Bleeding the Brakes ... just a heads up tip

I usually work on my stuff by myself ... because ...
I tend to start work later in the night ( it is cooler temperature wise ) Midnight is good start time for me ...
If I work by myself ... I can quit ... when I want to
If I do invite someone over ... to help ... I feel obligated to work until the job is finished ...

I borrowed this MityVac tool from a friend today and bleed the brake system on my 3 window ... it is the cat's behind

In less than a hour and a half ... I had the system bled and had a real good pedal. This was on a totally new system ...



I was impressed. I will have to buy this tool ... for my own tool box .

 

If you have not tried Speed Bleeders you should, I went from dry to completly bleed in about 15 min. They will be on everything that I own.

 

I can't help myself. I have to tell how I last bled brakes. It was simple. I took about an 8' long piece of clear vinyl tubing and pressed it over the bleeder. I took the other end and gently clamped it to a step ladder sitting next to the car. This got the other end higher than the cylinder. I opened the bleeder up just enough. While making sure the reservoir didn't go dry, I slowly pumped the pedal over and over until no more bubbles. I tightened the bleeder down and it worked like a charm. You gotta get the tubing and the fluid up high enough that you can see it from the driver seat. If you have a "used" system, this flushes a lot of the ugly, dirty fluid from the system also. The reason I tried this is that my Miti Vac needs a rebuild and I had to get creative. Otherwise the Vac works pretty well too.

 

with a wife and 3 kids....I don't seem to have trouble finding someone to push the pedal.

I never did have much luck with the vacuum thingy. Maybe because I don't want to spend an hour and a half doing a 15 min job.

 

That's what I was thinkin' !

 

I have NEVER bled a new system in 15 minutes ...

 

i have a vac. bleeder but stoped using it, if someone knows a trick to stop the air getting ****ed in past the threads of the bleed screw i`d like to know it, bubbles never stoped coming out. one day i`m going to build one of these. http://www.arkansaspontiacs.org/techstories/bleeder story.htm

 

I use the vinyl tubing method with a one-way "valve" on the clear line to keep fluid from going the wrong way when refilling the reservoir...

 

I tried the vac system , never did seem to work any better than tubing and a bottle with fluid to catch the bubbles and have my wife or a friend push the pedal , never spill a drop and someone to talk to at the same time ,,,,,,,

 

I tried that system on my new brakes. I did one caliper, then called the wife and did the rest the old fashion way. If I was by myself, I would probably use it again though.

 

I like the little harbor freight setup....clear tube with a bottle that has a magnet attached to it...just stick the bottle on the inner fender or something else metal.....I think it was 2 bucks or so.
I definately want to get some of those bleed screws with the checkvalve built in....they would make it easier too!

 

Or you can use a little plastic cup (maybe even the one you have in your photograph) with a tube attaced to the inside of the lid just short of the bottom. You attach a tube from the bleeder to the lid and pump the brake.

When you pump the petal the fluid (and air) fills the cup to above the bottom of the tube...when you release the petal it ****s fluid, not air.

It worked perfect for me after I got tired of hand pumping the vacuum pump.

 

If you wrap the threads of the bleeder screws with teflon tape it helps the ****ing of the air past the theads on the bleeder screws.

 

He said he was alone, did not have not someone to help... Randy, did you get any vacuum bleed back ???

 

Lighten up,,,,He is working alone,,he don't have 3 kids to help and his wife is probably asleep,,and he stated it was late,, midnight.

He is just offering a solution for one of many little problems we all run into building our dreams.

Randy had a heart attack that damn near killed him a couple of years ago,,,so he might be a little slower doing some of the simple things than other people.HRP

 

This coming Friday ... July the 13th ... it will be 6 years ago that I had the heart attack.

I am GLAD to be alive



I have the Wilwood disc brakes of the front. They have 4 bleeders ... on each wheel. So that's 8 bleeders just on the front. I am old and overweight ... so a hour and half to completely bleed a completely new system was real GOOD for me.

I know that Wilwoods are not considered traditional ... BUT I have way more horsepower than brakes in my 32 Roadster and and I wanted this coupe to STOP better than the roadster.

Boones ... No bleed back ...
The system worked just as the instructions said it would.
I had no leaking around the bleeder valve threads or any issues.

The only thing was my hand got a little tired pumping the handle on the MityVac

This morning ... I went out to the shop and a neighbor came over to " Borrow a tool " So I had him pump the pedal and I manually bleed each wheel again. Two or three bleedings of each wheel netted only brake fluid ... no air.
The system was ready ... last night ... but I feel better after double checking.

OH ... and I have a wife ... but she flew back to California last Sunday. I have worked on the 3 Window every day since she left. If she would stay in California for about another 3 weeks ... I could drive this coupe

 

just very carefully teflon tape the bleeder screw threads. works 4 me.

 

Speedbleeders are cheap and available at the local parts store.
No other help needed and it only takes minutes.

Figure out your part# and order it at your favorite store.
http://www.speedbleeder.com/
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The vacuum pump works well when done PROPERLY. I use a ****** fitting in place of the bleeder screw when using it. You can also take an old bleeder screw and drill it straight through, install it in place of the original bleeder screw and tighten (no thread tape is required). If you don't have some kind of a seal between the cylinder and the threads it will never work. 15 minutes is plenty of time.

 

NEVER heard of them before ... but did a internet search ... Wish I had known about them before ... But it would get a little pricey with 8 on the front and 2 on the rear @ 14 dollars each ...



http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/speedbleed.htm

.

 

Autozone sells my regular GM style for $10/pair.
They are safe and last as long as traditional ones.

 

FYI
You only need to use the bleeders on the top. There are 4 on each caliper because the calipers do not have a left or right (they can be used on either side)

 

Yep, it's speedbleeders for me too. I've never had any luck with the MightyVac device (it ****s).

Patrick

 

sorry, I didn't mean it to come out like that....hey, if you guys can make the vacuum bleeder work, more power to you! I'm not that patient/skilled, I guess.

 

Yeah, I like the wife/kids style bleeders best too. Ever see a vacuum bleeder that also washed the car when you're done?

 

I've been doing it by just opening the bleeder at each wheel one at a time and letting gravity do the rest. Takes a little while, only works with a firewall mounted master. Used to have trouble getting the system to bleed past the combo valve til I did it this way. get a great pedal.


jerry

 

I have heard good things about these setups but with the under the floor master, I havent had any good luck.

 

I got mine at Advance for 9.00 a pair

 

What's an hour & a half to spend on something that you love! One great looking ride and something that really "SHOWS" the time spent on it!

 

My 1 year anniversary was June 14th.. Im with you.. Life is good......
Dave