Most instruction manuals indicate that you should place the Master Cylinder in a vise and then use a dowel rod to press on the plunger to bleed the air out of the Master Cylinder. I found an easier way is to bleed the air out of the system backwards.

Supplies:

Fittings for bleeding hose (usually included with new Master Cylinder)
Bleeding Hose (usually included with new Master Cylinder)
New pump oil can (New to make sure that it is not contaminated)
Brake Fluid.

Once you are ready to bleed the air from the master cylinder screw the fittings into the appropriate holes, and attach the bleeder hose to the fittings. During the next process you will drip brake fluid so use a pan to catch what is lost.

Fill the reservoir with brake fluid. Through this process, and until you get the brake lines attached to the New Master Cylinder make sure that the reservoir level does not fall below the minimum level.

Place the tip of the pump oilcan in the end of one of the brake bleeder hoses and begin pumping brake fluid into the system backward. Continue until you do not see any more air bubbles in the reservoir.

Once you finish with the one line switch to the other and repeat the previous step.

Once you have the air removed from both the front and rear brake line connecting points, remove the fittings and bleeding tubes.

Reinstall the Master Cylinder on the car.



[Modified by Husker Vette, 4:06 PM 6/18/2002]

 

Every person I'd ever talked to except one(who installed it on my car) said to bench bleed. I wasn't exactly sure at the time what it meant to do so..but I'd go ahead and do so anyway. Mine is most likely coming off and re-bleeding if and when I upgrade(See my tech-perf brake upgrade post)

 

Bench bleeding is just removing the air from the Master Cylinder so that you don't push air down the brake lines.....

I found that doing it this way, you did not have to "Push" the plunger or use a vise..... You are just running the fluid through the MC backwards..... Took me three minutes to remove the air out of both the front and back brake connections.

 

I found an easier way to "bench bleed." You install the master cylinder but do not connect the lines. fill the reservoirs with with fluid. Hold s disposible aluminum bread pan by the outlets and pump the brake pedal. Hold the brake pedal down and connect and tighten the lines. Release the pedal. Loosen the lines, and again put the pedal to the floor and re-tighten.
Is sounds more complicated than it really is and it does take remove most of the air.