So my dad and I decided to paint the brake calipers...figured bleeding them would be no big deal.

Calipers painted, go to bleed them..ok dad has done this plenty of times, just not on the Vette.

I man the brake pedal and he does the opening/closing of the valve.

For those interested we did bleeded them in this order RR,LF,LR,RF.

With the car off the brake pressures seems...ok, it will still go to the floor, however the minute you turn the car on, it goes right to the floor.

I wasn't sure whether to put this in Tech or General, I know a lot of people are in general, so if it needs to be moved, please do.

I basically want to know what we are doing wrong, we have done the bleeding process 8 times and from what my dad has said, it isn't spitting and sputtering like there is air in the line.

I read a lot of posts about brake bleeding and about speederbleeders, Motive and other stuff. Is this absolutely necessary? I wouldn't think so if you have someone to pump the brakes.

Any help would be appreciated it, its going to be 84 degrees tomorrow and we really want to be outside in it, not in the garage.

For what its worth, we did drive it around the block (about 4 miles) and never regained any pressure.

Thanks for any assistance,

David H.

Edit: its a 2004 Coupe.

Edit Edit: Brakes aren't perfect, still a little soft, but they will stop you. I may take it to a dealership later on and I would like more firmness.

 

 

You don't "need" a Motive, but it does make it a whole lot easier.
I always do rears first, then fronts. Make sure you pump up the pedal after each wheel.
Is there any fluid on the ground.. leaking from somewhere? Sure the pads are in correctly? (stupid I know.. but once my brother forgot to put a drum back on his car and wondered why the brakes didn't work.. doh)
I definitely wouldn't drive it, even around the block.

If you don't want to pop for a Motive, go spend $6 at Napa and get a brake bleeder bottle. Then you don't have to do the "up" "up" "down" "down"... you just hook it on to the nipple, pump a few times, tighten the nipple, and take it off.

 

Well we are way out in the country, I really wasn't worried, I didn't get over 35 mph.

No fluid leaks anywhere, as far as I can tell everything is in the correct place, just cannot keep pressure.

I'm going to get a beer and do some night catfishing, I'll check this thread when I get back in.

 

Those calipers hold a lot of fluid. How many times did you bleed each caliper? On my C6Z brakes it probably took 30-40 times at each caliper to get all the air out.

Now it feels awesome though...

 

Pretty sure it was about 8 times. I really wouldn't think you would need to do it that many times...hmm

 

Is there a special procedure with the abs pump when bleeding the brakes on the vette? Such as having the ignition on when bleeding or something?

I know ive bled the brakes on my vette a couple summers ago but dont recall my procedure.
I know I didnt have to pump 30-40 times though.

Edit: But to the floor indicates air in there somewhere....(you did make sure teh resevoir didnt go empty right?!?)

 

The level went down, but it never completely emptied.

 

A full brake flush on a C5 takes at least 1 and 1/4 reservoirs full. When I'm flushing mine I can usually get one rear and one front done before I have to refill for the last two, then refill again when I finish.

 

Alright guys, I'm going to get some breakfast, and keep flushing it out and see what happens. Thanks!

 

Yeah it took me 3 brake bleeding sessions to get my brakes right.

 

If you have the time and the patience (get a case of beer) the GRAVITY method is the way to go. Folks will disagree. Start at the RR. Put a clear rubber line that fits on the bleeder screw with the other end inserted in some type of container. Make sure that your master cylinder never runs low!! Open the bleeder screw and watch the fluid flow into the container. Let the master empty about half way. Close the bleeder screw and move on to the next caliper. KEEP THE MASTER FULL (one beer per caliper). You may have to do this to each caliper 3 to 4 times keeping that master cylinder full. I will go through a large can of brake fluid when I flush my system using this method. You need to get ALL the air out.

I had bought some SPEED BLEEDERS and never used them. I like the GRAVITY method. What ever method you choose to use, I hope that you are successful.

 

I have done the brake peddle bleed many times

1, Bleed brake first WITHOUT turning the key to accessory.

1a remember, pump the peddle 3 - 4 times then on the 5th peddle pump, NOW YELL "OPEN" the bleed valve. Let the peddle go almost to the floor, yell "CLOSE", for your helper to close the bleed valve.

Repeat, pump peddle 3-4 times on 5th yell OPEN, push peddle to the floor, and just before the peddle hits the floor, yell CLOSE. ( this prevents back wash and air getting into the lines)

Do this 4 - 5 time for EACH CALIPER.

this allows dirty fluid it escape and make sure the tygon drain tubing is tight on the bleed valve and no air is in the lines.

Replace brake fluid in MC before bleeding each caliper.

do a complete flush this way.
then

2. turn the key to accessory. and see how the brake peddle feels

 

I followed these directions to the best of my ability and it seems to be a *touch* firmer, but no where safe enough. I'm going to keep trying this way.

 

I'm pretty much at a loss right now. I have done the above method twice and am not getting any more firmness in the brakes.

I put it on accessory and it seems semi-firm, but will still go to the floor. Once I turn the car on, it goes really soft until I pump it two or three times.

Called up the local Chevy dealership, they didn't really have anything to add, other then they thought maybe you had to run it under a scanner tool?

Either way they said $65 or so, but they can't get me in until Wednesday/Thursday, and I want to drive this car now. Its been in storage all winter and its such a nice day out.

I'm not sure if I should call a local shop and see if they can get me in earlier, or call another dealership.

 

I'm just throwing this out there, but are you sure the master cylinder didn't break? I had an old C4 that just went pedal to the floor for no reason; new fluid and always kept clean. There was still some brake pressure in the system from the safety designed in the system.

If there's no way that could be it, then I'd like to know why: for my own knowledge. I haven't owned my C5 for more than 6 months and I am very new to it. The more information I can gain the easier a troubleshooting process becomes.

 

I'm not even really sure how I could figure out if that was broken or not. I'm not very mechanically inclined. However I probably will end up taking it to the dealership and I'll send you a PM with whatever they do say. It's probably just still air in the lines, but after all the bleeding we did, I'm not sure how.

 

If you took the calipers completely off the car (disconnected the lines) to paint them, check this. Make sure you put them back on the right side. The bleed plug goes on the top so the air bubbles can escape upwards. Several folks have put them on the wrong side with the bleed plug down and have not been able to get pressure. Once they swap them to the right position, voila', they bleed quickly and the pressure is back to normal.

Other than that, go through the service manual to see if you've done everything correctly.

 

I think your caliper bleeding is correct for the year. I know on my '97 its RR,LR,FR,FL and they changed that cross bleeding. I was told only to pump ONCE to avoid (dont remember what the term was) the brake fluid. As far as the ABS, since it was never open, there is no need to use a tech 2 to bleed out the ABS. When I replaced the lines (front & back) on my truck, it took forever to bleed out the system. I never OPENED the ABS and NEVER had an issue. I went through a large container...and then some to bleed it all out. With all the old fluid out, and bleed at all four corners, the pedal has never felt more firm! Stay with it!

 

So you took all the calipers completely off? And the lines drained?
I thought a Tech II was then necessary to cycle the ABS servos to bleed the system.