Tips on bleeding new brake system

[rin68]

Anyone got any tips on how to bleed a completely new brake system? Will anything goofy show up? I've got 4whl discs with the one-man bleeders in all the calipers. Did the m/cyl last night but didn't get any farther because of sleep deprivation, brakes are something one should be awake for when doing!

[sactoC10]

TIP #1: be patient

TIP #2: be more patient

TIP #3: beer

TIP #4: patience

And then, if there's not been too many beers, test drive it...it may not have as much slop or air in the system as you originally think.

When I did mine a couple of months ago, I thought it was never gonna get done...but then I realized it was done and I'd done a darn good job.

[fleetimus]

1: Bleed master
2: rt rear
3: left rear
4:rt front
5:left front
6: let sit for 15 minutes
7:check pedal.

If it feels good, enjoy it!!

I did four wheel disc on mine and had to lengthen the push rod into the master. If you did a kit, you should be OK. If not a kit, you may not have enough throw at the master.

Good luck

[tom hand]

Originally posted by fleetimus


I did four wheel disc on mine and had to lengthen the push rod into the master. If you did a kit, you should be OK. If not a kit, you may not have enough throw at the master.

Good luck

You can have the exact opposite problem..If the pushrod is too long, the M/C will not return all the way, making it impossible to bleed. You should always have some freeplay in the brake peddle

[Gordo]

After you have bench bled the master, I would gravity bleed each wheel first then bleed the system with the old two man way.

[ThreeQuarter]

Minor detail: The order in which you bleed each corner depends on the routing of your rear brake line. Does it run down the driver or passenger side frame rail? From the factory our pickups were routed down the passenger's side. Since the object is to start at the farthest point inline from the master cylinder, you would want to start on the rear driver's side, then move to rear passenger side, then front passenger, then front driver.

BTW, those speed bleeders are great. Just use enough clear tubing so that you can set the "catch can" in view from the driver's seat and watch the fluid from there. Good luck.

[BraveDave]

What exactly is a "speed bleeder"? I am a moron who lives in a "special home" and I don't get out much.

[Blue4x4]

go to harbor freight and pick up a vacuum bleeder. You just hook it up to each fitting....squeeze the handle a few times for a vacuum and just keep filling the resivor. 30 bucks for the gadget.

[ThreeQuarter]

A speed bleeder is a bleeder valve that replaces the run-of-the-mill one in your caliper/wheel cylinder. They look pretty much the same, but have some thick pipe dope on the threads and a check valve inside. The check valve allows you to open the bleeder valve, walk around to the driver's seat, pump the brakes as much as you want, and go back to close the valve, all without allowing air to flow back into the system. This is so much easier and faster than the old two-man open-close-open-close method. The pipe dope is there to keep air from entering through the threads while the valve is open. I bought some about and a half ago when I first saw them for around $12 a pair. Hopefully the price has gone down since then.

[rin68]

thanks for the help; i'm using the earl's bleeders and no the price hasn't gone down yet, but i'm a sucker for things that make working on the truck by myself easier.