Brake bleeding question
#1
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Ok, so I replaced my suspension, all my extraneous little motors and body panels myself, BUT, I wanna know the best way to bleed my brakes. WHen I finished putting everything back together this was the only problem that presented itself. So what say you oh masterful ones, what is hte best way to go about this daunting task?
#3
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Mustang, Ok
Posts: 1,332
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
This is a clean and simple way to bleed them by yourself.
Take a peice of vacuum hose and run it into a bottle/can. Pour a little fluid into the bottle making sure the hose is submerged in it. Push the other end of the hose over the bleeder valve with it loose and pump away all by yourself.
Check the fluid level in the master cyl. often to make sure you dont run dry.
When the bottle gets full you can use it to refill the master cyl.
Do not get the fluid on your paint, if your flushing the system I would use Dot5 synthetic fluid to eliminate any future moister/corrosion in the system.
Some say it will cause brake fade in severe conditions but I dont notice any difference.
Take a peice of vacuum hose and run it into a bottle/can. Pour a little fluid into the bottle making sure the hose is submerged in it. Push the other end of the hose over the bleeder valve with it loose and pump away all by yourself.
Check the fluid level in the master cyl. often to make sure you dont run dry.
When the bottle gets full you can use it to refill the master cyl.
Do not get the fluid on your paint, if your flushing the system I would use Dot5 synthetic fluid to eliminate any future moister/corrosion in the system.
Some say it will cause brake fade in severe conditions but I dont notice any difference.
#4
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by DONAIMIAN
![Grin](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_grin.gif)
#5
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by Jeremiah
This is a clean and simple way to bleed them by yourself.
Take a peice of vacuum hose and run it into a bottle/can. Pour a little fluid into the bottle making sure the hose is submerged in it. Push the other end of the hose over the bleeder valve with it loose and pump away all by yourself.
Check the fluid level in the master cyl. often to make sure you dont run dry.
When the bottle gets full you can use it to refill the master cyl.
Do not get the fluid on your paint, if your flushing the system I would use Dot5 synthetic fluid to eliminate any future moister/corrosion in the system.
Some say it will cause brake fade in severe conditions but I dont notice any difference.
Take a peice of vacuum hose and run it into a bottle/can. Pour a little fluid into the bottle making sure the hose is submerged in it. Push the other end of the hose over the bleeder valve with it loose and pump away all by yourself.
Check the fluid level in the master cyl. often to make sure you dont run dry.
When the bottle gets full you can use it to refill the master cyl.
Do not get the fluid on your paint, if your flushing the system I would use Dot5 synthetic fluid to eliminate any future moister/corrosion in the system.
Some say it will cause brake fade in severe conditions but I dont notice any difference.
THank you much sir... My car's paint job is hosed anyway, complete cosmetic rebuild.
#6
TECH Senior Member
iTrader: (18)
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: NW Houston, TX
Posts: 10,036
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/ranks/ls1tech20year.png)
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by Jeremiah
This is a clean and simple way to bleed them by yourself.
Take a peice of vacuum hose and run it into a bottle/can. Pour a little fluid into the bottle making sure the hose is submerged in it. Push the other end of the hose over the bleeder valve with it loose and pump away all by yourself.
Check the fluid level in the master cyl. often to make sure you dont run dry.
When the bottle gets full you can use it to refill the master cyl.
Do not get the fluid on your paint, if your flushing the system I would use Dot5 synthetic fluid to eliminate any future moister/corrosion in the system.
Some say it will cause brake fade in severe conditions but I dont notice any difference.
Take a peice of vacuum hose and run it into a bottle/can. Pour a little fluid into the bottle making sure the hose is submerged in it. Push the other end of the hose over the bleeder valve with it loose and pump away all by yourself.
Check the fluid level in the master cyl. often to make sure you dont run dry.
When the bottle gets full you can use it to refill the master cyl.
Do not get the fluid on your paint, if your flushing the system I would use Dot5 synthetic fluid to eliminate any future moister/corrosion in the system.
Some say it will cause brake fade in severe conditions but I dont notice any difference.
