I installed my new calipers from Corvette pilot. Fabulous quality on the powder coating. They look great. Pics later...

At the advice of someone here, I installed speedbleeders. The concept is great. I was able to bleed pretty much by myself although you still really need another person and my wife obliged. I got everything installed and didn't see any air bubbles coming out.

I was extremely **** about keeing the master cylinder full, so I'm sure no air entered there. But when I was done, the brakes were AWFUL. My experience is that Speedbleeders just don't work. Either they are letting air back in or, without pumping the brakes under pressure, this process just doesn't get all the air out.

So I went with the old-fashioned maual process of bleeding and followed the procedure described here (link passed along to me by Corvette Pilot (thanks !):
http://www.zeckhausen.com/bleeding_brakes.htm

After following this manual process, I definitely saw more air bubbles coming out. I did each wheel in succession and each one, I probably opened and closed the bleeder valve 20 times and beat on each calicper a few times with a rubber mallot - and eventually saw no more air bubbles coming out. Although I still did see some darker looking fluid coming out of the rear calipers. I took the car for a drive and there was a huge improvement. But they are still mushy compared to how they were before the caliper exchange.

Any ideas? I guess the only other thing to do is to bleed each one again to see if it improves. But I'm growing tired of jacking and removing wheels. All in all, I wouldn't recommend speed bleeders for a caliper change.

 

bleed again, starting with the passenger rear wheel, then drivers front wheel, then driver rear wheel, then finish at passenger front.

 

Does the order really make any difference ? This link says to do the rear brakes first, then the front:
http://www.zeckhausen.com/bleeding_brakes.htm

When I originally installed these new calipers, I installed and bled them one at a time.

 

I have opened up brake systems on many different cars many different times and have never been able to get the same petal or better after bleding, came close but never the same again. Used proper sequencing and even had a friend who is a asme certified mechanic who has been doing this stuff for better than 30 years, no better. That is why I wont change out my calipers untill I have to like one of them going bad, I would love to do it but the trade off with a softer petal is just not worth it to me.

Good luck in your endeavor and I hope it gets back the way it was.

 

If you don't follow this order, you may never get all the air out because you want to go from the furthest to closest.

 

I have had the same problems as described above from not using the proper sequence. After using the proper sequence outlined in the C6 service manual my pedal was back to normal. Why would there be this specific sequence I listed outlined in the service manual if it was not necessary? I think the engineers at GM know more about this car than you or I ever will. I can scan and post the page if you like? To the original poster, try the sequence I have described and post your results.

 

Take a look at this recent thread:

How to bleed the C6 brakes

Scroll down a few posts to the one that has the instructions from the tech manual.

Bob

 

Thanks for the responses. I'll give it a whirl in that order and will report back...

What I find strange is what if I just replaced 1 caliper for some reason? I'd only have to bleed that caliper right? There wouldn't be a need to bleed them all, would there? I just did that 4 individual times - replacing and bleeding one caliper at a time.

It's such a simple concept - I've bled tons of brakes in the past on 60's-70's era cars.. I'm quite surprised at how difficult it's been to get a good feeling pedal back on my C6.

 

Sometimes you can bleed the brakes correctly and still have a soft pedal. On a new car remember to check your installation, check the pistons in the calipers, the calipers & all the hardware to make sure nothing is binding.

If the car is not new then you might want to check the rubber brake lines to the calipers. As the rubber gets old, it cracks & expands. In addition, make sure the parking brake is properly adjusted.
These are two of the most overlooked items when you have a soft pedal after bleeding brakes on an older car after bleeding them in the proper order.

Good luck

 

I appreciate the feedback but my car is a C6 and the message is in a C6 forum. The oldest it could be is 2 years old ! And the day before I changed the calipers, the brakes felt fine.

Right now, my brakes really aren't that bad. The pedal just isn't as firm as it was before I started the caliper replacement. I'm going to try bleeding one more time - exactly as written in the GM instructions.

 

Yes I realize that......... my mistake. I should have quoted the member who stated that he has taken calpiers off and never the the pedal firm
Sorry

 

I had speedbleeders before, and like you I took them off. They were terrible. They don't seem to hold a good seal and I found it more difficult to bleed the brakes properly with the speed bleeders. What a gimmick.