When bleeding brakes....
Abby Normal
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 53,456
Likes: 92
From: Press "2" for English
Re: When bleeding brakes.... (Brettmc)
brett, confused about three bleeder screws. stock c-3 brakes have one bleeder per front caliper and two per rear. is that what you mean? or do you have something different? on the rear, both need to be bled. bleed them individually. i have a little tech tip that if you take a 3/4 piece of pvc 64" long, it can act like a second person pushing on the brake pedal. make sure all bleeder screws are tight and pump the brakes. then take your pvc and put it on the brake pedal and bow it and put the other end on the door striker bolt. the bow acts like a spring and applies constant pressure on the pedal allowing you to bleed your brakes by yourself. start at the right rear and bleed one screw (i think it is recommended to start with the inner one then move to the outer one) but do each screw individually and at least twice or until you don't see any more air come from the system. make sure you keep topping off the master cylinder. you can go through alot of fluid quickly and make sure you keep your rotor and pads clean of it too. :cheers:
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
From: San Jose CA
Re: When bleeding brakes.... (Brettmc)
you are gonna hate bleeding your brakes. I spent several days doing it then changing claipers. Like said before me there is 1 screw on each of the front and two on each of the rear you can buy a bleading kit at a local auto shop that will have a vacume bleeder it will save you more then 75% of you time i wish i had one when i did tha. Start from the passenger rear then driver read then pasenger front the driver front till you dune if nothing is broke you shouldnt have anybubles in the line and your brake should be hard as hell :nopity
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,770
Likes: 3
From: St Louis MO
Re: When bleeding brakes.... (clutchdust)
I could have sworn that my rear calipers have 3 bleeders on em cause I loosened them up last nite during the rebuild. Before I shoot off my mouth again, I better check em again after work tonight. Anyway, you answered my question. Are the two bleed screws on the same end of the caliper or at different ends?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,668
Likes: 43
From: Eastern US XX
Re: When bleeding brakes.... (Brettmc)
Yes, many rebuilders put a bleeder in the bottom hole which should actually be a plug - my guess is that they buy so many bleeders so cheaply, why buy plugs! I believe the additional hole is so you can use the caliper half with the two holes on either side.
You should bleed both TOP bleeders on the rear calipers. Start with the farthest from the Master Cylinder and work your way toward it (RR, LR, RF, LF).
Paul
[Modified by pws69, 3:15 PM 11/20/2002]
You should bleed both TOP bleeders on the rear calipers. Start with the farthest from the Master Cylinder and work your way toward it (RR, LR, RF, LF).
Paul
[Modified by pws69, 3:15 PM 11/20/2002]
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 5,000
Likes: 1
From: Minneapolis, Mn USA
Re: When bleeding brakes.... (The Dude)
Gravity method worked best for me-even better them vacuum pump method.
I put a clear tube over bleeder (like the one the comes with the mity vac kit) and bring it up in the air just slightly higher than the bleeder and then down into a glass jar. This will keep the bleeder completely submerged in fluid as it bleeds out, stopping any possible air reintroduction.
Crack open the bleeder and let it go. Start a RR inner then outer go to LR inner then outer, go to RF and then LF.
Make sure you keep topping off MC fluid until you see the new clear fluid run out of the bleeder tube. My old fluid was alot darker than the new.
When doing the rears, the flow could stop due to the proportioning valve closing. If this happens, close the bleeder and MC and pump the brakes 5-6 times, this will reset it. Then open the MC and reopen the bleeder and it wil flow again.
It really went smooth and made my brakes 100% better. Although now I noticed I have a damp RR caliper so in the spring, all new O ring pistons and seals everywhere.
I put a clear tube over bleeder (like the one the comes with the mity vac kit) and bring it up in the air just slightly higher than the bleeder and then down into a glass jar. This will keep the bleeder completely submerged in fluid as it bleeds out, stopping any possible air reintroduction.
Crack open the bleeder and let it go. Start a RR inner then outer go to LR inner then outer, go to RF and then LF.
Make sure you keep topping off MC fluid until you see the new clear fluid run out of the bleeder tube. My old fluid was alot darker than the new.
When doing the rears, the flow could stop due to the proportioning valve closing. If this happens, close the bleeder and MC and pump the brakes 5-6 times, this will reset it. Then open the MC and reopen the bleeder and it wil flow again.
It really went smooth and made my brakes 100% better. Although now I noticed I have a damp RR caliper so in the spring, all new O ring pistons and seals everywhere.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 2,218
Likes: 0
From: Glendale AZ
Re: When bleeding brakes.... (MN-Brent)
I use the gravity method several times with great sucess. I did not know the "pump the brake for the rear". man i wish i would have known that yesterday.
FYI This looks like a cool product http://www.speedbleeder.com/
thanks
chad
FYI This looks like a cool product http://www.speedbleeder.com/
thanks
chad