#7
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Mustang, Ok
Posts: 1,332
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by DONAIMIAN
Hate to dissagree, but the only way of bleeding brakes with only one person is with speed bleeders. With the way you described it, seems like every time the pedal comes back up your gona suck the old fluid right back in, and I donot recomend reusing your old fluid, that defeats on of the purposes of bleeding the system in the first place. And I would recomend using DOT 4 over DOT 5.
Trending Topics
#8
TECH Senior Member
iTrader: (18)
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: NW Houston, TX
Posts: 10,036
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/ranks/ls1tech20year.png)
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
From the way you said "it seems like" I would say you have never done it or even tried? I am a body tech and bleed brakes quite often this way, it works great.
I said you can reuse the fluid that fills the bottle. If the system allready has new fluid and your bleeding it to rid the system of air then you can refill the resivior if you opt.
also, from personal experience I didnt notice any difference in the brakes by changing from the Dot 4 to 5. And the Dot 5 will not absorb moister like the 4 and it will not corrode the system like 4 and it will not harm the paint on contact like the 4.
Originally Posted by StopTech
So why is silicone-based DOT 5 fluid more compressible than other fluids?
On their own, silicone-based DOT 5 fluids are entirely different animals than DOT 3 and DOT 4 fluids. In addition to having characteristically higher dry and wet boiling points, they also tend to have much, much lower viscosities. In other words, they flow more easily relative to temperature.
One side effect of this chemistry is that there is more “room” for air to fit in-between the individual molecules of brake fluid than in DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluids. Note that we are not talking about big bubbles of air here which are visible to the naked eye, but rather microscopic amounts of air which are finely dispersed (entrained) in the brake fluid matrix.
Now, all fluids have a certain amount of compressibility to start with, but adding even the smallest amount of air into the solution can dramatically increase the amount of elasticity in the system. In the case of silicone-based fluids, air is quite happy to take up residence between the brake fluid molecules, and as a result the fluid compressibility goes down. This is felt at your foot like stepping on a big spring. As you can imagine, more air = more spring.
On their own, silicone-based DOT 5 fluids are entirely different animals than DOT 3 and DOT 4 fluids. In addition to having characteristically higher dry and wet boiling points, they also tend to have much, much lower viscosities. In other words, they flow more easily relative to temperature.
One side effect of this chemistry is that there is more “room” for air to fit in-between the individual molecules of brake fluid than in DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluids. Note that we are not talking about big bubbles of air here which are visible to the naked eye, but rather microscopic amounts of air which are finely dispersed (entrained) in the brake fluid matrix.
Now, all fluids have a certain amount of compressibility to start with, but adding even the smallest amount of air into the solution can dramatically increase the amount of elasticity in the system. In the case of silicone-based fluids, air is quite happy to take up residence between the brake fluid molecules, and as a result the fluid compressibility goes down. This is felt at your foot like stepping on a big spring. As you can imagine, more air = more spring.
#11
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by Jeremiah
And the Dot 5 will not absorb moister like the 4 and it will not corrode the system like 4
The major upside for DOT 5 is for car collectors not wanting to ruin the paint on a museum or million dollar show car.
Steve
The "new" Pro-Stop Performance, LLC
no association w/the previous owner!!!
#13
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Mustang, Ok
Posts: 1,332
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by DONAIMIAN
When bleeding the brakes the right way your supposed to press and hold the pedal down, open the bleeder screw and let the fluid run out, then close the bleeder screw, if the bleeder screw isnt closed then you suck air into the system. With the way you described it, when you get release the pedal, your sucking that old fluid right back in.
I know for a fact this method works great, I first learned of it from a tech article in a Chevy HP magazine a couple of years back. It works great and it will move more fluid faster than the press and hold method you mentioned with no mess and no damaged paint. If you have never tried it then who are you to say it doesnt work? Like I said I do bodywork for a living and change frames on trucks often, you get a ton of air in the system by transfering the lines to the new frame. I also work on commision and I have to do a lot of things by my self, this is one of those things.