sgtdestruction

iTrader: (1)

Changing out my brake pads this weekend and have never had to bleed brakes before. But have also never changed brakes on a CTS-V before either.

Ran a few searches, but seem to come up with conflicting information.

So...to bleed or not to bleed. Why/Why Not?

Thanks.

punishmentcycle

iTrader: (6)

If u have never bled brakes than I would not recommend it. If u do decide to take the task on ill explain the proper way to u.. Just lmk

01_SuperSlow

iTrader: (7)

It's very simple, and a one man job if you have the right tools.

Zlow28

iTrader: (11)

Changing brake pads doesnt require bleeding unless you somehow do something wrong. But it never hurts to bleed your brakes.

sgtdestruction

iTrader: (1)

My big concern is needing to expand the pistons to fit the newer, thicker pads. I would assume that trying to expand them could potentially hurt the brake lines/system by attempting to compress the fluid. Or maybe I am wrong.

I have seen the instructions on cadillacfaq, but am worried about getting the mushy/soft pedal feel b/c of air trapped in the lines.

TriGuy

iTrader: (1)

when I changed my pads it was simple and never had a problem with air in the lines. I followed the same procedure you are refering to. I took the cap off of the resevoir to allow the fluid to move with compressing the pistons in. Made sure the fluid would not over flow before I started...that was 20k miles ago and never once have felt a sponge brake pedal.

FoD

Same.

JDB

iTrader: (2)

You don't need to. You'll be fine.

But, if it's never been done, you should. It's to be changed every 2 years regardless of miles. Brake fluid absorbs moisture so it is constantly lowering the quality of fluid and lowering its wet/dry boiling points/temps.

With a Motive bleeder, it's a one man job. Or old school method with a friend to push /hold the pedal while the bleeder is open, close, release pedal, pump pedal again, push /hold pedal, open bleeder, close, repeat until clean.

NIKDSC5

iTrader: (10)

While you are not required to bleed when just changing pads (since you are not opening the system) I would recommend it. If your pads needed to be replaced so does the fluid IMO. It is just like every other fluid in the car, if it did not need to be changed it would not get merkey and it would just stay clear. Unless yours is still clear, I would flush it. While at the same time putting in a better fluid like a silicone based dot 5. Easy to do since you are already there. The trick is to not let the master cylinder even get close to dry. If you do that (and since you're not changing brake lines) you should be fine. All of the brake bleeding problems with the V are because air was introduced into the system, which you should not be doing at any point.

This is all assuming that you know how, and are perfectly capable of bleeding brakes.

sgtdestruction

iTrader: (1)

Brakes installed and done. Thanks again to everyone's help. TriGuy, removing the reservoir cap was an awesome tip. Brakes feel great after putting 30 miles on them.