Bleeding Brakes
 

Anyone have a how-to on bleeding the brakes? I did a search, but couldn't find anything.

I'm going to be picking up a line-lock and want to do it myself, but I've never bled brakes before.

Should I get speed bleeders or the motive products bleeder?

Thanks guys!

I installed speed bleeders when I installed my line lock and it made one man brake bleeding a simple thing. I installed Erol's but there are several brands. With the speed bleeders I just attached (pushed on) a piece of 1/4" (ID) clear plastic tubing on the bleeder and put the other end in an old milk jug. You just back the bleeder off 1/2 turn and press the pedal to the floor as many times as it takes to take all the air bubbles out of the line. You can easily see the air in the tubing as it goes into the jug, whe you stop seeing bubbles that brake line is clear, you then just shut off the bleeder and go to the other wheel and repeat. You can get the plastic tubing at Lowes in the plumbing dept.

EDIT: I installed Russell not Erol's sorry for the typo.

EDIT 2:
Refill the Master Cylinder as needed and don't let it run dry or you will get more air in the lines and have to start over.

Get the motive pressure bleeder, but use it slightly differently. Instead of filling it with fluid, just use it as a pressurizer on the MC reservoir. What I do is:

-using a baster, remove as much fluid as possible from the MC
-then open any of the bleed screws at the calipers and pump out the rest of the fluid CAREFULLY. DO NOT EMPTY THE MC. Leave a little in the bottom to be safe
-fill the MC with brake fluid of choice
-open the right rear bleed screw and then pump the brake pedal 15 times--this clears the line of old fluid and starts the new coming out
-close the right rear bleed screw
-attach the motive cap and pressurize to 15-20 psi
-now bleed the system by cracking each bleeder long enough to let clear fluid (or blue if you use ATE superblue) run out in the following order: RR, RL, FR, FL
-keep an eye on the MC fluid level and refill if necessary
-once done bleeding, fill as required

Should take a hair under a liter if done this way, and it completely flushes the system of old fluid. :nice:

I blead mine using a MOTIVE>

pressure bleeder it worked great and it was a one man job. If you use this type of unit make sure you use the thicker master cylinder gasket vs the skinny one. If you don't you're going to have all kinds of spillage of brake fluid when you pressurize. You can bleed brakes old school with two people and a simple tube and bottle. This requires clear communication with the brake person and you opening and closing the bleeded valve at the right moment under pressure. A third method is "speed bleeder valves" these replace your stock bleed valves. This is also a one man operation the one way check valve helps remove the air as you bleed each wheel. Don't forget you start bleeding the system from the brake with the greater distance from the master cylinder. When I bleed my brake I replaced the old brake fluid with a DOT 4 rated fluid that was colored (Super blue) so I knew when all of the old fluid was purged. If you feel at all uneasy about doing this yourself than don't do it alone, have someone that has done it before show you the ropes. God forbid you do something and you get yourself in a heap of chit! One last tip if you do it make sure you use a torque wrench when tightening your valves. I know some may say its not necessary but really it is!

+3 on the Motive. Just did this after replacing brake lines with stainless steel. I got a mc cap for my '07 and my '91 with the one bleeder. I had never done this before and it was a breeze. Especially since I used the Super blue fluid. It's so easy.

And yes you must use the thicker gasket provided with the cap. I test pressurized mine with the thinner one and it wouldn't hold pressure, the thicker held At 20 psi no problem.

It was really quick and easy work.

What's the correct thread size of bleeders for our cars?

Which model did you get from Motive? I assume it was the Black Label GM/Ford 3-tab SKU 0118 http://store.motiveproducts.com/shar...ount2=65177559

This is a timely post as I am about to order a line lock as well and will need to get one of these solutions for doing the bleeding.

I used Russell # 639560 available from Summitt for about $10.

You need bleeder #0108,and adapter kit model #1108.

Very good info! Just what I was looking for!

I'll probably give this a shot whenever I get the linelock :)

Who's line lock are you going with? I installed the SLP kit and I am happy with the product and ease of installation.

I'm going to go with the SLP as well. :metal: I hear only good things:nice:

I bought this one:

Gm/Late Model Ford Bleeder 0108 at the time.

It looks like the one you should get now is: Black Label GM/Ford 3-Tab Power Bleeder 0118. I also bought two bleeder bottles and 2 cans of Super Blue.

This new model looks like it has a better cap being made from billet vs mine that is black plastic. Make sure to use the thicker gasket so you don't have any leaks and spills. it's also a good precaution to place plastic down below your master cylinder in case of drips.