Please Help! Brakes Wont Bleed! Can't Drive
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 661
Likes: 21
From: DFW TX
Please Help! Brakes Wont Bleed! Can't Drive
I have installed Slotted Rotors, New Pads, Painted my Calipers and Braided lines. I then Bled all of the brakes the old fashion way many times. I am getting a steady stream of fluid now, no air. However, the pedal still goes to the floor. After pumping the pedal a few times, the brakes work. After a few seconds the pedal goes back to the floor. If I need to bleed with a TECH 2 please tell me how. I have one and can't figure it out. I haven't driven my vette in two months! This is a Crime! 
THANKS
THANKS
Last edited by chadls6; Dec 29, 2007 at 11:10 AM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
Likes: 29
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
Did you have the EBTCM out of the car? The whole unit? If so, there is air in there as well. I had mine out a couple of years ago. Putting it back in, I bled the brakes the old fashioned way and got some brakes, but not a lot. So, I had them power-bled from the master cylinder to the wheels. Still the pedal wasn't up there and it was mushy. So, reading the manual I learned that a Tech 2 was needed to activate the EBTCM. I got to thinking...bad news for me..lol... anyway, drove the car real quick and spun the wheels. It activated the traction systems/active handling and the brake pedal came right up there and no more mushy feeling. Worked just fine.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 23,682
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From: Flagstaff Az.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 661
Likes: 21
From: DFW TX
that is what i did. still no luck. i bled 32 oz of brake fluid through my system, jacked the car up and made the traction control system activate and still no luck. i have some pressure with pumping but it still goes to the floor after a few seconds. maybe i need to try to figure out this tech 2 and pressure bleed from the master cylinder. HELL I GIVE UP. I don't know. Why can't it be simple or should I say, Why can't I be smarter!
Pro
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 591
Likes: 1
From: Moore South Carolina
If you aren't losing fluid, and have no air in the lines, it sounds like your master cylinder may have gone out - fluid may be bypassing the diaphragm if you can keep pressure on the pedal and slowly force it down to the floor...You never said whether you removed the ECBM or not. If you didn't break the lines at that point, the Tech 2 shouldn't be needed.
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Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 43,084
Likes: 33
From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
When you were bleeding each caliper, did you tighten the bleed screw before the flow stopped?
and who was the fluid going though? was it gravity feed, mini-vac either of these will not open the ABS, hence giving that peddle to floor problem.
Unless you are using a power bleeder with 15-20 psi PUSHING brake fluid though the lines, you wont get a proper bleed. Or a Tech II
and who was the fluid going though? was it gravity feed, mini-vac either of these will not open the ABS, hence giving that peddle to floor problem.
Unless you are using a power bleeder with 15-20 psi PUSHING brake fluid though the lines, you wont get a proper bleed. Or a Tech II
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
From: Austin Texas
I did a rotor swap and took the calipers of the car to paint them a while back. I also had problems with bleeding afterwards. I was doing the bleeding with the car running and it wasnt working. A friend told me that I needed to do it with the car off and that seemed to do the trick. But of course there was a piece of the upper kickpanel wedged against my break pedal and was only allowing it to come back up about 50% so that was probably as big of a problem as anything else. This may be pretty common knowledge and I was just an idiot. Maybe still am
, anyway, hope this helps.
, anyway, hope this helps.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,246
Likes: 66
From: Middletown CT
I agree. If you had the calipers off to paint them, you maybe got them swapped when they went back on. The bleeder screw has to be at the top. Also, I remember reading that depending on the year of your car, the sequence for bleeding the brakes is different than what you described.
Edit:
I see you have a '99 FRC, so the brake bleeding sequence you used is correct. If I recall correctly, the newer models use RR, LF,LR,RF. Not sure when that changed, but you should be able to find that info in the tech archives.
Edit:
I see you have a '99 FRC, so the brake bleeding sequence you used is correct. If I recall correctly, the newer models use RR, LF,LR,RF. Not sure when that changed, but you should be able to find that info in the tech archives.
Last edited by Greg_E; Dec 29, 2007 at 07:32 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,968
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From: Biloxi MS Theres something happenin' here, What it is ain't exactly clear.....
Figured that was it -
(don't ride him too bad about it)
Well, give him hell if the fronts are backwards.
I had my rears on reversed and it was at the DEALERSHIP for 3 days before I mentioned reading about another guy putting them on backwards - sure enough, the rears were on backwards.
Thats why I couldnt get mine to bleed right
(don't ride him too bad about it)
Well, give him hell if the fronts are backwards.
I had my rears on reversed and it was at the DEALERSHIP for 3 days before I mentioned reading about another guy putting them on backwards - sure enough, the rears were on backwards.
Thats why I couldnt get mine to bleed right
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
Likes: 29
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
I too, wouldn't have thought of that... hydraulics is hydraulics no matter which way they are installed...usually anyway. Maybe in his bleeding process, because they were upside down, he was sucking air back in some how? Maybe its just the pad to rotor distance is different to the point that it doesn't work.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,968
Likes: 0
From: Biloxi MS Theres something happenin' here, What it is ain't exactly clear.....
Its easy to get the rears mixed up unless you do this sort of work weekly.
No obvious markings on the calipers to denote drivers and passengers side.
I manually bled mine, power bled them with a pressurized bleeder from Harbor Freight, pressure bled them with another bleeder, and then finally manually bled them again. Still had the pedal going all the way to the floor when rolling.
I was ready to buy a new master cylinder!
Spent a week trouble shooting it and diggin here on the forum.
Finally broke down and took it to the dealership the next week.
They worked on it - tried cycling the ABS and manually bleeding it.
3 days later I told them to check that the right caliper was on the right side..
sure enough that was it!
No obvious markings on the calipers to denote drivers and passengers side.
I manually bled mine, power bled them with a pressurized bleeder from Harbor Freight, pressure bled them with another bleeder, and then finally manually bled them again. Still had the pedal going all the way to the floor when rolling.
I was ready to buy a new master cylinder!
Spent a week trouble shooting it and diggin here on the forum.
Finally broke down and took it to the dealership the next week.
They worked on it - tried cycling the ABS and manually bleeding it.
3 days later I told them to check that the right caliper was on the right side..
sure enough that was it!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,847
Likes: 795
From: Longview Texas
I too, wouldn't have thought of that... hydraulics is hydraulics no matter which way they are installed...usually anyway. Maybe in his bleeding process, because they were upside down, he was sucking air back in some how? Maybe its just the pad to rotor distance is different to the point that it doesn't work.
That is why a lot of engines now have bleed screws at the high point of the coolant system. Otherwise, you can get a pocket of air and there is no way for it to escape.
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,960
Likes: 21
From: West Norriton PA
St. Jude Donor '08
Bleed screws have to be at the top of the caliper, so the caliper fills up with fluid and pushes the air out. If the screw is at the bottom, the fluid can just run through and the air will stay trapped in the top.
That is why a lot of engines now have bleed screws at the high point of the coolant system. Otherwise, you can get a pocket of air and there is no way for it to escape.
That is why a lot of engines now have bleed screws at the high point of the coolant system. Otherwise, you can get a pocket of air and there is no way for it to escape.
Just make sure your bleeder screws are pointing up. It also helps to install speed bleeders and use the one man bleeder containter to catch the fluid.Only took me about 20 pumps to install my Wilwwod 14" set-up all the way around using this method.
I got my speed bleeder from LG Motorsports.