s)
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 01:28 PM
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Originally Posted by redvetracr
bad flex hose(s)

Yep! Your flex hoses will collapse (internally) over time and eventually close off. By collapse, I mean they swell on the inside and will block off fluid movement. Experienced this when restoring my 63 GP and my 66 Impala. Both had the same issues.
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Redhook98
Yep! Your flex hoses will collapse (internally) over time and eventually close off. By collapse, I mean they swell on the inside and will block off fluid movement. Experienced this when restoring my 63 GP and my 66 Impala. Both had the same issues.


Make sure that you inspect your hard lines too, especially under the frame for pinched or crushed areas. Most likely the flex hose though. Might not hurt to disconnect the drive's side flex hose from the front hard line to make sure that fluid flows before the hose.

Last edited by CA-Legal-Vette; Aug 1, 2016 at 02:33 PM.
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 03:22 PM
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Originally Posted by CA-Legal-Vette


Make sure that you inspect your hard lines too, especially under the frame for pinched or crushed areas. Most likely the flex hose though. Might not hurt to disconnect the drive's side flex hose from the front hard line to make sure that fluid flows before the hose.
Flex hoses look good.. But I will disconnect the driver's side at its hard line connection to see if any fluid comes out as suggested.

Last edited by ballen06; Aug 1, 2016 at 03:24 PM.
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 03:37 PM
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When I pump the brake pedal the rear bay of the master cylinder is dead calm. Does this mean I have a bad master cylinder?
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 04:19 PM
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I would suggest to check the proportioning valve....also there are inside and outside bleeders on the rear. You must bleed the RRInside, then RRoutside, then LRinside etc working from furthest out to closest in the the PValve,,,,but yes flow is paramount. You should be able to take the lid off the MC and open a bleeder and get a gravity drip without even touching the pedal. Good Luck!
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 04:41 PM
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Originally Posted by dosoctaves
I would suggest to check the proportioning valve....also there are inside and outside bleeders on the rear. You must bleed the RRInside, then RRoutside, then LRinside etc working from furthest out to closest in the the PValve,,,,but yes flow is paramount. You should be able to take the lid off the MC and open a bleeder and get a gravity drip without even touching the pedal. Good Luck!
I just found out that I am missing my outside bleeder valves on both rear calipers.

OMG .. I am so bad... thank you for letting me know there are 2 bleeders. geez
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted by ballen06
Flex hoses look good.. But I will disconnect the driver's side at its hard line connection to see if any fluid comes out as suggested.

WOW you are good, to be able to see the condition of the inside of a flex hose just by looking at it. you ONLY need to bleed both bleeders to get all the air out NOT to see if you have a collapsed hose.
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 08:20 PM
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Originally Posted by redvetracr
WOW you are good, to be able to see the condition of the inside of a flex hose just by looking at it. you ONLY need to bleed both bleeders to get all the air out NOT to see if you have a collapsed hose.
Sorry .. I didn't realize that the hose could collapse internally ...so my bad..

Also ..I've been pumping forever and all I get is air....

As I mentioned earlier I'm going to disconnect the flex hose from the hard line to see if I have flow..

I might just remove the flex hoses and verify they are clear.

I'm missing 2 bleeder valves .. 1 each on the rear calipers...so I have ordered new ones...

I'm also thinking about ordering the Motive Products 0105 bleeder..

Last edited by ballen06; Aug 1, 2016 at 08:24 PM.
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 09:19 PM
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I could never get a firm pedal. Then I bought a Motive Bleeder. Worked like a charm. Others have had luck with traditional methods. I had no success with pedal bleeding, gravity, etc. Just my experience.
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Old Aug 1, 2016 | 11:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Jeff_Keryk
I could never get a firm pedal. Then I bought a Motive Bleeder. Worked like a charm. Others have had luck with traditional methods. I had no success with pedal bleeding, gravity, etc. Just my experience.


Another vote for the Motive power bleeder. Worked great.
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Old Aug 2, 2016 | 07:09 AM
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When you say you're missing some bleed valves was there actual holes or were they plugged. The mighty vac wont work as well as a power bleeder. I coudnt find one as quick as I needed it. Its on my wish list. So I tried three times then had to get an assistant and pump and bleed three more times. It was a hassle. When you say you get air, are bubbles coming out?

When you pump, do you have an assistant open and close the valves?

Last edited by Rescue Rogers; Aug 2, 2016 at 07:10 AM.
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Old Aug 2, 2016 | 08:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Rescue Rogers
When you say you're missing some bleed valves was there actual holes or were they plugged. The mighty vac wont work as well as a power bleeder. I coudnt find one as quick as I needed it. Its on my wish list. So I tried three times then had to get an assistant and pump and bleed three more times. It was a hassle. When you say you get air, are bubbles coming out?

When you pump, do you have an assistant open and close the valves?
I don't get anything in the rear chamber of the master cylinder.

I may have air trapped in it.. I didn't bench bleed.
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Old Aug 2, 2016 | 09:20 AM
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Did you install a new master cylinder? Whats the history of your car? Have you owned it a while and never drove it? Or is it new to you or just experiencing brake problems and are trying to resolve it. If there was a problem and your trying to resolve it is different from putting in a new part and creating a problem.
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Old Aug 2, 2016 | 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Rescue Rogers
Did you install a new master cylinder? Whats the history of your car? Have you owned it a while and never drove it? Or is it new to you or just experiencing brake problems and are trying to resolve it. If there was a problem and your trying to resolve it is different from putting in a new part and creating a problem.
It's my old master cylinder.. which was working for me previously.
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Old Aug 2, 2016 | 07:35 PM
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If it was working on this vette and not removed, then you shouldnt have to bench bleed it. The collapsed brake line makes some sense but if your brakes worked previously then I dont know how you could be missing 2 bleed screws.

Definetly a head scratcher. I would do as previously stated and remove the rubber brake line and see if you can pump fluid through it. Its a place to start.

Then maybe borrow a power bleeder
Good luck

Last edited by Rescue Rogers; Aug 2, 2016 at 07:36 PM.
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