53 Plymouth Cambridge Single MC brake system Rebuilt MC and Drivers Rear Wheel Cylinder My brother and I have been trying to bleed the brakes for the better part of two hours now and STILL not getting any pressure. The p***enger rear bleeder is completely rounded and I can't get a grab on it whatsoever. So I've been trying to bleed them with the drivers rear in hopes it would work. Am I wrong? I'm about ready to push this car right down into the gully.
Thats because you are probably doing it incorrectly. Explain your procedure and then everyone will get a handle on what is going on and why you cant get things to work. Next question do you have a motors manual that covers repairs on 53 plymees?
Don't push it down the gully! It doesn't have brakes. I think you have to replace that bleeder screw.
Pump pedal, 10 or 15 times, hold it down, release bleeder to allow air to escape, tighten bleeder and start pumping again. Repeat. I didn't realize the bleeder was stripped until we started the whole process and a new wheel cylinder would be a week away. Just trying to get it moving again. I've bled a few more modern cars brakes before. I knew this would be more difficult just not THIS difficult.
Also, I have the front of the car up on stands trying to get the MC above the wheel cylinders. Thought I read that someplace on here.
It shouldn't be any more difficult than any other car. 1. You need to have all of your bleeder screws so they work. Not only so they will open but so that fluid (and air in front of the fluid) will flow though them. 2. You need to have the brakes adjusted correctly and on that particular car there is a trick to it that escapes me right now. My stepfather had one when he married my mom and I worked on it some. 3. Make sure that your helper understands that he/she needs to pump the pedal slowly and HOLD it down until you tell them to pump it again after you have closed the bleeder screw. Some times that is the hardest part of bleeding brakes with a helper pumping the pedal, getting them to do it right. My daughter has helped me bleed brakes since she was 4 and gets it right every time (she is 34 now) my wife completely forgets everything and gets impatient every time I have her help me. Along with that make sure that the bleeder screw is closed, only open it after you tell them to "hold it down" and have them hold it until you close the screw and tell them to "pump it again". 4. Make sure you never run the master cylinder out of fluid or you start over from scratch. I've done well over a thousand brake jobs in my life and here on the HAMB a week or two ago was the first time I ever heard of lifting one end up to get the wheel cylinders above the master cylinder. To me it sounded like one of those things that the spit and whittle club comes up with. Sounds good but in reality it probably doesn't do a lot to help. The air bubbles are going to be pushed out by pressure in the line if you do things correctly. I've had one rig in 40 years of working on brakes that I couldn't bleed the brakes on and that was a two ton International truck from the mid 50's that had two wheel cylinders on each front wheel. Pump, pressure or vacuum bleed none worked on that ****** and I still don't know what went on with it.
Replace the worn or broken parts, then try again or come back here. It's no good getting advise, when you know some things are already out to lunch. It's your BRAKES. Replace the bad **** and get her done. And get some Speed Bleeders.
Thanks fellas! Gonna go grab some new Bleeders and do as you said. The Master has been rebuilt so it should be fine. Thanks again!
Whenever I round off a bleeder I grab that little ****er as hard as I can with vice grips to uncrew it, toss a new one in and get to bleeding! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
you cannot bleed one side of the brake system and expect to get the air out of the other side... replace either the bleeder or the cylinder and start over
That was only the front brakes if memory serves correctly. They called it "total contact braking" but most of the folks I know who still use it call it "total **** braking". Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Sounds like NHmike is on the right track now replacing bad part for a start. I have had a lot of luck with the simple one man bleeders ,loosen the bleeder insert tube ****** into bleeder and slowly pump till air stops, start at drivers side front finishing at p*** rear . No dramas just go round and nip each one up as the air stops.
Yes, only the front brakes had 2 cyls. per wheel. If these brakes were repaired and adjusted properly they worked and still do just fine, not as good as modern brakes but as good or better as any other brake system of it's time. Proper adjustment is critical.
what mr48 said good advice. and what **** said about pumping slow its not a bike tire and keeping things full always read the book if you don't know when it comes to brakes....DAVE
After about fifty years of bleeding brakes as the above posts stated, I have started using a clear plastic hose and a empty coke bottle with about a inch of brake fluid in the bottle. Put your wrench on the bleeder, push the hose on the bleeder, the hose has to fit tight on the bleeder. Put the other end of the hose in the coke bottle making sure the hose is in the fluid. Proceed to bleed as stated above. But now you can see the air bubbles in the bottle and the fluid in the hose.
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