sounds like a sure fire (although slow) way to get all the air out of a new system (MC, hoses, rebuilt calipers). is it as simple as crack open all the bleeder valves and check the MC resevoir? covers off the resevoirs? wait till the bleeders drip and tighten it all up?

lemme know if there is anything else.....obviously i wanna have this done right....

 

does work on some car's

 

Yes it is the "sure fire way"! I understand, I could be wrong it is the preferred method for NASCAR and other racers.

It is quite simple, but it can also be a little intensive to set up.

I am fortunate to be able to get the wheels off the ground and the tires off. I have had success doing all four wheels simultaneously and just rears then fronts.

Get some clear plastic hose, proper diameter to fit over the bleeder screw and some containers to collect the drained fluid. You want to put a loop in the hose to periodically check for air passing through. Top of loop must be well below the wheel cylinder and don't let the bottom of the hose get covered by the drained fluid as this can prevent free flow.

Simply open the bleeders, take the cover(s) off the reservoirs and keep adding fluid.

In order to be sure I get all the old fluid and any air out, I run much more fluid through the system than the system is supposed to hold. I use the big bottles of fluid and I will run one full bottle through the rear system and one through the front system. Remember on ABS cars it is almost as long a distance to the front brakes as it is to the rear.

Periodically check for the presence of air in the plastic tubing...it will move slowly. And if you see air, it will reassure you that you have gotten the air out!

Once you have passed all the fluid though, the system should be completely flushed of old fluid and air. Close all the bleeders, top off the MC and try it out. Remember, you wil have no brake pedal at first, so pump it before driving

As I said earlier, I do all four wheels at the same time, but it can be done axle by axle.

DON"T LET THE MC RESERVOIRS GET BELOW 1/4 full

Write if you have more questions

Jack

PS: since I take the wheels off and since it takes an hour or more, it is a great time for some in depth detailing, and an opportunity to partake of some suds

 

I've replaced lines, hoses, even entire systems and just let them drip for a while before tightening all the connections (tightening progressively in the direction of flow) and then very little bleeding was needed.

 

jack: thanks for the tips and step by step. sounds like it is as easy as i thought. i too have the car up off all fours with the tires off...where can i get the clear plastic tubing though? parts store? what about a pet store (fish tank tubing?) and the loops you refer too, do you mean that it needs to be below the caliper piston housing (wheel cylinder?)

i just want to be sure that all the air is outta the system so i can DRIVE it again...its been a month and i am having SERIOUS withdrawal symptoms....

thanks again

 

You are welcome

This is the only way I know of to be absolutely sure you have all the old fluid and the air out of the system. Conventional bleeding is hit or miss in my opinion!

Thanks

Jack

 

i tried pump bleading....open the valve, close the valve, pump, don't pump.....air bubble out, it stopped....old fluid....too much of a PITA. crackin 'em all open, and lettin it flow till new fluid pours out seems much easier and sure fire IMO. and the car is about 1 1/2 feet off the ground, so i have plenty of room for loops below the calipers. and all this waiting will give me time to figure out whats going on with my antenna, and install an over-ride "up/down" switch...

thanks again.....i love this forum

 

I just installed new front calipers and MC so had to bleed all four (good opportunity to get rid of that carppy old fluid).

I was going to gravity bleed em but decided on the GM way of imersing a tube from the bleeder into a can of brake fluid.

I did this at all wheels and she is now rock solid again. After bedding the new front pads she is as good as new.

I ran about a quart of DOT 3 fluid through to get out all the old black fluid.

BTW, if you use the gravity bleed method you may want to watch the front resevoir as the fronts will likely flow faster than the rears, at least on an '88. If you did new hoses around and all wheels are off, you could crack the banjo bolts to bleed the lines more quickly and then crack the bleeders to flush the calipers.

 

How long does this process usually take ??
Is it better than the pressue bleed?

 

I did this bleed around ten months ago. It is a slow and messy process but it works. Jackdaroofer listed it step by step. Follow his post.

 

Thanks for the credits

If you use the plastic tubing, it shoudn't be too messy.

Sometimes I just open them up and let them drip. But Brake fluid is pretty corossive on the Kwik lift!

Seeya

Jack

 

OK, just to be a pain in the butt, I bleed the old fashion way. My 15 year old pumps the pedal, my 10 year old monitors the master cylinder, and the old man (me) works the bleed valve using the bottle hose trick. Takes less than 30 mins to do all 4 brake calipers and the clutch. I use ATE SuperBlue (from the BMW dealer) comes in blue and yellow, not hard to tell when the new fluid makes it through with the color change. I do it once a year, IMHO, the key to keeping the ABS pump from dying is fresh fluid.