bleeding brake lines

[twig]

can someone give me the runtthrough on this. I tried and I obviously failed....and my car is sort of dangerous to drive now.

[Mr_Diesel]

The real question is... why do you need to bleed your brakes? Did you break it or did the peddal all the sudden get soft? If you did nothing to it, there is a problem.

1. Possible pin hole somewhere in the lines
2. Seals going out in master cyl.
3. Failure of seals in front calipers or rear wheel cylinders (or calipers if equipped).

Anyway...

1. Get a helper to pump the peddal.
2. Get lots of brake fluid.
3. Get about 3 feet of soft CLEAR rubber hose (fish tank line works great).


Loosen the bleeder screw a bit, put the line on the bleeder screw 'nipple'. run the hose to a catch can so you don't mess up your driveway. Make sure resivior is filled to capacity. Have your helper pump the brakes slowly and firmly. Once no more air bubbles are in your clear line, TIGHTEN THE BLEEDER SCREW BEFORE REMOVING THE LINE! This ensures no air bubble will get back in... repeat x 4. Keep a closes eye on the level of the resivior... if you run out of fluid half way between the job you have to start over. Best thing to do is fill it to capacity before bleeding each brake.

Notes:

Brake fluid should be clear and free from any discoloration, debris, dirt, or anything of any kind. Pure and clear. If there is any contamination remove the resivior and clean it out with brake cleaner. Run as much brake fluid through the master clyinder and lines as it takes to clean it out. Contamination is what causes seals, calipers and cylinders to fail.

You should only need one big container of fluid. (one quart?) to do the job. You might need more if you need to flush the system out. A quart of brake fluid shouldnt run you more than 5 or 6 dollars.

[Mr_Diesel]

Did that work?

[twig]

don't know yet, i'm gonna try sometime this week